Famed for showcasing the widest selection of whisky under one roof and following global trends, the world’s largest whisky festival now adds a range of other premium spirits for tasting – including gin and vodka – to the impressive line-up of over 200 whiskies!
Here’s Whisky & Spirits Live’s choice of the top 6 cocktails to sip this festive season:
Blind Tiger Mojito
Ingredients
- 50ml Blind Tiger Gin
- Fitch & Leedes club soda
- Mint, lime wedges, syrup
Method
Muddle together mint with the lime wedges, juice and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add 50ml Blind Tiger Gin and shake well. Pour into a double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Top with Fitch & Leedes club soda. Garnish & serve.
Scottish Leader Blazer
Ingredients
- 50ml Scottish Leader Signature
- 50ml tea mix
- 20 ml chocolate syrup
- 10 ml orange vermouth
- 10ml lemon juice
- Chocolate shavings or nutmeg to garnish
Method
Tea mix: Add 2 tablespoons of Lapsang Souchong and 2 tablespoons of honeybush tea to 500ml hot water and 250ml hot milk (or almond milk). Let it steep until cooled down. Strain the mixture into a suitably sized container and store in the fridge.
Chocolate syrup: Add 2 pieces of 100% cocoa paste to 1 cup of white sugar and 1.5 cups of water to a pot. Stir and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, then strain the mixture into a suitably sized container and store in the fridge.
Orange vermouth: Pour 500ml red vermouth (Martini or Cinzano) into a sealable jar or container. Add the skin of 1 orange and seal the jar or container. Let it steep for 2 days.
Preparing the cocktail, using the blaze (heat and flame) method (be careful!)
Combine all ingredients in a small pot or metal jug with two handles. Have an extra small pot or metal jug ready. Heat the ingredients to just before boiling point. Set the mixture alight with a lighter or chef’s torch. Slowly pour it back and forth from one pot or jug to the next and repeat 6 times. Extinguish the flame and pour the cocktail in a heatproof tumbler to serve. Garnish with chocolate shavings or nutmeg.
Wixworth Gin The Collins
Ingredients
- 50ml Wixworth Gin
- 25ml Lemon juice
- 25ml Sugar syrup
- Soda water
Method
Shake Wixworth Gin, lemon juice and sugar in a shaker over ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top up with soda water. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Ginifer Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 37.5ml Ginifer Gin
- Thick segment of fresh Naartjie
- Indian tonic water
- Star-Anise
- Geranium leaf
Method
Fill a glass with ice, add the Gin, gently squeeze the naartjie over the Gin and drop the naartjie into the glass. Pour the Indian Tonic water over the fruit. Garnish with a single Star-Anise and Geranium leaf.
Buffalo Trace Bourbon Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
- 4 dashes of Angostura Bitters
- 1 sugar cube or tsp of sugar
- Dash of water
- 1 orange wheel
- 50ml Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey
Method
Place the sugar cube in old fashioned glass and saturate it with bitters. Add a dash of plain water and muddle until it is dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add whiskey. Garnish with an orange slice.
Ableforth’s RinGinGin
Ingredients:
- 40ml Bathtub Gin
- 20ml RinQuinQuin
- 10ml St Germain Elderflower Liquor
Method
Stir all ingredients over ice until chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with an orange zest.
To taste these and many other premium spirits, buy tickets at www.ticketpros.co.za starting from R240. Tickets include a tasting glass, 16 tasting vouchers and a bottle of Consol Glass Still Water.
Whisky and Spirits Live opens its doors from 8 – 10 November 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre.