A BLOODY GOOD COCKTAIL FOR A
HOT SUMMERS DAY

A famous person once compared the blood orange martini to the experience of jumping into the ocean on a hot summer’s day and then wrapping yourself in a cosy towel afterwards. And if a famous person says something, then it must be true, right? In more to the point terms, The Blood Orange Martini is refreshing (ocean) yet comforting (towel).

Aside from the famous classic James Bond cocktail, The Martini has evolved into more of a style of cocktail rather than any one specific drink. There are so many different flavour combos you can experiment with that will make for a bangin’ Martini. Our newest recipe uses Blood Orange, but you can also try getting creative with your favourite seasonal fruits like peach, mango, apple, lychee and the list goes on…

There are many tricks to a good, classic Martini; here are a few of our favourites:

1. Always use a fresh bottle of Vermouth – Vermouth is a perishable item so it needs to be refrigerated. Once you crack the lid, you have about a month to use it, so invite the crew over and make a day of it.
2. Make sure all of your ingredients are cold to begin with – this will add an extra burst of freshness to your cocktail and it will reduce diluting the flavour with too much ice. We recommend pre-chilling your glassware in the freezer if you can too!
3. There’s no gain without a double strain. This removes any broken up ice shards that might break free in the shake up and keeps your drinking looking just as fresh as it tastes.

Remember a Martini isn’t meant to be slammed down –
sip, relax and enjoy!

If you have a go at recreating our recipe at home, take a pic and tag us on Instagram @grounds. Then the next time you swing by The Potting Shed, if you show us your post, we’ll serve you up a Blood Orange Martini on the house!

Ingredients:

• 30ml Vodka
• 20ml Limoncello
• 5ml Ginger Stone
• 50ml blood orange puree
• Blood Orange Puree:
• 4 blood oranges, peeled, segmented and seeded
• 2 tbsp sugar syrup
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

1. Peel your blood oranges
2. In a blender or food processor, combine orange segments, sugar syrup and lemon juice. Puree until smooth.
3. Taste and adjust amounts of simple syrup and lemon juice as needed.
4. Combine all of your ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a few big cubes of ice and shake it like a polaroid picture (you’ll be amazed by how many Outkast references you can jam in if you really set your mind to it).
5. Double strain into a Martini Glass.
6. Garnish with a slice of blood orange and a couple of nasturtiums if you’re lucky enough to have them in your Garden (or can find them in your neighbours!).

And now for the best part… Enjoy!