As we ease past midsummer and the blue skies are overhead, it’s time to enjoy a tipple or two in the sunshine. If you aren’t lucky enough to be lounging around an azure blue pool with a waiter on hand to keep your glass topped up, we have a few suggestions and summer spirit cocktails to keep you cool and enjoy at home.
Sapling Spirits Gin
Sapling Spirits is a brand passionate about two things — creating great spirits, and the environment. The climate-positive company uses only Wildfarmed
regenerative organic wheat to ferment the base layer of its spirits, which means that the farming methods used by the farmers lead to healthier soils, more captured CO2 and better biodiversity.
To ensure its carbon footprint is as small as possible, every step of the distillation and production process takes place in the UK with UK-grown ingredients.
Sapling Spirits London Dry Gin is fresh and spicy, with plenty of traditional juniper on the nose and plenty of citrus notes to add sweetness. It’s earthy, too, with a big hit of coriander on the palate. There are hints of rosemary underpinning the flavours, so if you aren’t a fan of a herbaceous gin, this £35 bottle might not be for you. If you are, add ice and plenty of chilled tonic, and enjoy a refreshingly flavourful tipple.
Kavka Vodka
Kavka Estate Vodka was first launched in 2021 by founder Jan Woroniecki. His Polish ancestry and many years of running Eastern European restaurants meant he had ample experience in tasting vodka.
Working in collaboration with master distiller Urszula Wojcik, and award-winning cocktail barman Karol Terejlis, Woroniecki developed and launched the brand using column-still rye and wheat spirits, blended with pot still fruit spirits.
Kavka Estate Original is a classic, clear vodka, and the addition of the small amount of fruit spirit gives depth and complexity, along with just a hint of sweetness from the plums and a touch of acidity from the apples. These subtle flavours blend and counteract the harshness that can be found with vodka, leading to a smooth spirit that is great over ice and works well mixed in a cocktail.
In April 2023, a new vodka — Kavka Orchard — was added to the lineup. In this blend, the amount of distilled fruit spirit was ramped up, allowing the natural flavours of the plum and apple to come to the fore, creating a sweet and flavourful spirit with a delightful depth and sweetness. The apple is most prominent on the nose, but on the palate, the plum flavours sing the loudest.
Like Kavka Estate Original, Kavka Orchard is an excellent option for sipping neat over ice, but if you’re looking for a long, cool summer drink, blend it with some tonic, and you can’t go far wrong.
Kavka Estate Cosmopolitan
- 50ml Kavka Estate
- 25ml Fortunella orange liqueur
- 15ml Fresh lemon juice
- 15ml Raspberry syrup
Add the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Duppy Share White Rum
Duppy Share created Duppy White Rum in collaboration with British musician and actor Kano. Kano was involved in the five-year development process from start to finish, wanting to make a spirit that reflected his Jamaican roots in its smells and flavours.
Duppy White Rum is a 100% Jamaican white rum, and from the moment you uncork it, tropical fruits abound — banana and mango combine with subtle spices. Once on the palate, there is a caramel sweetness alongside the tropical fruits, giving way to more spice and a lively pot-still rum finish.
Kano designed the £20 bottle of Duppy Share White Rum to be drunk neat and in shots, as well as starring in classic white rum cocktails.
Classic Daiquiri
- 50ml Duppy White Rum
- 25ml Lime juice
- 10ml Sugar syrup
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, then strain into a glass over plenty of ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.
Patron Tequila
For many people, Patron is the first name they would associate with tequila. Patron Silver is a finely balanced tequila made from 100% blue Weber agave. The spirit is distilled in small batches at Hacienda Patron distillery in Mexico before being hand bottled. Each bottle is individually numbered by hand, which is a nice touch.
The clear liquid is packed with the aromas of zesty spices, and once on the palate, there is a vibrant mix of nutmeg and pepper alongside a rich sweetness. There is a hint of white pepper in the finish before it mellows to the sweet agave flavour. The flavours are zingy and bright but never harsh, leaving a pleasant warming spice layer in the mouth.
At £44 a bottle, Patron Silver is a pleasant spirit to sip neat over ice or for a long summer drink mixed into your favourite cocktail — a classic Margarita would be an excellent choice!
Classic Margarita
- 45 ml Patrón Silver
- 30 ml Orange liqueur
- 25ml Fresh lime juice
- 5ml Simple syrup
- Lime wedge for garnish
- Kosher salt (optional)
Combine the liquid ingredients in an ice-loaded cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. If you want the full salted-rim Margarita experience, wet the rim of your glass with water and then dip it into the kosher salt. Strain the liquid from the cocktail shaker over fresh ice in your glass and then garnish with a lime wedge.
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