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While highballs are all-time stylish and effortless cocktails to make for a party, your carefully curated dinner deserves a slightly more glamorous touch when it comes to the cocktail roster. Bring a little bit of drama, big flavours and layered textures into your cocktail glass with some modern, inventive whisky mixes.
These concoctions will introduce style and mixology flair to the glass, and are here to impress guests with their chic contemporaneity. Think beyond the basics to go for those blending techniques and ingredients which lend your weekend drinks a much-needed theatrical element.
Berry Foam Whisky Sour
Reimagine a classic with this concoction that prioritises aesthetic garnishes and a light acidity, touched with a little bit of drama. Upgrade the classic sour cocktail glass with fresh berry purée blended into a frothy egg white foam for a silky texture. Bright, visually striking and filled with a sweet note, the foam made using a mixture of strawberry and raspberry purées will infuse an inspired oomph into the sour drink. This can be a suitable start to the weekend gathering, an ideal pairing with appetisers or lighter grazing boards.
Spiced Apple Whisky Smash
This cocktail is like fall in a glass, but with a chill that is suitable for summer weather. Muddle apple slices, lemon juice, honey and a pinch of cinnamon and shake them with premium bourbon and ice. The mixture can be served in a rocks glass as a fruity, lightly spiced, nuanced concoction that pairs well with comforting weekend dinner staples like roast chicken or an herb-infused classic Shepherd’s pie. Garnish the drink with thin apple slivers and an aromatised cinnamon spray to introduce a dramatic touch into the craft cocktail.
Smoked Maple Old Fashioned
Turn a classic cocktail into a gourmet drink with this recipe that introduces a touch of smoky depth into the whisky blend. Blend whisky, a sugar cube and some citrus bitters to craft this cocktail and introduce that syrupy sweetness into it with a maple syrup drizzle. Now, create some cinnamon smoke using a smoking gun or placing a charred cinnamon stick with the cocktail under a cloche. This will add a spicy depth, smoky drama and fragrant nuance into the old fashioned. Rich, timeless and enduringly stylish, this is a drink that would go well with grilled meats and roast vegetables.
Whisky Espresso Martini
A bold crossover between the classic espresso martini and an Irish coffee-like blend, this robust drink swaps vodka for a rich whisky. The spirit brings a density and earthier note into the espresso cocktail, which builds into its full depth. Immersed in these richer, complex flavours, the earthiness of the espresso added to the drink also becomes that much more pronounced. Complete with caramel undertones, a little vanilla-ish flavour and slightly smoky nuances, this deeply complex whisky espresso martini is perfect as a post-dinner or dessert-time cocktail that balances out some of the rich sweetness of the last course of the weekend meal.
Ginger And Basil Fizz
As winter gives way to the slightly brighter spring weather, cocktails such as the ginger and basil fizz become interesting options which get that identical seasonal vibrancy into a glass. Muddle ginger juice with fresh basil leaves and shake this mixture with ice and whisky before pouring it into a tall cocktail glass. Finish the drink off with tonic water or ginger ale for a sparkly touch. Edible flowers, candied ginger or dried ginger shavings can be among some garnishing options which bring a flavourful and textural pop into the cocktail. Herbaceous and fresh, this is an excellent drink to serve at a dinner which features heavier, meatier dishes. The refreshing quality of the chilled drink can cut through the richness of some of these foods.
