First things first I’m the realest.
Okay, maybe not the realest, realest, but I’m pretty real. I think. I don’t know. I’ve been second guessing myself a lot lately and Iggy Azalea isn’t helping me with her catchy lyrics that make me feel like I’m killin’ it when I vacuum.
I blame Just Dance and my daughter’s obsession with playing the song Fancy over and over and OVER again, because the song has now seared itself into my brain and has become this incongruent anthem for someone who feels waaaaaaay too old to do shots, wear heels, party past 930pm, or stay on my grind whatever that means (unless you’re talking grinding coffee…then, yes, I know exactly what that means.)
I always feel a little funny talking cocktails, because truth be told, I’m a beer girl, and lately a gf beer girl, which may or may not even be considered beer at all (in which case, I completely apologize to all true beer enthusiasts out there for even using gluten free and beer in the same breath. Yes, I feel the shame).
But, cocktails are this necessary thing. You know, the fiddly things you do when you have company and you want to feel a little *ahem* Fancy (sorry, it’s not me, it’s Just Dance). So, occasionally I’ll make cocktails. And the end result typically finds me being one drink down with sticky, stained hands, and this depressing vision of my kitchen counter that I know is covered with weird little gloopy drops and a pile of about 37 implements that now have to be washed. And I’ll want a second drink, but that’ll mean going alllll the way back to the kitchen to make more gloopy drops and mess another bunch of implements and so I sit there and feel sorry for myself, with my empty glass in my sticky hands, and I shake my head and be all like, this is why I don’t make cocktails and I can never be fancy.
Needless to say, I’m a girl of simple pleasures and things that don’t require effort. Is that something I should even admit? (Yes, I brush my hair. Occasionally). My cocktails are always easy, and always, always, ALWAYS involve liquor cabinet standards: mostly because I don’t like going out in public and having people ask me if they can help me find anything. (Don’t believe me? Check out my other lazy gal cocktail endeavours! Make your own Raspberry Vodka? Sure, I got you! Want to get your lavender on and don’t know where to start? I got that too! Feelin’ cozy? okay, maybe not like *right* now, but Winter is coming, my friend.)
Honeyed Blackcurrant Cordial (with a smash!)
This blackcurrant cordial is not fancy. It isn’t. It just appears fancy, which is really the best kind of fancy in my books. However, what it does take is time. But this is what cooking-type peeps like to call passive time, meaning it’s not you slaving away over a recipe; it’s you, walking away and letting the recipe do its thing. Now, if you want to tell your friends that this cordial literally took you 24 hours to make: you own it! I won’t tell (plus, who’d believe me, anyway?).
I’m pretty stoked with just how well this blackcurrant cordial turned out. It doesn’t use sugar, like a typical cordial and instead relies on honey for its sweetness. It’s got a really syrupy honey vibe with a tart finish, thanks to the lemon and the astringent properties of the blackcurrants (wow, I sound so knowledgeable. Probably because I’m the realest).
You can absolutely use it in a mocktail, drizzle it over ice cream, or add it to a pitcher of sangria. Plus, you can totally triple, quadruple, or million-tupple this baby: got a bumper crop of blackcurrants and a gallon of honey? Go for it!
Two things: you may notice I didn’t just put the honey in with the blackcurrants like you would when you’re making jam. That’s because I don’t want jam. Let me emphasize that again: I. DON’T. WANT. JAM. Sure, jam is great, but what you want here is a syrup. And although you probably could make the cordial by adding the sweetener at the beginning, the end result will definitely be harder to strain through the cheesecloth. Which would mean wasting precious yumminess.
Secondly, there’s an instruction not to press or squeeze the cheesecloth bag. This is because the juice will get cloudy with sediment. If you don’t mind sediment, then squeeze away, but there is something totally satisfying about a perfectly deep and clear juice that makes it well-worth the extra restraint. Plus, why stain your hands if you don’t have to?
#FBCConnectingOverCocktails
Welcome to my third instalment of #FBCConnectingOverCocktails. This is a fun group who makes a bunch of cool seasonal bevvies and shares them up online. It’s like having a real-life cocktail party without all the boring chit chat and where sweatpants are totally optional (and, if you’re me: encouraged).
Cooking In My Genes’ Cherry Bourbon Lemonade
Dish ‘n’ The Kitchen’s The Friday Flame
Diversivore’s Clock Calm
JustineCelina.com’s Watermelon Froze Margaritas
Killing Thyme’s Blueberry Lemon Vodka Fizz
My Kitchen Love’s Spiked Peach Iced Tea
As always, three cheers for cocktails!
