Lockdown Made Me Do It. Jassy Davis
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Syrup until it’s sweet enough. Pour back into the jar or a sterilised bottle.
WHITE PEACH PURÉE
450g (1lb) ripe white peaches, washed and
cut into quarters, stones discarded
30ml (1fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
45ml (1½fl oz) Simple Syrup
Purée all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Freeze or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
VARIATIONS
Really anything goes in terms of fruits, so try using your favourite and experiment.
Strawberry Purée – make as above but use 400g (14oz) washed, hulled and halved strawberries, 22ml (¾fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice and 30ml (1fl oz) Simple Syrup.
Watermelon Purée – make as above but use 300g (10½oz) cubed watermelon, 15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice and 30ml (1fl oz) Simple Syrup.
The first time I had this refreshing, super-easy aperitif was not, as the name might imply, in Venice. It was in Red Hook, Brooklyn, one of the earlier settlements in New York City’s history as an American Revolution point of defence and, eventually, a bustling port. The bar where the Venetian Spritz first passed my lips is called Fort Defiance, named for the stalwart spot that defended the area during the Battle of Long Island. But there was no battle when I sipped this lovely pre-dinner quencher. Aperol is a bitter Italian liqueur, lower in alcohol and a little sweeter than its similarly red-hued cousin, Campari. For that reason, it makes a lovely complement to Prosecco’s typical orchard fruitiness. A brut-style balances the Aperol nicely. The olive? I was dubious, too, the first time I had this cocktail. But there was something about the sweet and sour that appealed to my cocktail-subversive side. If you are not so keen, feel free to simply sip this as-is, or with an orange slice.
Ingredients
45ml (1½fl oz) Aperol
90ml (3fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
a splash of soda water
1 Cerignola olive, red or green – your choice (optional)
Instructions
Fill a double rocks glass with ice. Pour in the Aperol followed by the Prosecco. Give it a little stir. Top up with a splash of soda water and garnish with a Cerignola olive.
The key to this drink is giving your strawberries a good mashing – because you’ll be sipping it with a straw, you don’t want any getting stuck on the way up, so make sure you get all those solid pieces beneath your muddler! The fruitiness natural to Prosecco takes all those delicious strawberry aromatics and flavours to another level.
Ingredients
4 medium (or 3 large) strawberries, quartered
15ml (½fl oz) Mint Simple Syrup
15ml (½fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
30ml (1fl oz) vodka
90–120ml (3–4fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
Instructions
Drop the strawberries into a Collins glass, pour in the Mint Simple Syrup and muddle until very pulpy. Add the lemon juice and vodka. Fill with ice, top with the Prosecco and give it a little stir to evenly distribute the mashed-up berries. Finish with a straw.
Invented in Venice, this sparkling cocktail uses muddled black grapes to create its colour (the inspiration for its name, the 16th-century painter Tiziano Vecellio, was fond of the purplish-red hue that the cocktail’s main ingredient adds). Where I live, Concord grapes are prolific and easy to find in the late summer and early autumn, so I use them to make a syrup that adds a fun local twist to this Italian tipple (although any red or black grapes will do).
Ingredients
30ml (1fl oz) Concord Grape Syrup
90–120ml (3–4fl oz) brut-style Prosecco
Instructions
Pour the grape syrup into a flute. Top with the Prosecco.
In the town I grew up in, there is an old hotel called the Chequit, that used to be the site of a great bar where lots and lots of merrymaking occurred on a nightly basis all summer long. It was the 80s. There was lots of neon, asymmetrical hair, Depeche Mode, dancing and drinking of bright, tropical, summery things, like the Madras – a particularly popular tipple among my friends and me. I abandoned it as years went on for less fruity, more ‘serious’ cocktails. But the thing is, who wants to be so serious when sipping cocktails? Especially bubbly ones. This souped-up Madras is even more delicious with a splash of extra-dry Prosecco. Viva la 80s.
Ingredients
45ml (1½fl oz) vodka
22ml (¾fl oz) cranberry juice
22ml (¾fl oz) freshly squeezed orange juice
30ml (1fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
15ml (½fl oz) Cointreau
90ml (3fl oz) extra dry-style Prosecco
a wide piece of lime peel, to garnish
Instructions
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the vodka, cranberry juice, orange and lime juices and Cointreau. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with the Prosecco, garnish with the lime peel and pop in a straw.
Perhaps one of the easiest cocktails to throw together is that classic brunch staple, the Mimosa. Orange juice, sparkling, boom! You’re done. But not only that, you’ve got something refreshing and festive that never fails to put a smile on everyone’s face. Taking a little extra effort, though, in the form of squeezing some fresh juice, makes a world of difference. Here, I like to add a little Italian twist with fresh blood orange juice, for both its flavour and gorgeous colour, along with an extra dry-style Prosecco to add a nice, round fruitiness to the sparkle and pop.
Ingredients
60ml (2fl oz) freshly squeezed blood orange juice
90–120ml