As soon as summer hits, people all over the country spill out into parks and gardens to enjoy the summer sunshine. The summer classics of cider and Pimms get wheeled out along with the barbeque but if you are looking for something a little less ubiquitous this year, then a homemade cordial or cocktail could do the trick nicely.
I have always liked cocktails so in May 2012, I launched a series of four fun cocktails using my name: Delicious Jane, a vodka and grapefruit juice cocktail; Deadly Jane, a rum, orange and pineapple juice cocktail served in a poison bottle; Desirable Jane, a Bacardi and lime based cocktail; and Dirty Jane, a vodka and raspberry cocktail. All these are very popular although the best loved is the Deadly Jane, the recipe for which is below ...
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Have you tried making any cocktails or cordials? Share your favourite recipes with us here!
The Duchess of Northumnberland is the author of The Duchess of Northumberland's Little Book of Cocktails, Cordials and Elixirs. Found in the archive at Alnwick Castle, this little book features some of the oldest recipes for cocktails and cordials ever recorded. As well as tasting delicious, many of them have health-giving properties to treat everyday ailments such as asthma, weakness, balm and lip salve.