Cocktails that taste better together
From our experts at the airports, the cocktails that taste better with friends.
Do you have a favourite cocktail? One that you only mix for friends, or on special occasions? Do you know how to mix it to obtain the perfect results? We all have some cocktail recipes up our sleeves. Recipes best saved for unique celebrations, and for our friends only. Our Travel & Lifestyle team visited the best bars, VIP Lounges, and duty free stores in the main international airports, to talk to passengers and discover unique recipes.
Of course, it was not an easy task! Sometimes we only encountered closed doors. Other times it seemed like an impossible mission. However, our team managed to find some jewels. We had to guarantee anonymity, and promise to only use these magical recipes for totally special times. Naturally, we also promised to share these cocktails with our marvellous passengers. So, without further do, read on to find the best-kept cocktail secrets that taste better among friends.
Roku Gin Blossom
It is no longer news that Japan is now a major player in the universe of spirit beverages. Stocking whisky distilled on Oriental shores used to be a best-kept secret a few years ago. This is no longer the case as Oriental spirits have now gone mainstream. They are award winners, have conquered the world, and regularly appear in the best bars. Did you know that the Japanese distil a stunning gin? Roku Gin is one of the brands that have spearheaded this revolution.
This gin is created utilising a selection of botanicals, including six that are characteristic of Japanese culture. These ingredients will take you on a tour of the four seasons. Sakura leaf, and Sakura flower for Spring, Sencha and Gyokuro tea for the Summer, Sansho pepper for Autumn, and Yuzu peel for Winter. Traditional herbs used in the making of gin such as juniper, orange and lemon peel, cilantro, and cinnamon, are also presented in this blend.
Although many passengers recommended us to use Roku Gin for a gingery Gin&Tonic, we chose to mix it to make Blossom, a sweet cocktail that marries perfectly with the flavours of this exotic gin. It only has three ingredients.
Recipe:
• 2 ounces gin
• 3 ounces of orange juice
• 1 splash Grenadine
Shake all the ingredients together, and pour into an Old Fashioned glass. Ice is of course optional.
Larios Perfect Serve
We should constantly thank the universe for the Mediterranean Sea. These waters not only boast some of the most stunning beaches in the world, the prettiest sunsets, and exclusive parties. The Mediterranean has also given us wonderful cities, and gastronomy that is out of this world! Malaga in Southern Spain is one of the precious places. Tapas, rhythm, and an accent to sweeten the ears. But this city possesses another secret that is slowly being discovered around the world. This secret is Larios Gin.
Despite infusing fiestas in Malaga with flavour for more than 150 years, Larios only became well known outside Spain in the recent past. The Larios mission is to take the Mediterranean Spirit beyond a concrete place or space. To evoke an attitude, and a special way of living, feeling, and enjoying ourselves in the company of a high-quality gin, that is full of tradition.
A young Andalusian man gave us this cocktail recipe before boarding a plane to return home. This is the perfect Serve cocktail prepared with Larios 12, a blend made from the combination of twelve botanicals.
Recipe:
• 50 ml Larios 12
• 200 ml Tonic water
• Lime peel
• Orange peel
• Orange blossom
• Boiling Water for making tea
• Sprayer
Fill a glass with plenty of ice. Twist a slice of lime, and rub the peel around the rim of the glass. Remove the ice, making circles to fully chill the glass, then add a hint of lime. Separately, infuse the orange blossom in hot water. Leave for 10 minutes. Pour 50 ml of Larios 12, add the tonic water, and an orange peel twist. Pour the water infused with orange blossom into the sprayer, then spray the glass.
Beluga Russian Porto
If you are looking to buy Vodka to complete your home bar, Russia is the most emblematic producer in the world. Legend has it that vodka sometimes drinks at breakfast time, as a way of coping with winter temperatures well below zero. True or false, what we do know is that the Russians are experts in mixing this spirit to create intensely flavoured and full-bodied cocktails.
Beluga is a relatively new vodka brand, born in 2002 to export the secrets of frozen Siberia’s regional distillery to the rest of the world. One of their secrets is the water they use to produce this vodka. The water source comes from 300 metre-deep wells in one of the coldest regions on earth. The other secret is the unique triple filtering system.
A passenger on his stopover en route to Moscow recommended this exclusive vodka to us. Incidentally, it is named after the fish that produces caviar, no less! Naturally, we kept this cocktail recipe for the end of the article.
Recipe:
50 ml Beluga Noble
40 ml Oporto
1 shot Angostura Bitters
2 cocktail cherries
Place a glass in ice to chill it thoroughly. Next, pour the Beluga Vodka measure and the Fine White Oporto together in a cocktail mixer. Finally, add no more than three drops of Angostura Bitters. Stir with a spoon, and pour through a cocktail strainer into the chilled glass. Add cherries for a final touch.
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