Belvoir hand makes a range of mouth-watering Cordials and Pressés using lashings of real pressed fruit juices, freshly picked flowers and spices with no artificial flavours, colourings or sweeteners. With 16 Cordials and 17 Pressés to choose from there is more than enough variety to keep you interested during October, but, should you want to sip on something with a little extra flourish, here are some mocktails and tips so tasty you’ll welcome a month of sobriety.
Belvoir’s Black and Blue Fruit Fool
1 part Belvoir Blueberry and Blackcurrant Cordial
1 part lemon juice
2 parts pineapple juice
Shake with ice and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish by sprinkling some crushed frozen raspberries onto the froth on top of the drink formed by the shaking. If you want to make it even more fancy, why not buy some rice paper cupcake garnishes and float on top of the drink as well as the raspberries.
Belvoir’s Lazy Cham
1 teaspoon agave syrup (as an alternative use honey)
1 table spoon lemon juice
Top up with Belvoir Elderflower Pressé
Stir in a cocktail shaker or small jug the first 2 ingredients with a little splash of the Elderflower Pressé. Once mixed simply strain into a champagne glass. Garnish by taking a strip of lemon peel removed with a potato peeler. If you want to be really fancy, take a pair of zig zag hemming scissors and trim the edge of the lemon peel, then twist into the glass.
Belvoir’s Winter Spice
15ml Belvoir Spiced Winter Berries Cordial
35ml pomegranate juice
35ml cranberry juice
5ml fresh lime juice
pinch of allspice
mixed berries to garnish
Pour all ingredients into a highball glass. Add ice cubes and garnish with mixed berries.
Tropical Ginger Punch
250g fresh pineapple
flesh of 1 mango
juice of 2 limes
1 passion fruit
Pineapple wedges
Glace cherry
Sprigs of mint
SERVES 2
Blend the pineapple, mango and lime juice together until smooth. Shake the fruit puree and Ginger Cordial together and divide between two glasses filled with crushed ice. Top with lemon and lime soda and the pulp of the passion fruit. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, glace cherry and mint, enjoy.
As with cocktails, it’s as much about how the mocktail looks as how it tastes. Here are some tricks and tips to guarantee that whatever you’re serving up to your friends, or even if it’s just for you to enjoy at home, your drink looks at its absolute best!
Cup cake and rice paper garnishes
For a special occasion, why not buy small rice paper cupcake garnishes from any cake decorating website and simply float them on top of drinks as a garnish. You can even get some with small photos of you on them or carefully chosen words.
Trimming citrus peel using hemming scissors
Simply take some long peel of citrus skin eg orange, lemon or lime and trim the edge with zig zag shaped hemming scissors. You can then twist and leave on top of a cocktail or mocktail for a dynamic garnish.
Balloon ice
Why not fill small balloons with water and freeze them to form strange shaped ice cubes. You can freeze sausage shaped balloons for long drinks and small normal shaped ones for short drinks. You could even freeze a mix of cordial and water into the balloon for some flavoured ice.
Aromas
80% of taste is smell. So, why not take herbs such as rosemary, thyme or lavender, put a sprig of any of these herbs in a glass and burn the tip with a lighter to create an amazing aroma that will fill the house and make any drink that extra bit special
So what’s stopping you? You really can ‘Go Sober for October’ with relative ease, give yourself a health kick before Christmas and raise money for a hugely worthwhile charity at the same time. For more information about how to get involved, visit www.gosober.org.uk or to explore the full range of Belvoir’s drinks visit www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk
