A Whisky tasting of sorts

Dad and Pete are quite the concessioners of whisk(e)y, well… they enjoy drinking it over ice cracked with a splash of water and both seem to enjoy the same brands.  Seems they both get gifted a few bottles too and managed to collect a few good bottles of Johnnie Walker.  I find they often taste very similar and can’t warrant the cost of some of the bottles but my knowledge is limited when it comes to scotch, and quite frankly enjoy a bourbon more than most whisky’s.

Pic sourced from Wikipedia

Anyhoo, the boys decided to see which blend they enjoyed “blind”, so the scene was set for a blind tasting – not necessarily to see if they knew which was which, more just to see which one they enjoyed the most.

The “secret” order for the taste testing

The contenders were Red Label, Black Label, Double Black, Platinum and Executive Club Collection.

Getting ready

I thought it would be fun to see if they could also guess which one was which so an exam paper was created.

The exam paper with a spelling mistake – oops!

Turns out both dad and Pete have expensive taste.

A sneaky shot of the boys doing their taste testing

It was great fun and both dad and Pete did very well on guessing which whisky was which.

Advertisement

Ginger Beer

I have not always been a fan of homemade Ginger Beer (I think the fermenting smell put me off when I was younger) but I guess with age my taste-buds have matured to enjoy this lovely drink.  Remember that your Ginger Beer is ready to drink once the sultanas float to the top of the bottle.

 

Ingredients

4½ litres water
750ml sugar
15ml ground ginger
7g instant dried yeast
12 sultanas

Method

1. Bring 2½ litres of the water to the boil in a large saucepan and add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 2 litres of cold water and stir in the ginger.
3. Allow the mixture to cool down until it is lukewarm, then pour 125ml of the liquid into a jug and add the yeast and stir until it has dissolved then add this liquid back to the saucepan and stir well.
4. Pour the liquid into sterilised bottles and add 2 sultanas to each bottle and close the bottles tightly and leave at room temperature for 24 hours then place them in the fridge.

 

Submitted by:  Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius

Lemon Drink Concentrate

I have such fond memories of this wonderful refreshing drink from school holidays at Sundays River during hot summers over Christmas and New Year.  It is a fabulous thirst quenching drink for a hot summers day while lazing at the pool and best of all, it can be diluted per individual taste.

 

Ingredients

1½ litres boiling water
2kg sugar
1 pkt citric acid
1 pkt tartaric acid
1 pkt Epsom salts
8 large lemons (juice and rind)

Method

1. Pour the boiling water over the sugar, acids and Epsom salts and lastly add the lemon juice and rind and mix to combine all the ingredients.
2. Bottle and refrigerate.

Dilute per glass as needed.

Submitted by:  Christine de Villiers, Port Elizabeth

Sangria

With the summer weather still in full force for a lot of us, I thought a Sangria would do the trick as a liquid accompaniment for a relaxing braai (barbecue) with family or friends and best of all it can be made ahead of time.

 

Ingredients

50g castor sugar
125ml port
Rind from one orange
6 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
750ml orange juice
750ml dry red wine
125ml brandy
1 litre lemonade / sprite
1 orange quartered and sliced
1 lime thinly sliced
1 red apple cored and sliced

Method

1. Combine the sugar, port, orange rind, spices and juice in a saucepan and heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Simmer for 5 minutes
3. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. Add the wine, brandy, lemonade, orange and lime and stir through and refrigerate overnight.
5. Add the apple just before serving.

 

Submitted by:  Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius

Frozen Coffee Shake

This recipe is for my Mom and her sister.  They absolutely love coffee shakes and this Frozen Coffee Shake is just the thing to perk you up at the office – just omit the coffee liqueur if you are going to enjoy this at work.

 

Ingredients

30 ice cubes
30ml coffee granules
125ml condensed milk
200ml iced water
5ml vanilla essence
20ml coffee liqueur (optional)

Method

1. Place the ice cubes in a clean tea towel and break them into small pieces with a rolling pin.  This avoids placing unnecessary strain on the blender.
2. Place the ice in a blender or food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and slushy in texture.

 

Submitted by:  Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius

Fig Leaf Liqueur

If memory serves, I got this unique recipe from a friend back home.  We have a huge fig tree in our front garden so it seemed only apt to have a Fig Leaf Liqueur recipe to go with it.  Sadly this is not an instant recipe as you need to store the liqueur for a month to mature before enjoying it – it is however worth the wait.

Ingredients

625ml sugar
750ml water
12 fig leaves
750ml gin

Method

1. Combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan and heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Wash the fig leaves and add them to the sugar water and bring to the boil and boil for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the mixture from the heat and remove the fig leaves and allow the syrup to cool.
4. Add the gin and stir through.
5. Pour the liqueur into sterilised bottles and seal.

Store for a month before use.

Moroccan Tea

Today’s recipe is for our teetotal family and friends.  This lovely light and fragrant tea is best enjoyed when served with honey.  I have also enjoyed this refreshing Moroccan Tea cold.

 

Ingredients

Handful freshly cut mint leaves
Thumb size piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced
A few slices of lemon
Boiling water

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a teapot and allow to infuse for 5 minutes.

Serve with honey.

Submitted by:  Nic Prinsloo, Clarens

Glühwein

After posting yesterday’s recipe for a Strawberry Daiquiri I felt a twinge of guilt for our family and friends still freezing in the Northern hemisphere so here is a good old fashioned recipe for Glühwein.  I think some people also call this mulled wine.  Either way, it’s guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart.

Ingredients

1 bottle good dry red wine
125g sugar
3-4 cloves
1-2 cinnamon sticks
Lemon peel for garnishing

Method

1. Heat but do not boil all the ingredients, except for the lemon peel in a saucepan.
2. Pour into elegant glasses and garnish with the lemon peel.

 

Submitted by:  Nic Prinsloo, Clarens

Strawberry Daiquiri

I thought after being away for 2 weeks and still being on holiday mode, I would start things off with an all time favourite cocktail – well at least amongst the ladies.  If you prefer things a little sweeter, you can add a little more sugar into the mix but be careful not to over sweeten this oh so yummy cocktail.

 

Ingredients

30ml white rum
15ml lime juice
5ml sugar
125ml fresh strawberries
Crushed ice

Method

1. Blend all the ingredients together in a liquidizer and pour over crushed ice to serve.

 

Submitted by:  Mandy Frielinghaus, Mauritius