Mojito Time

As dusk falls in many cities around the world, bartenders are busy replenishing their bars with fresh fruit, herbs and ice, and they are ready for cocktail hour to begin. Among the favorites, the Mojito, with its great Cuban flavors, has become so popular that it now even rivals the martini in many bars.

So next time you invite friends round for drinks, turn up the Buena Vista Social Club CD, light a cigar, and sit back with with a refreshing Mojito, and create your own little Havana.

Ingredients for the Perfect Mojito

• 1 1/2 ounces Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar
• Juice of 1/2 a Lime
• 2 Sprigs of Mint
• Soda Water

Method

1. Pour the lime juice into a tall glass and dissolve the sugar in it.
   
2. Add a little soda water and then gently crush the mint in the glass.
   
3. Pour in the rum, two or three cubes of ice, and fill with soda water.
   
4. Stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Pistachio Margarita

If you got tired of drinking the same old margarita mix this holiday weekend, why not try a new spin on your favorite cocktail? The Pistachio Margarita is exactly what it sounds like and is one of the signature cocktails at Vancouver's chic Bar None.

Bar None, housed in a converted warehouse, is contemporary, intimate, and offers something for every taste. Whether it's live music, international DJ's, a cigar lounge or Martini bar you're looking for, you'll find it here. If you are in Vancouver it's definitely worth a visit - but in the meantime, here's the recipe for Pistachio Margarita. You can find more signature cocktails in the in the fabulous book of the same name by Bill Tikos, founder of The Cool Hunter website.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces 1800 Cuervo Gold Tequila
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• Juice of 1 lime
• Finely ground, salted pistachio nuts

Method

1. Rim a rocks glass with the pistachio nuts.
   
2. Place the tequila, Cointreau, sugar and lime juice in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.
   
3. Pour and serve.

Summer Strawberry Daiquiri

While strawberries are still at their best, and reasonably inexpensive in the supermarkets, using them in as many different ways as possible to make the most of the sweet, ripe fruit is a challenge.

As the temperatures sizzles in most parts of the country, these elegant, cool cocktails are a great way to start a beach or backyard party. Some daiquiri cocktails use only white rum, but the addition of cointreau in this drink, gives an extra zing to the flavor which is a great blend with the sweetness of the strawberries - but make sure you buy plenty of strawberries because one is usually never enough!

Strawberry Daiquiri

• 4 ripe strawberries
• 1 ounce Bacardi
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1 ounce Lemon Juice
• Ice
• Strawberry for Garnish
  

1. Pour all the ingredients into a blender
2. Blend together and strain into a serving glass
3. Garnish with a strawberry on the side

Look out Don the Beachcomber!

Father's Day Gifts for the Gourmet Dad

Father's Day is just around the corner but there is still time to order Dad something online, so here's a selection of gifts from the Gourmet Fusion store to suit every pocket and taste.

If Dad is a whizz at making cocktails, check out this stainless steel ribbed design cocktail shaker (that also has a matching ice bucket), and team it with his favorite vodka or gin and you have a sure winner. For the wine connoisseur these sophisticated stainless steel and black silicon wine stoppers ready to give in a wooden gift box are great as a gift by themselves or with his favorite bottle of wine, and if Dad enjoys barbecuing, going to the beach or camping, our red neoprene six pack tote by Built NY will keep his favorite drinks icy cold.

Talking of barbecuing, what Father's Day list of gifts would be complete without including something to make his grilling even more perfect than usual? We have a selection of gifts for the barbecuing Dad in mind.

Not only do we have all the cool tools, but there's the Chef's Apron for the real pro who takes his art seriously, and the gauntlet/mitt for those times when that food comes off the grill sizzling hot. Check out these and more in our Barbecue section.

If relaxing is on his mind, we have a great selection of tea and coffee mugs, and tea infusers in our Tea and Coffee Products.

The fun mug shown here is a Mind The Gap London Underground mug by Blues, and it has the complete route the Tube takes around London. It is one of our newer items and is sure to become a collector's favorite.

Non-Alcoholic Cocktails

I thought I would include some non-alcoholic drinks for a change, as the holiday weekend is just around the corner, and if for some reason you or your guests can't drink, there are still some great concoctions to be made without alcohol.

So put away the Lipton's Iced Tea and Diet Coke, and try some of these fun drinks - they look so good that even the alcohol crowd will want to try them!

1. Cinderella

1/2 cup Fresh Orange Juice
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice
Lemon Juice to taste
Ice

Pour all ingredients into shaker, shake, then pour into serving glass (makes 1 serving).


2. Fruit Fantasy

1/2 cup Fresh Orange Juice
1/2 cup Pineapple Juice
6 Strawberries
Small Slice Honeydew Melon
Small Slice Cantaloupe Melon
Ice

Pour all ingredients into blender, blend until smooth, pour into serving glass (makes 1 serving).

3. Blueberry Limeade

1 Cup Sugar
6 Cups Water
1 2-inch Piece Fresh Ginger, Peeled and Sliced
2 Cups Blueberries
1 Cup Fresh Lime Juice (about 8 limes)
Ice Cubes for serving
Mint Sprigs or Twists of Lime for Garnish (makes 8 servings)

Combine sugar, water and ginger in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool. Pour into a heatproof pitcher and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

In a blender, combine the blueberries and the lime juice. Puree until smooth. Remove the ginger from the sugar syrup and discard. Pour the blueberry puree into the sugar syrup. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any blueberry skins. Serve over lots of ice and garnish with mint or lime.

Forget the Vodka, Bring out the Gin

I read with interest recently in Bon Appetit that Gin Is In. I am from England, so the classic Gin and Tonic has always been one of my favorite drinks, and one that we would always offer to guests, although most would usually go for a vodka martini. Apparently, gin cocktails are now starting to outnumber vodka-based drinks in the trendsetting bars across the US - from the Pegu Club in New York to Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle - so there has never been a better time to be a gin drinker.

Gin, distilled from corn, barley and flavored with juniper berries and other aromatics has been associated with London since the William of Orange from Holland took over the throne from King James II in 1688. Drinking Jenever, the early Dutch gin, became a symbol of patriotism. Britain banned the import of wine and brandy from Catholic France and encouraged the wholesale distillation of gin. Some time later the great London Gin distillers emerged such as Alexander Gordon, Charles Tanqueray and James Burroughs (known for Beefeater Gin). They developed what became known as the London style of gin, using pure water from the outlying villages and a continuous still to produce a light, dry gin. The flavors from botanicals such as angelica root, coriander, star anise, juniper berries, licorice root, bergamot and cassia bark add a taste and complexity to drinks that vodka does not, and each brand of gin produces a different flavored cocktail, depending on the variety of botanicals used in the production of the gin. Below are Pegu Club's Audry Saunders' recommended brands for five classic gin cocktails.

• Classic Martini - Tanqueray (94.6 proof)
  
• Gin and Tonic - Gordon's (80 proof)
• Aviation - Plymouth (82.4 proof)
• Negroni - Beefeater (94 proof)
• Tom Collins - Beefeater (94 proof)

The ingredients and recipes for the cool drinks can be found in the New Classic Cocktails book, available in the Gourmet Fusion Store.