Red, white and green with a bit of gold is an absolute representation of a truly festive thing. And so, my glorious Christmas cocktail which has fresh fruit layers of white lychees, red strawberries and green mint is aptly called – Festive Gin Smash!
The perfect Christmas cocktail in all the festive colours - Gin Smash!
A clever use of ingredients and presentation makes this an instantly spectacular holiday offering. Not to mention, so delicious! This generous cocktail is made in tall glasses to be enjoyed over equally delicious canapes, curled up on the sofa, listening to Christmas carols and chatting about all things naughty and nice.
There are three quick steps to making and assembling this fabulous Gin Smash – a white layer made in the blender, a red layer muddled in a glass jar and a green layer simply mixed together. And then the final touch – chilled sparkling water made in my good old SodaStream Sparkling Water Maker, bubbling and taking this gin cocktail to lofty new heights!
I hope you enjoy watching the video and making this drink. I would love to hear your feedback and ratings in the comments below. Share your gin cocktail with me on Instagram using #cookrepublic.
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Ingredients
- 200 ml SodaStream sparkling water
- For the lychee layer
- 190 g canned lychees, drained
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 90 ml Gin
- For the strawberry layer
- 500 g strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Juice of half a lemon
- Pinch of salt
- For the Mint Layer
- 1 cup crushed ice
- 30 mint leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
- To prepare the SodaStream sparkling water, fill a SodaStream 1 Litre Bottle with cold water and carbonate.
- Place all ingredients for the lychee layer in a blender and process until the consistency is similar to a slushie.
- Place strawberries, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon and salt in a glass jar. Using a muddler, crush and soften the strawberries and spices to release the flavours and aroma.
- Mix crushed ice and mint in a small bowl.
- To serve, divide the lychee mixture equally between two 400ml capacity stemless glasses. Divide and ladle the strawberry mixture over the lychee mixture in the glasses. Top with mint and crushed ice.
- Top each glass with 100ml sparkling water and serve.
Note – This post is sponsored by SodaStream. The recipe and video were specially created for SodaStream’s Spirit Sparkling Water Makers. It is a brand/product that I love and have been using for almost a decade. I believe that using SodaStream is not only fun but helps reduce plastic bottle usage and waste. All opinions and musings are my own.
Could this drink be made two days before?
Unfortunately, no. The mint and strawberries just wouldn't be fresh. x