Cardiff Cocktails

After getting through to the finals of the Angostura cocktail Challenge (which takes part in a few weeks, and to say I wasn’t nervous for my first competition would be a massive understatement) I’ve decided there’s no harm in going for some more. This one I’m entering into ‘The Grand 7 Florita Cocktail Competition 2012’.

The inspiration for this has really come from two fantastic cocktail enthusiasts. The first one is a blog called the Savoy Stomp by Erik Ellestad. A great blog where Ellestad is working his way through all 750 drinks in the Savoy Cocktail book. It was after reading about the drinks he made using Kola tonic, that I thought I wanted to do a sort of Cuba Libre style cocktail, but keeping it classic. The second was a video of Tristan Stephenson making a Wormwood vodka Martini - topping it off with an Absinthe air made using Lecithin and a fish tank pump. Using this method I’ve topped the cocktail of with a foam to compliment the cocktail (in this case a coconut foam to compliment the Flor de Cana 7 yr Grand Reserve) to try and give the illusion of a fizzy cola. To top the cola theme off I’ve served it in an old glass cola bottle.

Cana Kola

• 50ml Flor de Cana 7 yr Grand Reserve
• 20ml Fresh Lime Juice
• 20ml Claytons Kola Tonic
• 12.5ml Sugar Syrup (2:1)

• 25ml Malibu
• 25ml Water
• 5ml Fresh Lime Juice
• 1g Lecithin (Lecithin is a soya bean extract which is traditionally used as a food supplement. Lecithin however is here being used as a stabiliser for the foam and can be found at most health food stores)

for the foam mix the Malibu, Lime, Lecithin and water using a fish tank pump. pour the foam over the cocktail in the cola bottle.

Serve in the botle with a cocktail glass and a lemon twist.