The Staycation Bar is OPEN!

If you were to ask me if I'd ever had the bad luck to miss my daily cocktail, I'd have to say that I doubt it; where certain things are concerned, I plan ahead.

Luis Bunuel

In the middle of Spring, when cases were falling, when the days were getting longer and brighter, our minds turned towards holidays, holidays overseas, Spain, Portugal, Italy…… even further afield, Barbados, the Caymans, Florida, California, finally there was a light at the end of the tunnel and the lights still there but, lets face it, most of us are going to have a staycation again this year!

It’s far from the end of the world though, no pesky boss nagging you every five minutes, the weather is still set fair, in the UK anyway and people are smiling again, I know this because we don’t have to wear masks anymore!

One of my little indulgences when I’m on holiday is a sundown cocktail, usually in a little bar near our accommodation, well, the bar seems far off now but – I can still have my cheeky cocktails! Here’s a few of my favs with instructions from one of London’s most famous cocktail bars.

Peach Bellini

Whether you’re celebrating something special or you’re just feeling a little fancy, nothing beats a peach Bellini in the sun! We love the way adding a dash of peach to your favourite sparkling wine transforms the bubbles into a whole new magical experience.

Bellini’s are a real must-have beginner cocktail. You won’t need any shakers, stirrers or equipment to whip up this tasty treat - simply add some sweet peach puree to your prosecco or champagne and voila!

Ingredients:

30ml White Peach Puree, I use Funkin

100ml Prosecco/Champagne

Preparation: Add 1 part White Peach Puree to 3 parts chilled sparkling wine

Serve: Stir and serve in a champagne flute

Sex on the Beach

If you're dreaming of the beach, nothing brings the scene to you better than a sex on the beach cocktail. Combining the sweetness of peach with the tartness of oranges and cranberries creates a zingy twist that's perfect for relaxing by the (paddling) pool.

A super easy cocktail to serve, simply mix together vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and oleo saccharum in a large glass with ice and top with the cranberry juice. Done! Now to enjoy the sun!

What you’ll need:

50ml Vodka

25ml Peach Schnapps

50ml Orange Juice

60ml Cranberry Juice

10ml Oleo Saccharum

Mojito

This absolute classic cocktail is great for days in the sun as well as evenings at the bar. Combining the fresh zingy taste of lime with as much mint as you like, everyone knows (and loves) the iconic taste of the mojito!

Another easy one to make at home with zero ingredients, this cocktail can be assembled straight into the glass and topped with as much soda as you like.

Ingredients:

50ml Rum

12ml Sugar Syrup

35ml Lime Juice

Mint leaves

Soda

Preparation:

Add mint sprigs to a long glass and bash lightly with muddler

Half-fill the glass with crushed ice

Add the rest of the ingredients except the soda

Churn the mixture with a spoon

Serve: Top with soda and cap with crushed ice. Serve with a straw

Pornstar Martini

Pure passion fruit indulgence... the Pornstar martini is the UK’s number 1 most loved cocktail (for the second year running), and we can see why. This super sweet cocktail combines everything passion fruit accompanied by a chilled shot glass of prosecco...winner!

This two-part drink isn’t as tricky to make as it may seem. Simply mix up everything apart from the prosecco, which is poured into a shot glass.

Ingredients:

50ml Vodka / 50ml STRYYK Not Vodka for an alcohol-free option

50ml Passion Fruit Purée

15ml Vanilla Syrup

Shot of Prosecco

Preparation: Pour your preferred Vanilla Vodka, Passion Fruit Purée and Syrup into your Boston Shaker with plenty of ice and shake until the shaker feels ice cold.

Serve: Strain into a Martini Glass and garnish with half a passion fruit and a shot glass of Prosecco on the side.

Long Island Iced Tea

Don’t mix your drinks - unless it’s in a long island iced tea! This boozy cocktail combines vodka, gin, rum, tequila and triple sec in equal measures. Although that might sound like a lot of alcohol, the balance of liquor with fruit juices makes this a really easy to drink mix.

Yes, if you want to make this at home you will need all five spirits - but believe us, it’s worth it! If you’d like to make it even easier, you can mix your spirits with our margarita mix for an instant iced tea.

Ingredients:

10ml Vodka

10ml Gin

10ml Rum

10ml Tequila

10ml Triple Sec

50ml Margarita Mixer, again I use Funkin

Top with coke

Preparation: Build and churn the ingredients with cubed ice

Serve: Garnish with a lime wedge

Negroni

And finally to my all-time favourite cocktail, the Negroni! To make the perfect classic Negroni cocktail all you need is balance: use equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari, and choose the best products you have in reach. If you want to keep it simple just use the readily available ingredients however, if toy want something special, try the recipe on the Sacred Gin Website Here!

Ingredients:

10ml Gin

10ml Vermouth

10ml Campari

A slice of orange

Serve: Simply pour over ice, give it a little stir and add the orange slice – Perfect!

What’s on this week?

Well, it's a little different this week, it's not so much about the clothes, it's more about the little gift I got for myself! Rectly I managed to get my hands on one of those lovely Linden House boats and it's got me thinking all nautical again! I still adore my little Ushuaia from the Mesh Shop and I love sailing however, I've fancied a little motor boat for a while. So, I spent a few days looking at various designers - wow there's a lot of choice out there now! Eventually I came across a place called Rattletrap Shipyards and I fell in love! The boat in the pictures is a Rattletrap Portocervo in Kashmir livery, honestly it took me AGES to choose, I could have happily bought any of the amazing yachts there, the level of detail is OFF the chart, it looks amazing! But it's not just the outside, the attention to detail on the inside is amazing. This is my first boat from Rattletrap Shipyards however I can tell you, it certainly won't be my last! There is a rumour that they will be launching, pardon the pun, a full size yacht you can live on and judging by the snippets on their Flickr page, it's going to be stunning! One last mention, whilst I was there I bumped into a lovely lady by the name of Lin Herreshoff, she gave me a driving tip that actually swayed me to buy said Portocervo, Rattletrap, she should be on commission!!