Perfume-Inspired Cocktails to match your ILLUMINE Candle for Christmas

The Christmas festivities have finally started, and everyone is in the throes of getting their Christmas decorations up. There is also frantic activity to purchase those last-minute presents for those hard to buy people. As for me, as of writing this blog, I have done absolutely nothing. 🙄

I have been thinking about what I wanted to write about for Christmas. I wanted to keep it relevant to ILLUMINE but make it fun for this time of the year. We have written about the Zodiac signs, the body part relationships, posted the planets and famous peoples quotes for their signs.  

I remember when growing up Christmas day always had a distinct pattern.  Everyone would get up early and open their presents, then we would have a Caribbean breakfast of salted cod, bakes (a fried bread) and chocolate tea (hot chocolate made from grated pure cocoa with milk and spices).

My brothers always seemed to get away with not helping out and skulking off to do their own thing, my dad would get ready to go and have his annual festive drinks in the pub with his old friends and my mum and I would get started on the feast that was Christmas dinner.  The part that stuck in my mind though was the ritual that came with it.

1. Having the music on to dance to while prepping, which would be in the form of the then In-London radio station (as we had no time to keep putting records on the turntable.)

 and

2. COCKTAILS.  My mother made a mean cocktail. I think somewhere in her younger days she must have worked in hotels.  She had all the fancy glasses, shakers and liqueurs that went into making her concoctions, and as it was Christmas I got to partake.  I remember for a long time the Brandy Alexander was a favourite, with an abundance of nutmeg which came straight off the trees in Grenada.

So, for the festive season, I thought I would give you 12 beautiful cocktails I have found, each one having the ILLUMINE Signature fragrances for you to try over the Christmas season.  Perfuming in cocktails has become a new trend and even cocktails bars are being opened with this theme in mind. 

Why don’t you get a double whammy while exercising your taste sensory receptors stimulate your olfactory (smell) receptors and burn your ILLUMINE Candle too!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

ARIES ROSEMARY– BLOODY ROSEMARY COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS 
1 blood orange wheel
1 rosemary sprig
30 ml floral gin, such as Jensen Old Tom
30 ml blood orange liqueur, such as Solerno
10 ml Rosemary Syrup
15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 ml freshly squeezed blood orange juice
3 dashes of peach bitters
Flowering rosemary sprig, to garnish

METHOD 
Place the blood orange wheel inside a rocks glass. Smack the rosemary sprig between your palms to release the essential oils and place in a cocktail shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and fill the shaker two-thirds of the way up with ice. Cover and shake hard for 20 seconds.
Fill the glass with ice. Double strain the cocktail into the glass, using the tea strainer to catch the rosemary needles. Garnish with the flowering rosemary sprig.

TAURUS ROSE – FLORAL GINGER ROSE FIZZ 

INGREDIENTS
2 fl oz vanilla rose syrup or rose syrup
1 fl oz freshly squeezed lemon juice strained
1 fl oz fresh ginger juice
Club soda to top
Edible flowers and ice to serve

METHOD 
Place the ice in a serving glass.
Pour the rose syrup, lemon juice, and ginger juice over the ice.
Top up with cold club soda. Serve with edible flowers (optional).

GEMINI BASIL – BASIL AND LEMON MARTINI

INGREDIENTS
11 small fresh basil leaves
A small handful of ice
50ml gin (the small-batch stuff – have some respect)
25ml limoncello
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar syrup
 
METHOD
Muddle 10 of the basil leaves in a cocktail shaker.
Add the ice, followed by the gin. Pour in the limoncello. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
Add the sugar syrup. Shake, then strain into a champagne coupe and finish with a basil leaf. Fantastico!

CANCER CAMOMILE - CHAMOMILE GIN SOUR

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp chamomile tea
1.5 oz gin
1/2 oz St Germain
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 egg white
fresh chamomile for garnish

METHOD
In a glass combine the chamomile and gin and let infuse for 20 minutes.
In a shaker combine the infused gin (straining out the flowers), St Germain, lemon juice and egg white and shake for 30 seconds with no ice.
Fill shaker with ice and shake again for another 30 seconds. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with chamomile flowers. Enjoy!
 

LEO JASMINE  – JASMINE AND ELDERFLOWER COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS
150ml jasmine tea, cold
100ml gin
40ml elderflower cordial
50ml sugar syrup (made by bringing equal quantities of sugar and water to the boil, then cooling) or Jasmine Syrup

METHOD
Mix all the ingredients and shake in a Jam jar or cocktail shaker packed with ice. Strain and serve in two martini glasses.

VIRGO LAVENDER  – LAVENDER FRENCH 75

INGREDIENTS

2 oz Gin
3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice
1 oz Lavender simple syrup
2 oz Prosecco or champagne
2 sprigs Fresh Lavender (optional for garnish)
1 cup Ice

METHOD
Using a citrus juicer, begin to juice your lemons.
To a cocktail shaker, add ice, lemon juice, gin, and lavender simple syrup. Shake for approximately 20 seconds.
Strain and pour the mixture into a champagne flute or coupe glass.
Top with Prosecco and give a quick stir.
Garnish with fresh lavender and serve right away.
 

LIBRA GERANIUM – GERANIUM COLLINS

INGREDIENTS
2 parts gin
1 part Geranium Syrup (see recipe)
1 part lemon juice
Soda to top
 
METHOD
Add the gin, geranium syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake. Double strain into a Collins or highball glass filled with ice. Top with soda. Garnish with geranium flowers and leaves.

SCORPIO PATCHOULI – PATCHOULI DAIQUIRI

SAGITTARIUS BLACK PEPPER – MANGO BLACK PEPPER G & T

INGREDIENTS
1 cup ice
1/2 cup gin
1 1/2 cups tonic water
2 thick slices of mango
good grinding of black pepper
2 sprigs of mint
 
METHOD
Add the ice to two glasses and then pour over the gin.
Pour over the tonic water and garnish each glass with a mango slice a good grinding of black pepper and a sprig of mint.

CAPRICORN VETIVER – KHUS COOLER DRINK

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 people

8 tbsp Khus syrup
1 tbsp Ginger
15 Mint leaves
1½ tsp Lemon
Top up with Club soda
Salt to taste
                   
METHOD
In a blender add khus syrup, mint leaves, lemon juice, ginger and salt to taste and grind all the ingredients well.

AQUARIUS NEROLI – NEROLI COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
1/2 oz Aperol
1 oz blood orange juice (or regular orange juice)
1-3/4 oz prosecco
 
METHOD
Build ingredients over ice and stir gently. Garnish with a wedge of blood orange.

PISCES MELISSA – LEMON BALM MOJITO

INGREDIENTS
5 fresh lemon balm leaves
1 tsp sugar
40ml Rum
40ml lime juice

METHOD
Add fresh lemon balm leaves to a short glass with the sugar.
Muddle until well crushed.
Add 40ml rum, 40ml lime juice and top up the glass with tonic water.
Add ice, stir gently and garnish with a lime slice, a sprig of lemon balm

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