A short walk from the Craft Gin Club office, Soho has to be one of our favourite areas. Vibrant and bursting with fabulous restaurants and bars, it’s an endless source of inspiration for everyone here at the club - especially for Maria, our amazing Master Mixologist.
In honour of Soho, Maria has created three gin-credible cocktails inspired by the area and some of its wonderful establishments. What’s more, to really capture the Soho spirit, Maria has used delicious mixers from the fabulous Soho-based juice company The Soho Juice Co.
We included their Apple, Honey & Lemon juice and their Cucumber, Mint & Lemon juice in our March 2021 Gin of the Month box for our lucky members to try and we have been in love with them from the start. Not only are their mixers utterly delicious, but they are also vegan-friendly, preservative-free and, because they aren’t carbonated, they release far less CO2 into the atmosphere during production than some other drinks brands.
With magnificent flavours and mixers that are environmentally conscious, it’s a gin-gin situation!
Raspberry Garibaldi
Inspired by Soho’s Bar Italia
“This is a twist on a classic (and delicious) Italian aperitive cocktail called Garibaldi. The Garibaldi is simply Campari mixed with fresh orange juice but in this version gin is added and The Soho Juice Co. Blood Orange, Raspberry & Ginger is used. Raspberries also usually pair well with Campari, so this cocktail recipe is very well balanced with different layers of flavour working together in harmony.”
Ingredients
25ml gin
25ml Campari
100ml The Soho Juice Co. Blood Orange, Raspberry & Ginger
Fresh raspberries, to garnish
Method
Build the cocktail directly in a Highball glass by adding all the ingredients with ice and giving them a quick stir to combine. Garnish and enjoy.
Soho 75
Inspired by Café Royal
“Café’ Royal was created by a French wine merchant and his wife in 1863 and frequented by artists, writers and royalty. This recipe uses French ingredients such as St Germain and Champagne, which are mixed with gin and The Soho Juice Co. Apple, Honey & Lemon for a sophisticated and floral, sparkling cocktail. The absinthe is optional, but it does add an extra depth to the final drink that is very pleasant (don’t exaggerate with the dose though or it will completely change the drink).”
Ingredients
25ml gin
15ml St Germain (which is an elderflower liqueur)
50ml The Soho Juice Co. Apple, Honey & Lemon
50ml champagne (or prosecco depending on your preference)
½ tsp absinthe, optional
Lemon peel or mint leaf, to garnish
Method
Add the first three ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill down. Strain into a champagne saucer or flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish and enjoy!
How can The Soho Juice Co. Apple, Honey & Lemon be vegan-friendly if it has honey? Well, the honey flavour in The Soho Juice Co. Apple, Honey & Lemon actually comes from the honeybush plant - not the sticky, sweet stuff produced by bees.
Honeybush is from South Africa and is often used as a tea. It’s a great alternative to honey for vegans, especially when made into a syrup. All that you need to do is dissolve 200g of sugar in 200ml of hot, freshly brewed honeybush tea and then allow the resulting syrup to cool before use. You can then use the honeybush syrup exactly as you would honey.
Cucumber Gin Mojito
Inspired by socially-distanced Soho in the sun
“In the summer of 2020, due to the safety regulations on social distancing, road closures in Soho made pedestrian-only areas and so all the restaurants set up their tables in the street in a way that was safe to do so. Soho became like a big, vibrant yet socially-distanced outdoor food and drink market. And, since it was sunny, everyone was drinking refreshing cocktails and a popular one was a Mojito. The Soho Juice Co. Cucumber, Mint, Lemon & Lime does a great job of replacing the fresh lime, mint and soda of the classic recipe, but a little extra acidity and sweetness are also needed, so I added some lime cordial to balance the cocktail out. Enjoy!”
Ingredients
50ml gin
20ml lime cordial
100ml The Soho Juice Co. Cucumber, Mint, Lemon & Lime
Mint sprigs, lime slices and cucumber slices, to garnish
Method
Add all the ingredients to a Highball glass with ice and give a quick stir to combine. Garnish and serve.
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