Geranium Collins
Most of the botanicals in these recipes are readily available growing all over South East London, the elderflowers for these recipes were gleaned from Nunhead cemetery, the geraniums grow rampantly in all of our gardens and window boxes and many of the herbs were bought from the newly opened Nunhead Gardener (Oakdale Road, SE15).
Geranium Collins
- 2 parts gin
- 1 part Geranium Syrup (see recipe)
- 1 part lemon juice
- Soda to top
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.
Geranium Syrup
- 500ml water
- 500g white Sugar
- 80g scented geranium leaves
Put the sugar and water in a large heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat. Add the scented geranium leaves (lemon or rose scented are best). Stir, and leave to cool and infuse overnight. Strain and, using a funnel, decant into a sterilised bottle. This will keep in the fridge for at least a month.
WORDS: Chloe Neild
cocktailsformums.wordpress.com
PHOTOS: Penny Wincer
pennywincer.co.uk
STYLING: Juliet Baptiste-Kelly
julietbk.com
