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The Shake Down
Fife Lane shares superlative summer cocktails that look and taste very profesh, but are eminently achievable for the backyard barman.
Fife Lane bar manager Scott Hinton shares superlative summer cocktails that look and taste very profesh, but are eminently achievable for the backyard barman.
Party season is go! And while a classic G&T or glass of chilled rosé is lovely, offering your guests
an impressive cocktail (that’s simple to make) just seems a lot more fun.
As longtime fans of Fife Lane’s drinks list, we thought we’d ask bar manager Scott Hinton to part
with the recipes for some of our favourite drinks.
The coconut chilli margarita is Fife Lane’s most popular cocktail, and now you have the recipe
— you’re welcome! We’ve included the Little Biddy cocktail from the restaurant’s much-loved menu
of Gin Sips. “We use Little Biddy because it’s a New Zealand product and we need to support local more than ever right now,” says Scott. “It also has some interesting native botanicals, such as horopito and tarata [lemonwood].”
We’ve also thrown in a sexy Champagne cocktail for the silly season, and a fruity passionfruit caprioska that’s just perfect for summer.
And if you’re the type that fancies a dessert cocktail, more than an actual dessert, you’ll have to
get to Fife Lane soon to try its new list, which includes drinks inspired by Pineapple Lumps and orange choc chip ice cream.
Passionfruit Caprioska
Chill a rocks glass (a short tumbler) with ice. Add the following ingredients to a Boston shaker:
30ml Stolichnaya Vodka, 30ml passionfruit liqueur (we use De Kuyper, Passoã is an alternative), 30ml passionfruit pulp* and ½ fresh lime, cut into small chunks. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well combined. Discard ice from chilled glass, then pour in contents of shaker. Garnish with a dehydrated lime wheel and stainless-steel cocktail straw. Makes 1.
*Note We use Tasti Passionfruit pulp and blend so it doesn’t have whole seeds. You can use fresh passionfruit when it’s in season, but you’ll need to add some sugar syrup to balance out the taste.
Coconut Chilli Margarita
For the chilli salt rim, combine 5g chilli flakes and 40g iodised table salt in a blender. We use a margarita glass rim tool, but at home you can use 2 side plates: pour 15ml lime juice on one plate
and the chilli salt mixture on the other. Place rim of each glass into the juice, then into the chilli salt. Set aside. Chill desired glass with ice (we use a martini glass but you can use a coupe or even a rocks glass). Add 15ml De Kuyper Triple Sec Liqueur (substitute Cointreau), 45ml 1800 Coconut Tequila, 30ml lime juice and 15ml sugar syrup to a Boston shaker, fill shaker with ice and shake for
15 seconds (the longer you shake, the colder it gets). Discard ice from chilled glass and strain contents from shaker into the glass. Serve with or without ice. Garnish with sliced fresh lime. Makes 1.
French 75
Chill preferred glass with ice (we use a Champagne flute or coupe). Add the following ingredients to
a Boston shaker without ice: 30ml Stolichnaya Vodka, 30ml Beefeater London Dry Gin (or use your favourite gin, but note that any flavoured gin will change the taste), 30ml lemon juice, 30ml sugar syrup (or to taste) and ½ eggwhite (optional*). Shake to emulsify the eggwhite slightly (if using), then add ice and shake vigorously until combined. Strain into a chilled glass and top with Champagne or sparkling wine (about 60ml) — we use G.H. Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne. Garnish with a slice of dehydrated citrus or fresh lemon. Makes 1.
*Note The optional eggwhite creates a foam and is purely for presentation.
Little Biddy Gin Sip
Add the following ingredients to your selected glass (we use a wine glass but a gin balloon or highball are also good options): 45ml Little Biddy Gin, 6 dried juniper berries (from supermarkets), 1 slice orange and 3 sprigs fresh coriander. Fill with ice, then pour in East Imperial Royal Botanic Tonic (substitute Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic) and stir. Garnish with a dehydrated or fresh orange slice and stainless-steel straw. Makes 1.
Garnish Like a Pro
Dehydrated fruit looks downright classy as a cocktail garnish, and it’s simple to make, even if you don’t have a dehydrator. Scott says: “You can use most citrus, but at Fife Lane we find limes work best and are the most versatile. Just slice your citrus to the desired thickness and place onto an oven tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven at about 75°C for about 1 hour (depending on thickness), turning once, until the fruit is light brown on both sides.
