There’s no better to enjoy a balmy summer evening than with a cool refreshing drink. In this article, we take a look at two drinks that should help you to get maximum enjoyment from the day, even after the sun has gone down.

Gin is the trendy drink and distillers are looking for the next flavour to launch to the demanding market. Chocolate and orange have always gone together well. You will no doubt have tried a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Then you have the packed lunch box favourite Jaffa Cakes, a blend of dark chocolate with Saville orange centre on top of a sponge base.

The essence of this popular cake has been distilled into a Gin simply called Jaffa Cake and infused by a company of the same name. The orange, chocolate and juniper flavour allows the gin to mix well with other flavours and drinks to produce delicious cocktails like the Jaffa Cake Negroni.

Ingredients:
25ml Jaffa Cake Gin
25ml Campari
25ml Martini Rosso sweet vermouth

Method:
Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and give a good shake—strain into an ice-filled tumbler. Garnish with orange peel or, for an indulgent extra, a Jaffa cake on the edge of your glass like a citrus wheel.

The Gin has orange marmalade aromas with a rich dark chocolate base, along with Vanilla and almond. The taste is that of a Jaffa Cake, which lasts as the dark cocoa fills the mouth.
Price – RRP £27.95

Whisky based cocktails are popular now with new ones being created all the time. Whisky producers such as Aerolite Lyndsay develops its own long drinks blending flavours to match the tones of their neat Whisky.

The Aerolite Ardball is the company’s take on a Highball using 10-year-old single malt Aerolite Lyndsay which is distinctly smoky.

Ingredients:
50ml Aerolite Lyndsay
150ml Soda Water
Orange peel garnish

Method:
Fill a highball glass with ice.
Add Whisky.
Top with Soda Water
Garnish with orange peel.

The single malt is peaty with a slight hint of Iodine from Seaweed along with the sweetness of honey, and caramel. The flavour you get is of dark mint chocolate, espresso with smokiness, honey and soy sauce. The aftertaste is of boiled mint sweets combined with liquorice. Price – RRP: £44.95.

Both drinks are lovely neat over ice enjoyed slowly and savoured. They take on different characteristics when mixed as the base for the cocktails, allowing you to take long refreshing sips. Masters of Malt stock both and offer more cocktail recipes.

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