A Celebration Cocktail To Get The Party Started

Party season is here and we’re ready to celebrate.
Invitations are flying for end-of-year gatherings, break ups, Christmas parties and summer celebrations.
And we’ve got a sensational suggestion to get your party started.

The Perfect Party Drink
The perfect party drink should capture the essence of the season. We think it should be fun, colourful and refreshing. 

We’ve taken inspiration from summer flavours and made a celebration cocktail that is special enough to serve on Christmas Day …  and will take you easily from sunset drinks on the deck to poolside all summer long.  

Our Ruby Spritz is a gin-based cocktail with a beautiful balance between the sweet and sour flavours of strawberry and rhubarb. It’s topped with sparkling water so it’s super refreshing. If you’re not drinking or would like to have a non-alcoholic option, simply leave out the gin. 

We were thrilled to discover Steampunk Distillery on the Sunshine Coast hinterland makes some very special Rhuby Myrtle Gin - lemon myrtle infused with fresh, locally grown rhubarb and strawberries. It’s absolutely perfect in this cocktail. 

What Is A Shrub?
Our Ruby Spritz is made using a ‘shrub’ which is another way of saying a syrup or cordial. It’s a concentrate that combines fruit, sugar and vinegar. This sweet, acidic mixer can be enjoyed with sparkling, still or soda water and added to a variety of spirits in mixed drinks. You can buy shrubs commercially or make your own. 

There’s a small amount of prep needed to make the shrub for our Ruby Spritz, but it’s not hard, and you can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. [We make a big batch and have it on hand.]

Make Our Ruby Spritz

Strawberry & Rhubarb Shrub 
½ cup honey
½ cup cider vinegar
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup chopped rhubarb

The Cocktail
45 ml Rhuby Myrtle Gin from Steampunk Distillery
Good quality sparkling water
Ice - we used our Pyramid mould frozen with fresh strawberries
Rhubarb ribbon to garnish
Extra strawberries to garnish 

To Make The Shrub
Combine the honey and vinegar in a saucepan. Warm over low heat until the honey dissolves. Add the strawberries and rhubarb and bring to the boil
Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir frequently until the strawberries and rhubarb begin to break down (about 10 minutes)
Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool
Pour the syrup through a mesh strainer or sieve and discard any solids
You’ll have about a cup of syrup; keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a month

Pro tips to make the garnish and ice 
Use a vegetable peeler and peel a long continuous ribbon of rhubarb from the stalk.
Wrap it (spiral it) on the inside of a highball glass. Then fill with DrinksPlinks ice shapes.
The ice helps keep the ribbon in place.
We used DrinksPlinks pyramid shapes and froze them with fresh strawberries. 
Fresh strawberries on a Pretty Picky cocktail pick make a gorgeous garnish too!

To make the cocktail 
Add the rhubarb ribbon to a highball or tall glass 
Add DrinksPlinks ice shapes
Add 30-60ml of the shrub (depending on your palate)
Add 45ml of Rhuby Myrtle Gin from Steampunk Distillery
Top with sparkling water
Garnish with fresh strawberries 
Enjoy!

Thank you Steampunk Distillery for the superb gin for the celebration cocktail.
And our thanks to Pretty Picky for the stunning handmade cocktail picks
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