BOTTLED COSMO

If your friends are anything like mine, a gathering at the house can be a little hard to organise, so removing as many difficulties as possible is a plus. This is a very welcome variation on the Cosmopolitan that seems to suit all palates, and leads to a brisk, dry yet fruity serve that’s easy to put together. Simply take the bottle outside with some ice, glasses and chilled ginger ale and let everyone help themselves.

1 lemon

3 limes

4 shots (100ml) cranberry juice

12 shots (300ml) citrus vodka 8 shots (200ml) Cointreau

1 teaspoon orange bitters

2 (fresh or dried) bay leaves cubed ice chilled ginger ale, to finish orange, to garnish lavender sprigs, to garnish

To make the Bottled Cosmo mix, take 1 strip of lemon zest and 3 strips of lime zest using a peeler, and juice the limes with a hand-squeezer.

Mix the peels, citrus juice, cranberry, booze, bitters and bay leaves in a large jug. Rest for at least 10 minutes, then strain and pour into a clean bottle. Cap and keep well chilled.

To serve, fill a narrow highball glass with ice and add 2 shots (50ml) Bottled Cosmo mix. Cut a strip of orange peel using a peeler. Top with chilled ginger ale, and garnish with the orange twist and a lavender sprig.