As the sun sets on everyone else's leave it rises on mine!!!
This past Friday, I finally got to wave the 2022 work year goodbye and as I watched everyone around me suffer from the worst case of SchMonday I have ever seen, I got ready to celebrate my two weeks of freedom!
I bought a whole bunch of stuff for New Year actually, that we didn't get to. My friend made 8 ltrs of Cosmopolitan, which I thought we'd smash, but apparently not.
It all worked out in my favour though and I've been merrily glugging it down for the last 4 days.
What did I use?
A Manly Man who is willing to fight pineapples for you (AKA @ZakLudick)
1 x Pineapple (peeled and chopped)
3 Kiwis (peeled and chopped)
A 250g punnet of strawberries (de-stalked and chopped
Litchies (about 15 of them: pitted and cut into quaters
Fresh mint and Basil harvested from our own gorgeous veggie garden
An entire bottle of pineapple vodka (42%vol)
Mango and orange juice (approx 2 to 2.5 litres)
Sprite to add bubbles RIGHT at the end and only when serving. Put it in the cocktail glass. Not into your punch.
Ice, which should also only be added when you're actually serving. Otherwise, your lovely cocktail mix will be watery. Ew. Once again, put this into your GLASS not the cocktail mix.
So, we honestly made fruit salad with the above (excluding the vodka and the herbs, of course) and ate some for dessert the night before.
I then used what was left, which was about 2/3rds, which was still very substantial. Making this mix in advance is actually advised as it will give the flavours a chance to mingle, especially the mint and basil. You won't taste the herbs at all if you just serve them immediately. Remember to refrigerate and store UPRIGHT. The fruit will continue to ferment and you don't want it leaking out all over your fridge. A Plastic bottle expands so that's also helpful. You should have drank the whole lot long before any of this happens though 😅😅😅😅😅
No, I did not make homemade booze during the South African Lockdown Alcohol Prohibition in 2020.......🙈😜................
When you are ready to serve, find the most beautiful cocktail glasses you own, and yes, size does count. This stuff is so yummy: you don't want to be running to the fridge every five minutes to refill your glass :p
The rule is generally cocktail mix 1st, then ice, then sprite.... which should give you nice layers. If you're fancy and have grenadine, you can sprinkle a bit on top and it will look super pretty. You'll then need to serve with a swizzle stick or a straw.
I did not have these things so I did Ice 1st, then cocktail mix and then sprite.
After enough of them, you won't really care though.... and that's the point 😍😍😍
