Irish coffee
Preparation
You want the drink to stay piping hot until it's finished so heat the glass beforehand.
Put the sugar in the glass at bottom and add a splash of coffee (it's important to dissolve the sugar properly before you add the cream)
Then add the whisky, and then the cream
You want the cream to float on the top.
The skill is to use Two spoons: you must invert one spoon over the glass - dip it into the coffee first so it’s hot.Using the other spoon, you take a spoon of the lightly whipped cream and pour it over the inverted spoon so that it just slides gently into the class.That helps to keep surface tension.
Once the Irish coffee is holding the first layer on top, you can then top up with quite a bit of cream.It’s the first bit that is the risky bit.
Put a coffee bean on top to finish it off.
The ratio of coffee to whiskey is important, don’t put your finest whiskey in! A whiskey with a bit of spice that will compete with the coffee.You don’t want the whiskey to be lost, so keep the coffee limited enough.
Hot port
It’s important not to use your best port here.Ruby port is absolutely fine.It’s nice and sweet, so no need for extra sugar.
Use equal parts port and very hot water, not boiling though
Add a cinamon stick and a slice of lemon, studded with at least three cloves
Squeeze of fresh lemon – optional.
Hot whiskey
It’s the same as hot port, in most ways, but you add sugar as it doesn’t have the sweetness of port.
Like with the Irish coffee, use a robust whiskey or a blended whiskey.
Clove syrup
These syrups are a great way of getting flavour into hot cocktails and
Ideal if catering to a group to make in advance.
Preparation
Mix 2:1 water to sugar, always use brown sugar, demerara or muscovado
Add cinnamon or cloves or both to the syrup.
Simmer the syrup with cloves and you use that sugar syrup instead of adding sugar.
Put in a lemon slice – again with the three cloves - and a little squeeze of lemon juice
Mulled wine
Pick up a spice sachet or make your own with one of those empty teabags you can buy, or with muslin. Alternatively you can just put the spices right in and strain it afterwards – it’s just a bit messy is all.
The flavours here are similar enough – winter spices: add citrus peel, citrus juice, whole cloves, a cinnamon stick.
Add grated nutmeg, use the finest grater
Star anise is a nice option here too for mulled wine.
Ingredients
- 100g sugar to a bottle of wine [75cl], use two bottles of wine here
- Don’t waste a quality wine for this
- It’s important to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved
- Boil and then reduce to a hard simmer – but not so high that the alcohol boils off
Jamie Oliver makes a base syrup to mix with the wine to really draw out the spices.He mixes the sugar and spices with a cup of water or wine.Then brings it to the boil and reduces to a hard simmer to draw out flavours.Then he adds the bulk of the wine afterwards so he avoids boiling off the alcohol.
Hot mocktail
You can make mulled cider in a similar way to the mulled wine And a mulled apple juice is just a non-alcoholic version of that.
Use all the same spices but add some orange juice, so it’s not so heavy
For the apple version, use no sugar, or at least LESS sugar than for mulled wine.