Sam is taking a well deserved break from the DIYs this week so I thought I would jump in with my own little tutorial for y’all. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love all things food related; so it makes sense that my favourite kind of wedding favours just so happen to be food and drink ones. I also love any excuse to play around in the kitchen so I thought I would whip up some tasty cordial recipes, inspired by last week’s signature drink post, to share with you. Cordials are basically flavoured simple syrups that you add to soda water or other beverages to flavour them, and they are perfect for creative cocktail making. This summer I’m really into testing out different flavour combinations and decided to give you two recipes to try out. First up is a grapefruit thyme cordial, and I have to admit that this is a love it or hate it concoction. The flavour is quite unique and has a slightly medicinal quality to it from the thyme (that pretty much being the love it or hate it part). That being said, it is quite delicious when mixed with wine and soda to make a spritzer, and I recommend you give it a try before writing it off completely. If the medicinal quality isn’t doing it for you, simply use less thyme or omit it altogether. For the second recipe, I went with the slightly more conventional combinationa of mint and cucumber; always super refreshing and perfect for summer. Make sure to check out all my serving suggestions below!
Ingredients for Grapefruit Thyme Cordial:
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 ½ cups of water
- juice from 2 large pink grapefruits
- handful of thyme (to taste)
Ingredients for Cucumber Mint Cordial:
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 ½ cups of water
- 1/2 an english cucumber, thinly sliced
- handful of mint
Cooking Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally
2. Once all the sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly
3. Remove from heat and strain liquid into individual containers
4. Chill in the fridge
Tips and tricks: To adjust the flavour of the cordial to your personal taste, use less or more of the herbs and feel free to remove them during the cooking process when you have achieved the desired potency.
Packaging Suggestions:
1. Use vintage or new glass bottles and jars to store your cordial
2. Make sure to clean and sterilize your bottles before filling them
3. Guests may not know what cordial is or how to use it so attach a tag with a few serving suggestions
4. Make custom labels using clear decals so the beautiful colour of the cordial can shine through
5. Alternatively, you can use a custom rubber stamp (painted with a glass paint pen) to label your bottles
Serving Suggestions:
1. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of grapefruit thyme cordial over ice and add equal parts white wine and soda
2. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of grapefruit thyme cordial over ice, add 1 oz. of gin, and top up with soda
3. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of grapefruit thyme cordial over ice, add equal parts lillet and gin, and top up with tonic water
4. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of cucumber mint cordial over ice, add the juice of half a lime, and top up with ginger beer
5. Mix cucumber mint cordial with lemonade and add 1oz. of vodka (optional)
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