When I’m out at a bar or restaurant, I like to order cocktails. They were once very expensive, but I’ve recently found that they’re not that much more than a large glass of wine or a spirit and mixer any more. But so much more fun! When I’m at home, I rarely make cocktails – it feels a bit weird cracking out a cocktail making kit just for the two of us. However, I’m hoping that we’ll be able to make some cocktails when we eventually move into our house and have a house warming party (my friends will no doubt hold me to that, now!)

I recently attended an event by Teisseire, which I wrote about here. They sent me some of their cordials to try out some cocktail recipes at home, to get some practice in before the housewarming! And because they were all 0% sugar, I was really keen to see what they would taste like and whether you would be able to notice a difference in the flavour. After all, cocktails can be rather calorific, so every little helps, right?

Cypriot Brandy Sour

   

This was one of our family’s favourite drinks when we lived in Cyprus – very easy to drink (some might say too easy!) and a great way to quench your thirst in the sun! Unfortunately I didn’t have any KEO brandy like I would have done back in Cyprus, but I made do with the one we had in the house.

Ingredients

25ml Teisseire Lemon 0% Sugar

50ml Brandy

A few drops of Angostura Bitters

Lemonade (to top up)

Golden Caster Sugar

Ice Cubes

Method

For decoration, wet the rim of the glass with some water and press onto a plate of golden caster sugar. It’s a bit naff and old-school, but I like it 😉

Pour the brandy, angostura bitters and Teisseire Lemon 0% Sugar into a cocktail shaker with some crushed ice and give them a good shake! Pour into a glass with some ice cubes and then top up with the lemonade.

Grapefruit G & T 

   

I don’t normally like to eat grapefruit as I find it far too sharp. But when I tried the pink grapefruit (or ‘pamplemousse’ – possibly one of the best French words!) at the Teisseire event, I really liked it! This is similar to the drink I tried at the event.

Ingredients

25 ml Teisseire Grapefruit 0% Sugar

50 ml Gin

Tonic (to top up)

Freeze Dried Raspberry

Ice Cubes

Method

For decoration, similarly with the brandy sour, wet the rim of the glass and dip into freeze-dried raspberry.

Pour the Teisseire Grapefruit 0% Sugar into the glass, followed by the gin and tonic. Add a few ice cubes and you’re ready to go!

Fruity Fizz 

   

I decided to try a non-alcoholic cocktail, as not everybody is going to want to drink at a party!

Ingredients 

25ml Teisseire Grenadine 0% Sugar

50ml Pineapple Juice

50ml Orange Juice

Lemonade (to top up)

1 lemon

1 orange

Ice

Method

Pour the pineapple and orange juice into a cocktail shaker with the Teisseire Grenadine 0% Sugar and some ice, and shake well.

Pour into the glass and top up with lemonade and ice.

Decorate the side of the glass with slices of lemon and orange as you see fit.

Caramel Hot Toddy

Ingredients

25ml Whisky

Cup of Coffee

4 Teisseire Caramel Drops

Method

This is a simple one – just make a cup of black coffee, using whichever brand of coffee you would like, add a dash of whisky and 4 Teisseire Caramel Drops. Perfect for those days when it’s cold and rainy outside and you’re snuggled up on the sofa!

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I really enjoyed making the cocktails – I had to get quite a lot of ingredients in to make them, so I think that if I was having a party, I would focus on one kind of cocktail for the evening. My favourite was the Cypriot Brandy Sour, but probably just because it reminds me of home 🙂 And I really couldn’t notice a difference in using sugar-free cordials, which has to be a good thing!

If you’d like to try out any of these cocktail recipes, you can buy the Teisseire cordials at Waitrose, or find out more at their website.

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I was provided with the sirops by Teisseire and Iris Worldwide to try out some recipes but did not receive any payment. All views are my own.