The Spice of Life
It’s been another couple of busy weeks with team Daffy’s!
Last weekend we were proud to be exhibiting at Glasgow’s first ever Juniper Festival #bestginfest and it’s safe to say that Glasgow loves Daffy’s! As Halloween is round the corner, I thought it fitting to demonstrate a boozy alternative to Starbuck’s best selling seasonal drink; the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Although the recipe calls for milk, the drink is clarified, and brings a new meaning to your morning elixir.
Once hot milk is added to the gin, syrup and citrus, it begins to curdle. This can then be strained to create a clear, cocktail that’s full of flavour and intensity! For the full method see below.
Manchester
This week I made my first trip to Manchester to discover what the bar scene has to offer, and it definitely didn’t disappoint! I hosted a great evening at the Allotment, talking all things gin and mixing with the bartenders. The staff were kind enough to not only come up with some tasty cocktails, but created delicious petit fours to pair with the drinks. Check out our Instagram #DAFFYSGIN for what was on offer.
As usual, life at Daffy’s merges work and play so I did manage to taste an array of spirits, liqueurs and cocktails, the highlight being an intriguing combination of Distilleries Provence’s Grande absinthe, coconut milk and orgeat, mixed by the talented Lulu Fedi of Gleneagles bar. Absinthe may not be for everyone, but it can work if you pair it with equally flavoursome ingredients.
The Scottish Home Show
This weekend, Anna and I are exhibiting at the Scottish Home Show in Aberdeen, and today has been particularly exciting as we were presented with this awesome lamp, handmade by the talented Barry Scott of Fused Lightbulb who transforms unwanted items into unique lighting fixtures and furniture. Check them out here:
https://www.facebook.com/thefusedlightbulb/. (Photograph by Michal Wachucik) Can’t say we were sad to be a couple of doors down from Woods Brownie Co. – gin and chocolate is definitely a game changer!
Clarified Pumpkin Spiced Latte Recipe
- 500mls Daffy’s Gin
- 3 lemons
- 70gr coffee beans
- 30gr cardamom pods
- 20gr cloves
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 20gr black peppercorns
- 1 orange
- 200gr fresh pumpkin (chopped in small pieces)
- 500gr Demarera sugar
- 500mls full fat milk
- Peel the lemons, ensuring to remove as much pith as possible from the peels.
- Infuse the peels in gin and seal. Leave refrigerated for 48hrs. You will need to juice from the lemons later.
- Peel the orange, ensuring to remove as much pith as possible from the peels.
- In a pot, bring to boil the coffee beans, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, orange peel, fresh pumpkin in 700mls water. Once boiled, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
- Strain the liquid into a separate pot and return to heat. Once all the spices have been removed, add 500gr demarera sugar to the liquid and stir continuously over heat until sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice from peeled lemons.
- Mix Daffy’s with the syrup, having removed the lemon peels from the gin.
- In separate pot, heat the full fat milk, remove before has reached boiling pot and add to gin and syrup mix. Mix thoroughly and the milk should curdle. Leave the mixture to infuse overnight in refrigerator.
- Use a sieve to remove larger pieces of whey. Once sieved, use cheese cloth to filter the remaining mixture. This step will have to be repeated several times until the cocktail becomes clear.
Enjoy!
