I was lucky enough to be invited along to some Christmas cocktail tasting at Café 21. There were nine cocktails to try, each of which we had to be rate on; presentation, taste and Christmas appeal. Therefore, each cocktail received a score out of 30. The three cocktails that scored the highest would become the Café 21 Christmas cocktails, giving customers something festive to enjoy before, alongside or after a fabulous dinner.
The first one we tasted was a Kumquat Mojito. Kumquats are currently being used in one of the puddings at Café 21; a steamed kumquat and ginger pudding. Kumquats taste like orange rind to me, they’re quite bitter. The base of this cocktail was a 50ml shot of Havana Club 7 years old which has a slight caramel taste to it. This was combined with six crushed kumquats, six fresh mint leaves, sugar syrup, lime juice and crushed ice. It was served long. It looked great but I felt it lacked Christmas appeal. The colour scheme of orange and green looked more spring or summer like. The cocktail itself was quite sharp.
The next one we tasted was a Sour Cherry Mojito. The base of this cocktail was a 25ml shot of Havana club 7 years old and a 25ml shot of Morgan’s spiced rum. This was combined with 5 wedges of lime, 8 mint leaves, brown sugar, sour cherry juice and crushed ice. It was served long. This cocktail had far more Christmas appeal because of the red and green colour scheme. I thought it would be overly sour but it wasn’t. I really liked it but felt it didn’t have a Christmas like flavour to it. It was definitely more of a feminine cocktail.
The next one we tasted was a Kentucky Muffin. The base of this cocktail was a 50ml shot of Jack Daniels black label. This was combined with apple juice, lime juice, crushed blueberries, sugar syrup and crushed ice. This was shaken then strained. It was served short in a tumbler. I’m not a big whisky fan so therefore, this cocktail didn’t appeal to me. I think this would appeal far more to men. I’d describe the colour as a pale orange. It was garnished with a cocktail stick of blueberries which was laid across the glass. I thought it lacked Christmas appeal.
The next one we tasted was a Christmas Cosmo. I was really looking forward to trying this as I love cosmos. The base of this cocktail wasn’t vodka surprisingly, it was a 25ml shot of southern comfort and a 25ml shot of Cointreau. This was combined with lime cordial, a cinnamon stick, cranberry juice and ice. This was shaken and then strained into a martini glass. The edge of the martini glass had been rubbed in cinnamon sugar. The glass was garnished with a strip of flamed orange zest. I absolutely loved this! This was right up my street! It had SO much Christmas appeal. The cinnamon sugar around the edge of the glass worked so well, it added a lovely flavour to the cocktail, I wanted to lick it off of the glass. Cinnamon to me is a winter/Christmas flavour so this just screamed Christmas at me. Cosmos themselves are such a popular cocktail so this was a brilliant twist on a classic. This was definitely more of a feminine cocktail.
The next one we tasted was a Vie en Rouge. The base of this cocktail was a 50ml shot of Grand Marnier. This was combined with cranberry juice, lemon juice and sugar syrup. These were shaken and served over crushed ice. It was served short in a tumbler and was garnished with a cinnamon stick and an orange twist. It didn’t taste alcoholic to me, it was very drinkable. You got a sweet and bitter flavour. In the words of another taster, who I won’t name, you could taste it ‘all around your tongue’. I didn’t think it had much of a Christmas appeal apart from it's pink/red colour. It was more of a male cocktail.
The next ones we tasted were shots; Amaretto Soufflé and Strawberry Coffee. The amaretto soufflé consisted of disaronno, crème de cacao clear and double cream. The strawberry coffee consisted of Kahlua coffee liqueur, crème de fraise and double cream. They looked like mini liqueur coffees or mini pints of beer. The amaretto soufflé smelt like Christmas cake, I absolutely loved it! The strawberry coffee was very interesting, you got a mix of; strawberry, cream, coffee and alcohol. It hit all the after-dinner senses you’d want it to. They were like puddings in themselves so if you didn’t fancy a pudding you could have a couple of shots instead. The amaretto soufflé was my favourite out of the two. They would be perfect for after-dinner drinking, especially for large Christmas parties who wanted to hit the shots.
The next one we tasted was an Espresso Martini. This consisted of Finlandia vodka, Kahlua coffee liqueur and crème de cacao clear. These were shaken with ice and served in a martini glass. It looked fantastic! It was garnished with coffee beans that sat on top of the double cream. It was like a cold liqueur coffee. It would make the perfect after-dinner drink. I absolutely loved it as I’m a massive fan of liqueur coffees. It didn’t taste massively alcoholic which was nice, it tasted like sweet iced coffee. This would be a great cocktail to have on the list all year round. There’s nothing particularly Christmas like about it but I LOVED it!
The last one we tasted was a Lots’O’Passion. This consisted of Finlandia vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime juice, passion fruit puree and sugar syrup. These were shaken with crushed ice and strained into a martini glass. It was garnished with a lime wheel. It lacked Christmas appeal, I thought it was more of a summer cocktail. It was quite sour but there was a hint of sweetness at the same time. It would make a great pallet cleanser or pre-dessert cocktail. This was more of a feminine cocktail.
The winners were:
1st = Christmas Cosmo
2nd = Cherry Mojito
Combined 3rd = Espresso Martini and Vie en Rouge
Lots’O’Passion has been added to the Café 21 Christmas cocktail list instead of Vie en Rouge.
My three favourites were; Christmas Cosmo, Espresso Martini and Amaretto Soufflé.
I would highly recommend paying Café 21 a visit to try one of their festive cocktails or a glass of mulled wine (gluhwein). There are lots of Christmas goodies laid out on the bar at the moment. It’s like being in a sweet shop, you turn back into being an overly excited child, well I did anyway! I bought a pack of florentines, a peanut brittle and two bars of chocolate. One bar was a milk chocolate fruit and nut bar and the other was a white chocolate bar with dried rose petals and strawberries. The florentines were very very moreish and the chocolate bars were incredible! So why not wander to Café 21 and have a cheeky Christmas cocktail and a browse of their festive treats? I’d recommend you book for lunch or dinner though as the food at Café 21 is second to none.
Tegan and I stayed for dinner after the cocktail tasting. It would have been rude not to!
To start with I had; Seared Sea Scallops with Pumpkin Chutney and Tegan had; Oeuf Bourgignon. The Oeuf Bourgignon consisted of; crispy fried egg, red wine shallots, duck confit, grilled mushrooms and duck crackling. Both were fabulous!
For main we both had; Medallions of Venison with Cherries, Walnuts and Goat’s Cheese Mash. This was such an incredible dish!
For pudding Tegan had; French Style Christmas Log and I had; Hot Lemon Curd Soufflé. Both of which were to die for!
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