Cocktail O'Clock: Catalan Bellini
My friend Hannah is currently living it up in Barcelona thanks to her very romantic husband, who has whisked her there for 30th birthday celebrations. She is the biggest gin fan I know, and tauntingly whatsapped me a particularly lovely gin cocktail she came across in a bar there the other day. I was profoundly jealous, so made it myself - I had to make a few versions first to try, you understand - and it's too good not to share.
Hannah's official Catalan Bellini was gin mare (a particularly herbaceous Mediterranean variety of gin), basil syrup, peach puree and cava. We drank the last of my peach puree with some Bollinger at her birthday last weekend, so I had to think on my feet for that one. I decided oranges are more Spanish than peaches anyway, so substituted. I tried all of my gins to decide which was the most botanical and settled on Bombay Sapphire. Conscious it isn't *actually* gin mare, I decided to make my own syrup to up the herb content. So, here it is:
One shot botanical gin
One shot freshly squeezed orange juice
One shot sugar water muddled with fresh basil and rosemary. Infuse for as long as possible.
Top up with cava
Garnish with rosemary