No other city (except possibly New York) does brunch as well as Melbourne. It’s one of my favourite things about living here. A cocktail with breakfast might raise an eyebrow or two (with the exception of a breakfast martini?), but with brunch? Move along people, nothing to see here.
This is the perfect gin cocktail for brunch!
Now, I’ve already shared the Red Snapper cocktail with you, but I wanted to try a variation. You see, I’m not a fan of tomato juice, particularly commercially produced bottles or cartons, it’s just too gloopy. On my recent visit to London I spotted clear Bloody Mary’s on menus and knew I had to try it.
Creating the clear tomato juice is a bit of a faff, but it’s so worth it. It creates a brighter, fresher version of this classic drink.
Make the juice overnight in preparation for brunch the next day. I reckon you could freeze any leftovers (who are we kidding) or chuck it in the pan with your spag bol.
Ingredients for the Perfect Gin Brunch Cocktail
For the clear tomato juice
1kg of fresh tomatoes
For the cocktail
45ml Gin (I used The West Winds Gin Cutlass – bold and savoury)
120ml Clear Tomato juice
2-3 dashes of tabasco sauce
dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Celery stalk, chilli pepper, cherry tomato for garnish (optional celery salt for the rim)
Method for the clear tomato juice
Blitz the tomatoes in a blender or food processor (skins and all!).
Place a sieve over a jug and line it with a piece of muslin cloth.
Pour the blitzed tomatoes into the sieve.
Leave in the fridge for 8 hours and let gravity work its magic.
(Top tip: After a few hours I pegged the corners of the muslin together to form a bag to avoid any sloppage.)
After 8 hours, discard the tomato pulp and run the tomato juice through a clean muslin, just to be sure.
Method for making the Perfect Gin Brunch Cocktail
Add ice to a cocktail shaker
Pour in 120ml Tomato Juice and 45ml Gin. Add 2-3 dashes of Tabasco Sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is cold.
Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass and garnish with celery stalks, tomato and chilli.
Enjoy!
3 comments
“No other city (except possibly New York) does brunch as well as Melbourne.” Really? I think you might have a few Brits that would disagree: what about London?!?!?
Maybe. As a Brit living in Melbourne, I still say Melbourne is the best. (But I might be biased :))
Expats don’t count (which is why I didn’t mention Edinburgh)! 😉
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