Hello, dear reader and welcome to 2017’s last instalment of Ben Tries. As we are in the month of December it seemed only fitting that I try something festive. So today I am trying Christmas drinks, as someone who doesn’t actually drink it can be hard navigating Christmas, as non-drinkers are quite often left forgotten. So for this Ben Tries I am going to be MAKING (complete with recipes) and TRYING 5 non-alcoholic Christmas Beverages. So buckle up because this is a good one. Also as Christmas is a time for family, I will be trying these with my Sister…
Virgin Mojito
You Will Need:
1 Highball Glass (or similar)
15 Mint Leaves
1 Teaspoon/5 grams of Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons/30ml of Lime Juice (fresh or from a bottle)
Ginger Beer To top
Ice
Method:
Add the mint, sugar and lime juice and muddle (crush/mush with a spoon) add ice, top with Ginger Beer (stir) top with mint for decoration.
Ben: I loved how refreshing this is when I looked at how much mint I put in I thought I wouldn’t like it, but I could enjoy this again and learn to like it.
Rachel: This tastes like the perfect Mojito.
If Ginger Beer is not your thing, you could use soda water, sparkling water or lemonade.
For the drinkers out there or if you don’t want to remember this Christmas omit the ginger beer and use rum and soda water in equal measures.
Sham-pagne
You Will Need:
1 Champagne Flute
3rd of a Glass Lime Cordial
3rd of a Glass Elderflower Cordial
Fridge Cold Sparkling Water to Top
Method:
Pour all in the ingredients into your glass of choice and stir.
Ben: This was quite bitter, which I guess was the sparkling water, it was a bit plain for my taste really.
Rachel: This was lovely and refreshing, it looks just like champagne too so that's a plus I guess !!
For the drinkers out there omit all the ingredients and buy a sparkling wine.
Cranberry Fizz
You Will Need:
1 Squat shaped Glass (Wrong glass pictured oops!)
3rd of a Glass Ginger Beer
3rd of a Glass Cranberry Juice
3rd of a Glass Ice
Splash of Lemon Juice
Sugar or crushed sweets for the rim of the glass
Method:
Rub lemon around the rim of the glass, dip into the sugar/sweets. Add the ice, cranberry, add the splash of lemon and top up with the Ginger Beer.
Ben: This was bitter but fresh, the ginger at the end made it sweeter.
Rachel: Too much ginger beer in this one, not for me.
If Ginger Beer is not your thing, you could use soda water, sparkling water or lemonade.
For the drinkers out there omit the ginger beer and add a sparkling wine or alcoholic ginger beer.
Shirley Temple
You Will Need:
1 Large Whiskey Glass
3/4 Glass of Ginger Beer
A Glug of Grenadine
Orange
Maraschino Cherries
Ice
Straw
Method:
Pour the Ginger Beer over the ice, add a healthy glug of Grenadine, stir with the straw. Drop in a couple of the cherries (don’t worry about washing them, the syrup adds to this drink). Add a slice of orange to the glass by cutting halfway up the orange piece to slip over the rim of the glass.
Ben: Cherry, Ginger and SO sweet. This was amazing.
Rachel: Too much for me, this tasted like cherryade. Really not that nice.
If Ginger Beer is not your thing, you could use soda water, sparkling water or lemonade.
For the drinkers out there omit the ginger beer and add a sparkling wine or alcoholic ginger beer.
Elderflower Collins
You Will Need:
1 Largish Glass
1 Tablespoon/15ml of Elderflower Cordial
2 Desertspoons/20ml of Lemon Juice
San Pellegrino Limonata
Ice
Lemon and Mint to Decorate
Method:
Pour all the liquids over ice, stir and garnish.
Ben: So Bitter, FAR to bitter for me.
Rachel: Lovely, this is so refreshing and lemony. Equal with the Mojito.
For the drinkers out there hold back some of the San Pellegrino Limonata and add 3 Tablespoons/45ml of Gin
So there you have it, 5 drinks made and tried and my verdict is in:
5th place goes to the Sham-pagne - too plain
4th place goes to the Elderflower Collins - very bitter, but could be drunk
3rd place goes to the Virgin Mojito - refreshing and tart - great with nibbles
2nd Place goes to the Cranberry Fizz - a nice mix of flavours and sweeter
1st Place goes to the Shirley Temple - so sweet and delicious- my true winner.
Whatever you choose to make and drink just make sure it is done responsibly, and remember to have fun this Christmas...
There you go a year of Ben tries draws to a close, I have tried so many things this year from Tea, Cheese, Red Nail Polish, Bread, Birthday Parties, Glasses and Cleansers. I hope you have enjoyed the ride. Maybe just maybe Ben Tries will return for 2018.
