XINJIANG’COCKTAIL

In all honesty，I have never really enjoyed cocktails much，always finding them either too sweet to the point that my fingers stick to the glass，or so alcoholic that I feel myself getting Asian red face flush after just two sips！So when we decided to embark on the journey of designing cocktails，and choosing snacks to complement them，I wanted to apply the principles of making sweet dishes in mixing and matching flavours to create something more like liquid desserts than beverages.And neither are they allowed to be too sweet nor too strong！

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

300ml pomegranate juice

1 slice of peeled fresh root ginger

1 preserved Chinese plum

Xinjiang Spice Mix，for coating the glass rim

25ml Gordon’s gin

25ml sugar syrup

25 mllemon juice

1.Pour 250ml of the pomegranate juice into a sturdy plastic container with a lid and freeze overnight until solid.

2.Remove the granita from the freezer and，using a fork，scrape the surface to create a slush，then refreeze until ready to use.

3.Meanwhile，leave the ginger and preserved Chinese plum in the remaining 50ml pomegranate juice to infuse overnight.

4.When ready to serve，prepare a champagne coupe by rotating the rim through a saucer of water，then repeat with a saucer of the spice mix.

5.Strain the infused pomegranate juice into a bottle or jug and stir in the gin，sugar syrup and lemon juice.

6.Scoop the pomegranate granita into the glass and pile on one side，then pour over the cocktail and serve.

hancheng

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