earl grey g&t cockail.

They always do say you turn into your parents eventually. My mum and I both love a pot of Earl Grey when we go for afternoon tea, and we're partial to the odd gin and tonic too. Taking inspiration from the classic way to drink Earl Grey tea with lemon, I've added a cheeky kick in the form of gin to create this afternoon tea style cocktail. Of course served in your best china... Pinkies up!

cherry cava granita.

Perfect for this beautifully sunny British Summer we're having; ice cold frozen cherry Cava granita. The ideal mix between a cocktail, cold drink and dessert, this delicious cherry infused recipe is both refreshing and tasty. Oh, and so simple too! Impress your guests by making these Spanish inspired frozen Cava granitas beforehand and finishing with a deliciously juicy Jerte Picota Cherry or two.

The Picota Cherry story begins in the beautiful Spanish valley of Jerte, 200km west of Madrid. The area is famous for the incredible annual cherry blossom of over million trees - it must be a beautiful sight to see as the colour of the valley transforms from a dazzling white to colourful bursts of red and green.! The Picota Cherry blossom and harvest follow a 100% natural growing season, which is why the arrival of the Picota Cherry changes each year. 

vegan piña colada style smoothie.

Combining fruity flavours inspired by the Piña Colada cocktail, this tropical inspired drink features creamy coconut milk, wholesome banana and tangy pineapple juice to create a refreshing Summer treat. Simply whizz up the ingredients to create this dairy free, gluten free non-alcoholic Piña Colada style smoothie which goes towards your five a day. I've teamed up with the lovely lot at Wayfair to bring you a bright and bold smoothie idea, featuring their quirky mason jar glasses and rustic wooden holder. 

summer fun with feel good drinks co.

The Great British Summer! Should we plan a BBQ? Do we dare to go on a picnic? Have you stocked up on ice lollies, just in case of a glimpse of sun? It's all part of the fun, right? Right? The other weekend I invited family and friends over with the hope of a promised 18 degrees forecast and sunny spells. Gazebo up, a spot of decoration, a playlist of Indie classics and plenty of drinks from Feel Good Drinks Co. meant it was off to a good start, whatever the weather.

strawberries & cream hot chocolate.

Make your mum's day this Mother's Day with an indulgent hot chocolate recipe. Taking on the flavours of strawberries and cream, this decadent recipe is certainly a way to sweet talk her after a year of making your favourite dinner, giving you lifts to places and bailing you out of that phone bill where you went over your data limit. (Thanks Instagram). Seriously though, she's going to love this first thing on Sunday morning, alongside breakfast in bed. You have a few days to taste test it a few times for yourself too...

pink grapefruit & gin basil smash.

A fragrant, tangy and zesty cocktail recipe that gin fans will love. Featuring Fentimans new botanically brewed Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water, this gin cocktail meets aromatic fresh basil with bittersweet grapefruit tonic for a refreshing and colourful drink. 

The newest Fentimans flavours range from the likes of Ginger Beer & Muddled Lime to Rose Lemonade. As a gin lover though, I couldn't wait to play around with their great quality tonic waters in my cocktail recipes. The pink grapefruit in particular muddles together fragrant juniper berry, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass along with natural citrus flavours, quinine and grapefruit juice, making it the ideal match for your favourite gin. 

14 must try gin recipes for world gin day.

Happy World Gin Day 2016! The best day of the year, am I right? Well apart from world sushi day, cupcake day and all those other delicious excuses to eat what you fancy. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I've put together some awesome gin cocktail recipes (from my archive and other fantastic food bloggers) that you need to try! 

leicestershire country garden.

A ode to the English country garden in this third and final gin cocktail recipe with Burleigh's. Muddled with apple juice, tonic, fresh rosemary and a slice of apple, I present the Leicestershire Country Garden. This is because, in case you didn't already know, Burleigh's are a Leicestershire based distillery who create gin in the traditional way using a bespoke copper pot. This particular variety, the Distiller's Cut, is described as an exceptionally crisp and fresh gin with a sweet and citrus like palate and floral finish. This made it perfect for pairing with tart apple and aromatic rosemary in this gin lovers cocktail.

What's more, I've teamed up with Burleigh's to give you 20% their online shop with the code EMILY20. Just in time for World Gin Day! Enjoy...

burleigh's gin bramble.

A gin bramble inspired recipe, in collaboration with the fantastic Leicestershire based Burleigh's distillery. Made with two parts of their export strength gin, one part raspberry liqueur and topped up with ginger ale, this is a refreshing mix of fiery ginger, sweet raspberry and botanical gin. Perfect for sipping on this Summer...

parma violets cocktail.

A retro inspired cocktail featuring your favourite floral sweet. I've teamed up with Leicestershire based Burleigh's gin to bring you some exciting cocktail recipes on the lead up to World Gin Day 2016. Could there be a finer day? This recipe mixes their Signature London Dry Gin with violet liqueur with a twist of lemon before being topped with lemonade. This variety of their impressive gins is said to be crisp, fresh and vibrant with floral notes and a Parma Violet and lavender finish. A match made in heaven, I say.

cloudy lemonade caipirinha.

A refreshing, zesty cocktail featuring the new cloudy lemonade from The Cracker Drinks Co. The original caipirinha recipe hails from Brazil, and is made up of cachaça, sugar and lime on ice. If you can get hold of cachaça that's fab - but white rum is a good substitute here too. It's super simple to make and will be the perfect cocktail recipe when Summer comes along!

lime & jasmine collins cocktail with fentimans.

Introducing the newest addition to Fentimans botanically brewed drinks collection; Sparkling Lime and Jasmine. You'll probably recognise Fentiman's from the likes of classic Victorian Lemonade, Curiosity Cola and Dandelion and Burdock. A lover of all things vintage, their traditional British branding and flavours are something I'm instantly drawn to.

Established in 1905, I love that Fentimans bring timeless tonics, craft beers and additive-free soft drinks to the present day. In their iconic glass bottle and with the same quintessential lettering, this new addition to family has a real modern twist. Lime and jasmine flavours to me spark images of Far East; the likes of kaffir lime, Jasmine infusions, green tea and exotic plants come to mind. Botanicals are something I associate with gin too, since it's also brewed botanically.

With that, I've created an Eastern inspired twist on a classic gin cocktail, the Tom Collins. This recipe mixes Fentimans Lime & Jasmine with lime juice, sugar syrup and good quality gin to create a Lime & Jasmine Collins, if you will. Serve over ice and garnish with lime for a refreshing cocktail which complements the floral, refreshing and slightly bitter Fentimans flavour.

cherry old fashioned cocktail.

A drink that leaves you as cool as Don Draper after nailing a million dollar pitch. Having recently taken to watching the suave 1960s set series of Mad Men, the idea of muddling up an Old Fashioned couldn't be more appealing. Take your favourite whiskey, stir up sugar cube and bitters (in a sophisticated fashion, of course) and serve ice cold. A fancy short glass is a must.

When The Bar got in touch about trying out, or putting my own spin on their cocktails, I instantly reached for their Old Fashioned recipe. Traditionally made with angostura bitters, I switched up their timeless medley with my favourite flavour of cherry. By using a tangy and sour cherry bitters instead, this recipe is a tad sweeter with the same whiskey kick. Serve on ice in a short tumbler, garnished with a retro cherry and orange peel curl.

pomegranate sour.

A delicious drink for a worthy cause; bottlegreen have turned bottlepink to raise money for Breakthough Breast Cancer. The refreshing blend of exotic pomegranate and sweet elderflower will be sold across the UK with 10% of sales donated to charity. 

I wanted to show my support by featuring the drink in a recipe inspired by one of my favourite cocktails, the amaretto sour. This is a mocktail but can be created as an alcoholic version too.

muddling mojitos with laimon fresh.

become a mixologist in a matter of minutes with laimon fresh. this all natural sparkling drink is a classic mojito combination of lemon, lime and mint. just add rum and crushed ice. or if you prefer virgin cocktails, this will be perfect for you too. 

elderflower and kiwi daiquiri.

it seems summer is finally upon us... dusting off that barbecue, queuing at ice cream vans, strawberries and cream and fruity cocktails. so i thought i'd try out a little something. here i present you... a refreshing elderflower and kiwi daiquiri. 

my housemate made a gorgeous cocktail the other weekend made up of bottle green elderflower cordial, gin and lemonade so i thought i'd experiment with the bottle green sparkling elderflower i was recently sent. i realise daiquiris aren't strictly fizzy but the kiwi fruit accidentally gave the drink a texture similar to a strawberry daiquri :) i also used rum as a base ingredient but you can of course make a virgin adaptation sans rum. 

so how do you concoct one... or two?

teapigs cocktails: jasmine gin fizz and lemon and ginger mojito tea.

summer glorious summer... is it finally here? long evenings at weekends full of cocktails, posh cider and barbecue food - i just can't wait! when i saw that teapigs were inviting bloggers to try out their tea in the form of cocktails and ice tea i couldn't wait. 

i first heard of teapigs when i worked at a lovely little deli during uni. i can't believe how many more flavours there are since i tried their good old english breakfast tea and refreshing peppermint. 

you really have to try them and check out the look and feel of the teabag to really appreciate the quality - the bags (known as tea temples) are made from delicate, biodegradable mesh and you can see every single whole tea leaf, herb and flower dancing around in the bag. i hope my pictures do this justice :)

so after a little experimentation i decided to make a jasmine gin fizz and lemon and ginger mojito tea.

so how did make them...?

ola, sangria!

shopping list
♥ a bottle of red wine

♥ a bottle of non alcoholic ginger beer
♥ a cup of orange juice

♥ a cup of lemonade

♥ a large, juicy orange

♥ your best summer jug

well there isn't much to this recipe except open, pour and serve.

though after making this same sangria for the last year or so, here are a few top tips:

♥ don't worry about getting good red wine. if anything, somehow the cheaper the better.

♥ do not add too much ice to the main jug as it will water the sangria down, to get a really cool summer drink, keep the glasses in the fridge beforehand.

♥ add brandy for a real kick.

♥ warning, it tastes just like a soft drink and is therefore lethal.
♥ cocktail umbrellas and swirly straws are a must.