I love creating recipes, restaurant reviews and travel guides, but to keep this site going I sometimes feature sponsored posts (which are all clearly marked) and I also use cookies and affiliate links (so if I link to a product I love, and you click my link and buy it, I make a bit of money!) In recent posts these are all clearly marked with *. Please note archive posts are still being updated. Additionally, I use Google Analytics to collect some (anonymised!) data about your visit. You can find out more by reading my Privacy Policy.
By hitting okay and proceeding to my site, you are agreeing to your data being used in this way.
It is time for sunshine drinks, and my sunshine drinks mostly have booze in them. If I’m drinking gin I want to mix it with either elderflower tonic water, or freshly squeezed watermelon juice with fresh basil so that I can pretend that I’m still stretched out by the pool at The Line in Los Angeles. If I’m drinking vodka, I turn to the hedgerows. I’m either after a jug full of my Lavender Vodka Lemonade, or my new favourite since I made my first ever batch of Elderflower Cordial: Elderflower Mules, my English garden inspired twist on the classic.
I realised that elderflower actually pairs rather well with ginger beer when I had them together in my first mocktail at Le Bab the other week. It is not necessary, but I got the idea to put elderflower heads if there are any left in the hedgerows from the introduction to the elderflower cordial recipe I used from A Modern Way To Eat. It essentially tastes like an English summer in a bottle, is so easy to make, and I honestly have no idea why I’ve never made it before. I’m on something of a cordial kick at the moment; I also have a bottle of this rhubarb cordial in the fridge that is also rather wonderful mixed with soda water.
A few notes on my ingredients, essentially what you’ll need to make two cocktails aside from a bottle of either homemade or shop brought elderflower cordial. I prefer a not too sweet ginger beer for cocktail making (I always buy Fentimans, but Fevertree is also great), but you’ll especially need one here to offset the sweetness of the cordial. Not pictured, I mix it with a little soda water to help with this. For for booze aspect, you may remember last summer I made Boozy Gin & Tonic Jellies with Blueberries, and I used Rock and Rose Gin from Dunnet Bay Distillers in Scotland? They now make a lovely and botanical (much more interesting than your standard) vodka called Holy Grass Vodka, and they were kind enough to send me a bottle, which is what I currently have going on my bar table right now. This recipe makes 2 drinks.
Speaking of Rock and Rose Gin, I want to get through my bottle of Holy Grass Vodka this summer as I want my other candle stick. When I got to the end of the gin it felt such a shame to throw away such a nice pottery bottle, so I found home for it as a candle stick on the kitchen table. Soon, I’ll have a pair!
This summertime twist on a classic Moscow Mule is delicious made with homemade elderflower cordial.
Ingredients
Scale
110ml (a shot in each glass) Vodka
4 tbsp Elderflower Cordial
Ginger Beer
Soda Water
1/4 Fresh Lime
Ice
Instructions
Fill two glasses with ice.
Top each one off with a shot (55ml of vodka) and 2 tbsp Elderflower Cordial. Top up with equal parts ginger beer and soda water, and finish each glass with a spritz of fresh lime.
Using a long spoon stir each glass so that everything is combined, and serve.
(Optional) Using the spoon, press down an elderflower bloom in each glass for a pretty effect.
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
My newsletter, ingredient, takes a deep dive into a different ingredient - unusual, basic or seasonal - every month delivering stories, histories and most importantly recipes right into your inbox. It's your new favourite food magazine column, but in email form!
My Book
One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
Discussion