A festive gin cocktail to see in the New Year

While only a constructed mechanism of the Gregorian calendar (and I live in a place where many follow the Hijri version!), I think there will be a collective sigh of relief as the page turns on 2016. I won’t list the multiple reasons for this as I’m sure no-one needs reminding – although I did see a tweet from @MsTexas1967 that conjectured:

It is becoming increasingly obvious that David Bowie has established a better alternate universe and is populating it selectively one-by-one

I think we all need an excuse to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and leap forward with optimism and grit; the latter needed to change the things we despair of, in an increasingly intolerant world controlled by a handful unelected powerful players. Simple eh?!

After the privilege of joyful feasting with family and friends over these last few weeks, I’ll also be joining the legions in a few diet and exercise resolutions. My motivations are health, strength, ability to do the things I enjoy for as long as possible. It’s also being able to appreciate the abundance more fully when treats are reserved for special occasions.

But until then, I give you my final gin cocktail of the year, once more created by Denzel Heath – bartender extraordinaire from the MMI Bar Academy.

Named after the Noel Bar in Greece where it is Christmas all year round this has the flavours of summer fruits (perfect for a Dubai winter), Sipsmith – one of my very favourite gins (although you could use another London dry gin) and some beautiful dry Fino sherry which you can keep in the fridge and use as an aperitif (perfect with green olives). Finally there is Champagne because this is the festive season after all.

Here’s to Denzel for a year of wonderful gin cocktails and advice. You can find all my gin recipes and more, here.

Desert Fizz – Dubai Desert Classic in a cocktail

Denzel Heath

Martini Royale Punch 2.0 – A punch to get the heart racing

Jimmy Meyer – a cocktail for salad days

Hotter than July – a cooling St James’s Swizzle

Sloe Sling for summer days

Country Garden Bitter Sorbet – a cool twist on a Negroni

Sir Francis Drake gimlet the solution to empty nest syndrome?

VOC Daisy – to sip under the stars

And raising a glass to you all in massive thanks, especially my regular readers who fill me with so much joy and gratitude. It’s great to connect over shared interests and I wish you a very happy 2017.

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