Jump To Section:
St Andrew's Day in a Cocktail: Blueberry Gin Fizz
Dark nights, cold weather and local lockdowns mean we can't venture out of the house other than for the essentials, so we thought we were all in desperate need of a bit of stay at home excitement. And what is more exciting than cocktail making? Luckily, one of the members of the ScotlandShop customer experience team, Tasmin, also happens to be a cocktail genius, so we tasked her with the challenge of creating a St Andrews themed cocktail. And so the St Andrew's Gin Fizz was born. Although a Gin Fizz is not a new cocktail, Tasmin added Blueberry to give it a Scottish Saltire twist. Read on to find out how you can make yours...
You will need:
- Cocktail Shaker
- Cocktail Strainer
- Sieve
- Glasses
- Tartan Cocktail Toppers (optional, but highly recommended!)
Ingredients (for 1 Cocktail):
- 2 Shots Blueberry Gin
- 1 Shot Lemon Juice
- ½ shot Egg White (this can be substituted for aquafaba (chickpea juice)
- ½ Shot Sugar Syrup (you can make this by adding 1 part hot water to 1 part sugar. It can last up to month if kept in the fridge)
- Soda Water
- Plenty of Cubed Ice
- Handful of Blueberries
Instructions:Ingredients (for 1 Cocktail):
1. Add Gin, Lemon Juice, Egg White (or alternative) and Sugar Syrup to shaker and dry shake.
2. Then, add ice and give it a good shake.
3. Add a handful of ice and blueberries to glass(es).
4. Double strain using sieve into glass.
5. Top off with Soda Water
6. Garnish
@scotlandshopMake your very own St. Andrews Day Cocktail! ##tartan ##cocktail ##standrew ##blueberrygin ##blueberry
♬ St. Andrew - The Mother Hips
Why Gin?
Given that Scotland is renowned for it's whisky you may ask why we chose gin for our St Andrew's day cocktail. Well, in actual fact here in Scotland we've been making gin since the 1700's! The industry formed when we began trading spices and ingredients essential for gin production with the Netherlands from the port of Leith, in Edinburgh.
The spirit needed to produce gin is actually made in the same way as whisky, and in Leith there was already a booming whisky industry so it makes total sense that this became the birth place of Scottish gin. The spirit produced to make gin is flavourless so this is where the spices come in, all gins are infused with a huge variety of botanicals and spices but by law must all include juniper to be classed as Gin.
Many new distilleries now produce gin as a bit of a side line while they patiently wait for their whisky to mature, and over the last 10 years there's been a massive resurgence of the spirit. We hope that answers your question, be sure to try some gin next time you are visiting Scotland!
And there you have it, a delicious cocktail to enjoy this St Andrew's Day (or any day of the year really). We even made a video of the whole process, as we know how satisfying it is to watch a cocktail be created. Let us know if you try this recipe out for yourself, and have a secret on of your own. If you do we would love to see your pictures, send them to us on Facebook, tag us on Instagram or email us.
