12 weeks to go. That’s all I’ve got left. 3 months.
Eeep.
I’ve now hit the 20km (12.7 miles) mark comfortably and next weekend it’s time for a half marathon distance. All 13.1 miles of it.
What I’m struggling with at the moment is hydration – I’m simply not drinking enough. I’m fine when I’m actually on my run, but before and after, I’m not doing myself any favours.
First up was a Hot Toddy.
Ingredients:
1 wedge of lemon
3 cloves
20ml honey
Small piece of ginger root (about 1cm) peeled and chopped.
1 cinnamon stick
100ml hot Brita filtered water Put the ginger and cloves into the base of the glass and using a muddler (you could use a bar spoon, or even a mortar for this bit) mash them up in the glass. Squeeze the lemon wedge into the glass, then add the honey. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Serve with a cinnamon stick.
I’m a big fan of the toddy anyway (my last cold endured lots of gin ones) and so this was lovely and warming, the cinnamon adding an almost medicinal twist.
Our second cocktail of the evening was the Elderflower Julep
Ingredients:
1 lemon wedge
handful of mint
25ml elderflower cordial
25ml apple juice
50ml Brita filtered water Squeeze the lemon wedge into a julep tin (you can either just use the juice, or for a more bitter flavour, add the wedge to the tin too). Then twist and clap the mint in your hands before adding to the tin. Add the rest of the ingredients, top with crushed ice and churn. Serve with a mint sprig and two straws.
I loved this. Leaving my lemon wedge in the tin gave it much more depth. The easiest way to churn is to fill the tin with ice, insert your spoon, cup one hand over the ice and move the spoon up and down in a circular motion.
On to our third cocktail, the Lavender Sour
Ingredients:
Pinch of dried lavender
12.5ml coconut sugar syrup
5ml maple syrup
50ml lemon juice
50ml Brita filtered water
Dash of lavender syrup Add all the ingredients except the lavender syrup to a Boston glass and shake with lots of ice. Strain into a short tumbler and serve topped with the lavender syrup.
Another winner for me. The lemon kept it tart, even with all the syrups and the lavender was a brilliant touch – not only lots of floral flavour, but the syrup also added a stunning blue colour to it. Yes, I’m a sucker for a blue drink.
Our final cocktail of the evening was Pink Champagne
Ingredients:
124g sugar
75ml grapefruit juice
125ml Brita filtered water
330ml ginger beer
75ml orange juice
87.5ml grenadine Add the sugar and water to a bowl or jug and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add all the other ingredients with lots of ice. Stir until chilled and serve in champagne flutes.
Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me. It was incredibly sweet. You could make this, but dial down the amount of grenadine to lessen the sweetness. The flavours were lovely and fruity, but the overly sweet nature didn’t work for me.
And in case these four weren’t enough, I’ve also discovered a list of mocktails here, for your delectation.
Chin- chin.
Luckily, earlier this month, Keeley invited me as her plus one to a mocktail event in London as she’s been taking part in Dry January with the BRITA Boost Challenge.
Admittedly, I’m more likely to take part in Ginuary than dry January, but given my hydration issues, this was going to be really useful. Part of the reason we like a drink is taste. Booze tastes good. It feels good in the mouth, the flavours slide around your tongue and then, as it makes its way down into your tummy, you feel heat and warmth, or the chill of a cold martini and satisfaction. A glass of lemonade is lovely, but it’s just not the same. So this event was set to fix that. To show us ways of creating cocktails that give us flavour and mouthfeel and satisfaction. So off we toddled to the Mixology Studios in Shoreditch for our lesson.
First up was a Hot Toddy.
Ingredients:
1 wedge of lemon
3 cloves20ml honey
Small piece of ginger root (about 1cm) peeled and chopped.
1 cinnamon stick
100ml hot Brita filtered water Put the ginger and cloves into the base of the glass and using a muddler (you could use a bar spoon, or even a mortar for this bit) mash them up in the glass. Squeeze the lemon wedge into the glass, then add the honey. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Serve with a cinnamon stick.
I’m a big fan of the toddy anyway (my last cold endured lots of gin ones) and so this was lovely and warming, the cinnamon adding an almost medicinal twist.
Our second cocktail of the evening was the Elderflower Julep
Ingredients:
1 lemon wedgehandful of mint
25ml elderflower cordial
25ml apple juice
50ml Brita filtered water Squeeze the lemon wedge into a julep tin (you can either just use the juice, or for a more bitter flavour, add the wedge to the tin too). Then twist and clap the mint in your hands before adding to the tin. Add the rest of the ingredients, top with crushed ice and churn. Serve with a mint sprig and two straws.
I loved this. Leaving my lemon wedge in the tin gave it much more depth. The easiest way to churn is to fill the tin with ice, insert your spoon, cup one hand over the ice and move the spoon up and down in a circular motion.
On to our third cocktail, the Lavender Sour
Ingredients:
Pinch of dried lavender12.5ml coconut sugar syrup
5ml maple syrup
50ml lemon juice
50ml Brita filtered water
Dash of lavender syrup Add all the ingredients except the lavender syrup to a Boston glass and shake with lots of ice. Strain into a short tumbler and serve topped with the lavender syrup.
Another winner for me. The lemon kept it tart, even with all the syrups and the lavender was a brilliant touch – not only lots of floral flavour, but the syrup also added a stunning blue colour to it. Yes, I’m a sucker for a blue drink.
Our final cocktail of the evening was Pink Champagne
Ingredients:
124g sugar75ml grapefruit juice
125ml Brita filtered water
330ml ginger beer
75ml orange juice
87.5ml grenadine Add the sugar and water to a bowl or jug and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add all the other ingredients with lots of ice. Stir until chilled and serve in champagne flutes.
Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me. It was incredibly sweet. You could make this, but dial down the amount of grenadine to lessen the sweetness. The flavours were lovely and fruity, but the overly sweet nature didn’t work for me.
And in case these four weren’t enough, I’ve also discovered a list of mocktails here, for your delectation.
Chin- chin.