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Top 12 Cocktails Recipes

30 July 2021 - Destinations

Discover the ideal cocktails in the summertime: Your most tasty and refreshing drinks by the beach.

#5: Red Bean Pisco Sour

In May, it’s time to play! Celebrate the return of sunny days with this absolutely indulgent drink. What we are looking for here is a gourmet twist on the classic Pisco Sour, both fresh and generous, introducing a twofold use of kidney beans: one, to densify the cinnamon syrup, making it more chocolaty and creamy without added sugar, and two, by using “aquafaba”, in other words their “liquid”, to whip up a mousse similar to that of egg whites, though even airier. The salt will help the mousse rise and bring out the iodised taste of the pisco.

6cl of pisco
2.5cl of lime juice
2cl of cinnamon-kidney bean syrup
4cl of kidney bean aquafaba
A pinch of salt

Put it all together in a shaker, then give it a dry shake without ice to whip up the aquafaba. Then shake again with a few ice cubes and filter through a sieve into a champagne glass. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

#6: My Tai

The legendary Mai Tai with an acidic and exotic twist: the acidity takes on all its nuances when the lime and passion fruit mingle, all of it sweetened by a frothy and creamy macadamia nut orgeat. The combination of three rums, far from making the drink too strong, instead brings a great depth to the notes of alcohol and gives each sip a unique and evolving flavour. The most beautiful of beach cocktails!

2.5cl of white rum (I use Thai Chalong Bay rum for its smoothness)
1.5cl of Clairin Communal rum
1.5cl of lime juice
1cl of passion fruit juice
1.5cl of macadamia nut orgeat
1.5cl of Grand Marnier
A few leaves of Thai coriander

Put it all together in a shaker with four or five ice cubes, mix vigorously, then “dirty pour” into a tumbler or “Old Fashioned” glass. Decorate with half an empty passion fruit filled with “overproof” rum (over 50° alcohol). Flambé the rum with a lighter and serve at once. here
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#7: Mule des Calanques

The Moscow Mule has inspired many other mule cocktails drawing from different cultures. Here’s my take, bringing together flavours I associate with the South of France with the gingery and lemony element of the classic cocktail. To the sensual power of the ginger, I have added the herbaceous freshness of linden and aniseed, nuanced by a crisp pear. Startling and full of sun.

3.5cl of Pastis
1.5cl of Blanche de poire mixed with Provencal herbs (leave the herbs to macerate for 24 hours)
1.5cl of honey cordial with linden (a cordial is a syrup that’s low on sugar and almost acidic thanks to the citrus zest added during the infusion process)
1.5cl of lime juice
3-4 dashes of Angostura Bitters
1 ginger beer

Shake vigorously then filter over ice cubes into a copper mug. Top up with ginger beer (I recommend Luscombe for its strong aromatic flavour).

#8: Yasmina Colada

An original Piña Colada recipe is always a delicate subject because the coconut has an overwhelming quality. It is therefore important to try and use the coconut as a background colour onto which other colours can be added: here, some peach, jasmine and cane sugar caramelised with Jamaican rum perfectly blend with it to provide a light, generous dessert drink that melts in the mouth.

5cl of Jamaican rum
2cl of lime juice
2cl of coconut syrup
2cl of peach juice with jasmine (infuse the jasmine on a low heat for 30 minutes)

Shake energetically with ice cubes and filter into a champagne glass. It can also be served as a granita. To do so, place the cocktail in a granita machine, then add 5cl of water per cocktail into the mixture so that it freezes.

#9:“Beach, don't kill my vibe”

This drink is a UFO, a concept cocktail whose aim is to make you taste “the flavour of the beach”, in other words a combination of the taste and smell you experience when you’re lying on a beach towel in the sun and a soft breeze caresses your face. In September, when all you want is to go back to the beach, the distinctive smell of this cocktail’s iodine tincture evokes the ocean breeze, while its syrup of hot sand and monoi oil take you back to the shore. Can you feel the beach vibe yet?

5cl of vodka fat-washed with monoi oil (carefully select a food oil)
2cl of hot sand syrup (roast the sand until it’s very hot and infuse with sugar syrup, with 10cl of peated whisky and 10 black cumin seeds for every litre of syrup ; filter with a coffee filter)
2cl of lime juice
A teaspoon of saline solution

Put it all together in a shaker and mix energetically with ice. Double-filter into a champagne glass whose rim has been decorated with coconut sugar (to do so, rub the rim of the glass with lime and dip it into a saucer filled with coconut sugar).

#11:“Chrysanthemum #3”

Chrysanthemums numbers 1 and 2 are classic drinks, greatly appreciated by dry cocktail lovers. Less strong than Dry Martinis, they provide a great freedom for improvisation and a lovely freshness, while keeping the straight and dry aspect one looks for in this type of drink. This #3 is my interpretation of the cocktail. It is incisive and herbaceous, while honouring Benedictine, a mild aromatic liquor made by Benedictine monks which helps cheer up people who might feel gloomy towards the end of the year.

5cl of Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat or Dolin Dry)
2.5cl of Benedictine
1cl of lemon juice
2 dashes of aromatic Angostura Bitters

Rinse a champagne glass with absinthe (pour a few drops into the glass then turn it to dampen the sides). In a large glass, mix all the ingredients with ice cubes, then pour the mixture into the champagne glass while straining it from the ice. Decorate with a flower soaked in lavender fragrance (my advice is to use a lavender-flavoured bitter, which is easier to work with than essential oil – which needs to be carefully dosed).

#12: Crazy Diamond

Let’s round off the year with our version of one of the most ludicrous drinks on the classic cocktail repertoire: the Diamond Ramos Gin Fizz! In a traditional bar, it is tradition for the bartender to shake the mixture for 10 to 20 minutes to raise it until the cream takes on the desired airy consistency. Here, we are taking this drink to new festive heights by giving it a gleam of cognac and a touch of absinthe, embellished by champagne and orange blossom. A complex-free celebration of flavours and partying, a cocktail which really lingers while invading the senses and enchanting the palate with a slightly iodised tinge, which tickles the tongue and makes you want more.

4cl of cognac (Augier L’Océanique is recommended)
1cl of absinthe
2cl of sugar syrup
2cl of lemon juice
2cl of fresh liquid cream
1 egg white
1 pinch of salt
2 drops of orange blossom
Champagne

Put it all together in a shaker and mix without ice for 7 to 10 minutes (or put the preparation into a blender to whip up the eggs), then shake with ice and pour while filtering out the ice into a tall glass. Top up with champagne and the orange blossom.