AUTUMN AND WINTER RECIPES

Aqua Vitae

As it starts to get colder, the best way to stay warm indoors is with a delicious drink. Discover our new Aqua Vitae Winter recipes with cocktails and drinks designed to keep you toasty this winter.

We have discovered that Aqua Vitae is an incredibly versatile drink  that can be used to make the most amazing winter recipes, which are perfect for Christmas parties and entertaining. What better way to celebrate Christmas or Hogmanay than with one of these drinks in your hand?

The Perfect Serve

Our suggested perfect serve for Aqua Vitae is to take a Highball glass filled with ice, pour over 50ml of Aqua Vitae, top with Merchant’s Heart Ginger Ale, and garnish with a twist of Orange.

Milk and Honey

Tipping our hat to our Tironensian heritage we follow in the innovative footsteps and ideals of our founding Friars as we take a classic cocktail to the next level.

Take 50ml Aqua Vitae, 1 teaspoon of wildflower honey, 50ml fresh milk, 25ml fresh double cream, and a dash of orange biters. Add all ingredients to a shaker and stir with ice. Strain into an ice filled rocks glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick, grated nutmeg and a dusting of icing sugar.

Just as stunning with dairy free milk alternatives, I personally love mine with almond milk.

The perfect tipple to leave on the fireplace for Santa this Christmas Eve. Accompanied by a homemade Aqua Vitae mince pie of course.

Lindores Fog

Taking a drink more commonly found in the coffee shops or tea rooms of London we give this warm serve a Scottish twist – Lindores style.

Make a nice strong brew of Earl Grey and Lavender Tea sweetened with a little vanilla syrup and pour 50ml into a heatproof glass. Add 25ml Aqua Vitae, 25ml Mozart White Chocolate Cream Liqueur and 2 dashes of Black Walnut Bitters. Top with steamed whole milk (latte consistency) and finish with some grated nutmeg and white chocolate shavings.

For a delicious dairy free version of this serve use coconut milk and Crème de Cacao Blanc – exquisite and suitable for vegans too.

Fraoch Toddy

‘Fraoch’ is the Scottish Gaelic for Heather.

A fresh twist on a classic Scottish hot drink combining Aqua Vitae with Heather Honey for extra depth, spice and sweetness.

Take 25ml or 50ml Aqua Vitae, a hefty teaspoon of Scottish heather honey, 10ml fresh squeezed lemon juice, dash orange bitters and half a stick of cinnamon. Add these ingredients to a small teapot and top with 150ml hot water. Stir and allow to brew for a couple of minutes. Strain into a mug or heatproof glass and garnish with a twist of clove studded orange peel and a smoldering sprig of fresh Scottish heather.

Perfect for blowing away the cobwebs on a frosty day or curing that cold and sore throat.

Aqua Vitae Affogato

An Italian classic with a little festive Fife twist!

Take 25ml Aqua Vitae and add to a shot of fresh hot espresso. Pour over a good quality vanilla bean ice cream (I would recommend the luxurious range available from Luvians in Fife). Top with a dusting of cocoa powder and icing sugar and serve with a side of fresh fig and wild berries.

A simple yet stunning little hot and cold desert drink, the perfect festive finisher to round off your Christmas feast.

Autumn Orchards

A cozy mug of our legendary warm Aqua Vitae Mulled Cider.

Like most of our recipes we endeavor to champion as many local products and ingredients as possible. For this serve we use Thistly Cross Cloudy Scottish Cider which is stunning, fantastic for mulling and pairs perfectly with the flavors in our Aqua Vitae. We also mull with local, seasonal orchard fruits including apples, plumbs and pears from the famous orchards of Newburgh in Fife where our distillery is located. For added natural sweetness we also add in local honey, often from our own beehives when we have an ample harvest. To further enrich and add a festive vibe we add some more of the spices that are found in our unique spirit drink which include ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise.

Add all ingredients to a large pot, bring to the boil then allow to simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes so all flavors mull together nicely. When ready, fine strain into heat proof jugs or another pot to ladle serve. Garnish with a fan of thinly sliced apple and pear.

When making mulled drinks from scratch like this at home there is no exact science to the quantities of ingredients required for making this warm winter serve. As a guide though we’d recommend 25ml of Aqua Vitae and 200ml of cider to add to your pot per person. This serve obviously requires a bit of preparation time but is well worth it and is actually very easy. You can take great pride in serving up your own unique warm festive cocktail to your friends and family. As a bonus your whole house will smell amazing, like a Christmas market.

Espresso Chaitini

Spicing up everyone’s favorite coffee cocktail.

Our unique botanical malt spirit kicks this world classic up a big flavor notch with its natural sweet, spicy and malty tones. Coupled with a homemade chai syrup that pulls forward the festive notes present in the Aqua Vitae, this spiced up fan favorite has got a Christmas number one hit written all over it. Ideal as an after-dinner cocktail.

Take 37.5ml of Aqua Vitae, 12.5ml coffee liqueur, 50 ml fresh espresso and 10ml homemade chai syrup – (2:1 sugar syrup heat infused with dates, figs and winter spices). Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, hard shake until ice cold and frothy. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with grated nutmeg.

We have been making and drinking espresso martinis for several years and can hand on heart say that nothing comes close to this recipe. It’s insanely good with so much more depth and character than the classic serve, an absolute game changer for any espresso martini lover, and let’s face it who isn’t. Let your new obsession commence.

Rhubarb & Hibiscus Punch

Perfect to reminisce about that recent summer holiday while clinging on to the last of the Autumn sunshine.

Take 25ml Aqua Vitae, 25ml fresh pineapple juice and 2 dashes of rhubarb bitters. Pour over ice in a large wine glass, stirred with Merchants Heart Hibiscus Tonic and topped with a velvet, bitter-sweet rhubarb foam (Rhubarb cordial, rhubarb bitters, fresh lemon juice and Aquafaba, pressure infused in and dispensed from cream whipping gun). Garnish with hibiscus flowers and pineapple leaf.

Hugely popular serve at 2019 Edinburgh Cocktail Week with its tropical meets Scottish Autumn vibe. The (egg free) rhubarb foam really is outstanding and the perfect crown atop this 10/10 simple highball punch cocktail.

Strawberry and Basil Daiquiri

This amazing strawberry daiquiri, was served to the masses attending the 2019 Edinburgh Cocktail Week. Usually made with Rum we substituted Aqua Vitae in as the base spirit with the results surpassing all expectations and was without a doubt one of the most popular cocktails across the whole event.

Take 40ml Aqua Vitae ,100ml homemade strawberry and basil puree (fresh strawberries, basil infused sugar syrup, fresh lime juice, strawberry cordial and fresh cranberry juice). Add ingredients to a blender with around 8 cubes of ice, blend and serve in a large wine glass garnished with a fresh strawberry, a fresh basil leaf and cracked black pepper.

These amazing flavor combinations together with our Aqua Vitae brings a new level of complexity and sophistication to this guilty pleasure of summer holiday favorite. Sometimes you just have to give the people what they want and our Lindores Aqua Vitae, Frozen Strawberry & Basil Daiquiri is definitely a crowd pleaser!

A Senhora Branca

Aqua Vitae, White Port & Tonic

A Senhora Branca translates as ‘The White Lady’ in Portuguese and this classy mistress is one for the mixologists out there. This elegant cocktail looks, smells and tastes amazing with a perfect balance of bitter and sweet notes with just a touch of citrus zest, perfect for all seasons.

Take 25ml Aqua Vitae, 25ml White Port, dash of orange bitters. Build over ice in a rocks or highball glass and top with good quality tonic water (I’d recommend Merchants Heart Tonic). Garnish with a twist of lemon peel and a sprig of burnt rosemary. Sit back, enjoy and watch the heads start turning.

Aqua Vitae Hot Chocolate

Banish the winter blues with a huge Aqua Vitae Hot Chocolate, made with whipped Cream and grated dark chocolate, and  a good slug of Aqua Vitae.

Aqua Vitae Coffee

If  coffee is your poison, then finish off the evening with an Aqua Vitae Coffee, made with Date Syrup, your favourite coffee, add some whipped cream and some grated nutmeg.

SUMMER COCKTAILS

Aqua Vitae can also be used to make the most amazing summer cocktails and drinks which are perfect for BBQ’s and entertaining. What better way to celebrate the Summer than with one of these in your hand?