We all love a glass of Pimms in the summer, but there's a new kid on the block. Curio Cornish Cup. It's inspired by a traditional punch drunk by the British Navy in the 17th Century and can be made up exactly like Pimms or served over ice with ginger beer.
The base is a Mullion Dry Gin blended with botanicals and Chai tea. The flavours include rich malty Assam tea, cardamom pods and cinnamon.
It's absolutely delicious served both ways, as a punch or with ginger beer. The punch is definitely a great one to sip while sitting in the garden and mixing it with ginger beer is a great one to serve at BBQs. Try it both ways and see which you like best.
The History of Punch
Cocktail is a much newer term for what originally was a punch. We need to look back to the 17th century. The term came from the British Navy who would serve their soldiers grog or punch to make sure they were drinking enough. They couldn't Drink sea water and the general water supply at that time was quite often contaminated and drinking it would make them very sick. Adding alcohol made it safer to drink.
The term punch was nothing to do with sailors and drunken fisticuffs. It came from the Hindi work 'panch' which means five. The five are alcohol, tea or other other spices (the East India Company, a collection of English merchants were bringing back ships full of spices from the East Indies), citrus juice, water and sugar.
Starting to sound like a punch or cocktail isn't it?
Cornish Cup Punch
A fruity Pimms style cocktail, with lots of citrus, ice and lemonade. Serve outside and enjoy the summer.
Ingredients
- 250ml Cornish Cup
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 orange
- a few fresh mint leaves
- lots of ice
- 1 litre lemonade
- 750ml soda water
Instructions
1. Cut your fruit into wedges.2. Pour Cornish Cup into a large jug, than add your fruit and mint. 3. Add lots of ice and top with lemonade and soda water.4. Stir and serve.5. Enjoy!
Details
Total time:
Yield: Makes 1 large jug of punch
Summer Punch, Wine and Spritz
1. Curio Cornish Cup
As above...........
Curio Cornish Cup -70cl £27 available from curiospiritscompany.co.uk
2. Gallo Wild Strawberry Spritz
This summery drink is a mixture of Gallo White Zinfandel wine and flavours of ripe and juicy wild strawberry and I love it. serve it chilled and it's summer in a glass. Gallo also have Spritz Raspberry & Lime, Spritz Pineapple & Passionfruit and Spritz Peach & Nectarine in the range. I am looking out for the other two to try too.
Gallo Wild Strawberry Spritz -70cl £4.99 available in supermarkets
Visit Gallo on Facebook #HelloSpritz #HelloGallo
3. Stone's Ginger Wine
Anything ginger is tops in my book and you can include ginger wine in that. Serve it alone or with elderflower cordial, soda water and ice. I remember as a student and working in pubs that some people liked it with whisky. I can't say I've tried that, but I imagine it would be a good warming winter drink served over ice. Either way it's a great ginger kick for us ginger lovers.
Stone's Ginger Wine - 70cl £6.50 available in supermarkets
4. I Heart Wines
I heart wine is all about simplifying wine. They choose the great wines for us and all we need to do is choose the type for a good drinking wine. I tried Shiraz, Pinot Grigio and Merlot, which are types of wine I usually drink and I have to say they are all very easy to drink.
Summer Cider or Cidre
Cidrerie Stassen
I've also been enjoying these ciders from Strassen. When I usually think of cider I think of having a pint in the pub or the individual flavoured ciders. Talking of which you must try Thistly Cross Strawberry Cider. It's made from freshly crushed Scottish strawberries made during berry season and it really tastes like fresh strawberries. It is lush, but back to the Cidrerie. It is a premium range of artisan ciders presented in champagne style bottles and it's great for a special occasion. It comes in rose, brut and gran cru and is a wonderful tipple. Pop some in your fridge for your next get together.
750ml from £6'50 available from Sainsburys and pubs in the UK
I've published a series of posts on summer drinks with a range of non-alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and cocktails. Don't worry, I'm not turning into a lush. I just realised I feature very few drinks or drinks recipes on Tinned Tomatoes. Just for you I've been researching all summer. Yes I have a tough job. Here are the rest of posts in the series:
- Honey Badger Cocktail Recipe
- Purple Stag Cocktail Recipe
- 7 Refreshing Soft and Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Summer
Disclosure: I was sent some of these as samples to try and some I regularly buy. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.
