Nothing makes you feel more welcome than being greeted with a glass of something sparkly when you visit a friend! As we approach one of the biggest festive seasons, it's the perfect time to think about great welcome drinks.
The Finnish food blogger Viimeistä Murua Myöten has created two fresh winter mocktail recipes that will make your family and friends feel especially welcome during the festivities:
1. Sour Cranberry-Rosemary Mocktail
2. Slightly Sweeter Mandarin Mocktail
Both mocktails are prepared using rosemary syrup. Rosemary adds a hint of forest to the drinks, making it a perfect match for the pre-Christmas season. Why not try using rosemary syrup to enhance other beverages like tea or mulled wine? The beauty of syrup is that it is concentrated with strong flavors, so even a small amount can spice up both hot and cold drinks.
Snow rim
An easy and impressive decoration for serving is to create a sugar rim for the glasses, such as the snow rim used here. Just mix in some coconut flakes with the sugar for a delightful, snow-like effect on the rims. Best of all, you can prepare these festive sugar rims well in advance—either the day before or right before serving. Make your drinks stand out and leave a lasting impression with this simple, eye-catching touch!
You need:
lime (or lemon)
sugar
coconut flakes
Cut the lime into wedges. Make a horizontal cut in the middle of each wedge as if you were going to place the lime slice on the edge of a glass as a garnish. Rub the lime wedge around the rim of the glass, ensuring that lime juice coats both the inside and outside surfaces. There is no need to squeeze the lime; the juice will transfer sufficiently just from contact.
Mix sugar and coconut flakes together on a plate. Dip each lime-coated glass rim into the sugar-coconut flake mixture. The rim will set on the glass immediately.
Rosemary syrup
Homemade flavored syrup may sound challenging, but it's actually very easy to make and can be stored in a bottle for months.
Once you’ve prepared the syrup it will last for a long time and you can easily whip up exceptionally tasty mocktails in no time.
To give the syrup an extra touch, simply add a cinnamon stick for a delightful Christmassy flavor.
1 dl of sugar
1 dl water
1 sprig of rosemary*
The amount of rosemary is not precise, and there's no need to use it sparingly. The syrup should have a strong flavor so that even a small amount of syrup provides a lot of taste.
Instructions
1. Mix all ingredients in a pan. Heat up and boil on low heat for a couple of minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Continue boiling for another couple of minutes.
2. Switch off the stove and let the syrup, including the rosemary sprigs, cool down and infuse, preferably for a couple of hours. If you are in a rush to prepare the mocktails, use an extra amount of rosemary to enhance the flavors.
3. Pour the syrup into a bottle and store it at room temperature or in the fridge.
4. The syrup is ready to be used once it has cooled down.
