Refresh with a fizz or two

Now the hot weather is very definitely here many people feel the need for something refreshing towards the end of the morning and there is no better pick me up than a decent fizz.

Fizzes are invigorating cocktails that appeared in the 1870s and the trick is to shake everything together before adding soda or other sparkling ingredients. It´s a good idea to keep the soda and glasses in the fridge to make sure that things are really cold with a lovely frosted appearance. They should be drunk as soon as they are made and not allowed to stand about in the hot sunshine.

Hong Kong, where we lived for many years, once had a famous madame, Maud Jones, who ran a house at Lyndhurst Terrace full of comely Australian actresses. The ladies were very popular with the gentlemen and there was a discreet chit system whereby pleasures could be enjoyed and bills settled at the end of the month. Maud liked a drink, and the Hong Kong Fizz was one of her favourites. Legend has it that she would down nine of these a day.

Here´s how to make Maud´s favourite:

Ingredients

One and a half measures of vodka
One and a half measures of gin
Half a measure of Benedictine
Half a measure of Yellow Chartreuse
Half a measure of Green Chartreuse
Half a measure of lemon juice
Four measures of soda water (plain, unflavoured, soda water)
Half a measure of caster sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the other ingredients and shake before adding to a tall frosted glass half filled with ice. Top up with soda and pop in a straw.

Daiquiris are another type of cooling long drink and astute observers of the markets will have noticed the appearance of piles of lush fat peaches, which can only mean one thing – Peach Daiquiris.

Ingredients

One and a half measures of white rum
One measure of peach schnapps
One third of a peach, skinned
Half a measure of sugar syrup
Three quarters of a measure of lime juice
Half a measure of pineapple juice.

Put everything in a blender and whiz until smooth, add a bit of crushed ice and blend again very quickly. Pour into a tall frosted glass and served with a slice of peach on the rim and a straw.

To make sugar syrup all you have to do is heat an equal quantity of water and sugar in a pan for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool and then pour into a bottle for storage.

“A measure” is usually 25ml or 0.9 of a fluid ounce.


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©Phillip Bruce 2009.