Tuscan Shandy

Another great thing about Incanto is that they introduced us to a great non-alcoholic drink- the Tuscan Shandy.

The Tuscan Shandy

It may be known by other names but a Google search is getting me so where so as well as stealing their drink recipe (or my guess at it) I’m stealing their name.

The ingredients are simple: equal parts lemonade, ginger beer & orange juice. Add a dash (or a big glug if you’re me) of Angostura Bitters and serve over ice- refreshing and tasty heaven in a glass.

I’ve learnt over time that orange juice with no ‘bits’ or long-life from concentrate is best to stop it ‘separating’ and all the ‘bits’ floating to the top.

Over this summer we seemed to have a large jug of it permanently in the fridge and it’s a great standby for when friends are round and you want to serve more than regular soft drinks to anyone who wants some non-alcoholic hydration.

All the ingredients can be kept in the cupboard and just stirred with ice at a moments notice making it a great go to.

Courvoisier Punch

One of the joys of Christmas is the availability of giftsets, glasses etc which if you’re a drinker and collector like me is the perfect chance to fulfill both loves.

One thing I picked up this year were some Courvoisier glasses which looked like they’d be nice to drink from and this evening seemed the perfect time to try them out.

The recipe I chose to dive in with is a Courvoisier Punch and the single serving proportions are:

• 50ml Courvoisier
• 150ml Lemonade
• 5 dashes of Angostura Bitters

You could also add in fruit such as orange or lemon slices or tarten the drink with more lemon or sweeten with some muddled sugar or even a splash of Maraschino.

The drink was a warming, lenghtened version of Courvoisier but with more interest and flavours. You could ‘water’ it down with more lemonade if you wanted a longer drink with less of a kick or serve it warm if you wanted added warmth which the drink seems perfect for.