If you don’t like Bloody Mary’s (and I don’t) the marmalade cocktail is the answer.

For Christmas Michael bought me the Hawksmoor at Home cookbook. On principle alone,  I was ready to love a cookbook that features so much beef and has a cocktail chapter, but that aside it’s a great book. Although if you’re a vegetarian, buy it for a meat eater you know and copy all the pudding and cocktail recipes before you give it away!

One of the cocktail recipes is for the marmalade cocktail (and I also like that that they don’t call everything in a martini glass a ‘martini’ when it plainly isn’t! There was a problem though, I didn’t have any orange marmalade to hand, I did have some lemon marmalade (made with my own fair hands!) and used that instead.

I loved the results, not too sweet and just bitter enough. Bonus points for being a lovely pale pink colour.  This is a good cocktail for people who ‘don’t do gin’.  I’m pretty sure that the orange marmalade version is good too, so give it a try with that and let me know how it goes

What

1 heaped teaspoon lemon marmalade

50ml good gin (Tanqueray for me, Hawksmoor recommend Beefeater)

5ml Campari

15ml lemon juice

a dash of orange bitters

How

1) Place a heaped teaspoon of marmalade in a shaker.

2) Add the gin and stir, making sure to break up the marmalade.

3) Add the other ingredients and fill the shaker with ice.

4) Put the lid on and give it a hard shake to break down the marmalade.

5) Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve with a twist of lemon peel (orange if you’re using orange marmalade)

6) Drink and enjoy.