Happy Hour

One of the best things about working in a cafe (and there are good things about working as a drinks monkey, trust me) is that, when the weather is scorchio and Berlin's residents have evacuated to the many lakes in and around the city, I get to play around with the contents of the liquor cabinet and create spiffing new summer cocktails for the binge-drinking masses. And lucky for you guys (er...) it is SO quiet right now that I'm able to blog about my shakey-shakey exploits in real time! Employee of the month, right here. So yeah, on with the drinking. Enjoy these two super-einfach, super-alcoholic beauties that will keep you quaffing in style throughout August. You can thank me later, in a rambling, rum-fuelled email.

Very Berry Daiquiri

MAKES TWO
You will need:
- Bacardi white rum
- Two limes
- Brown sugar, or gomme sugar syrup
- 3 tbspn frozen mixed berries (I like a mix of rasperries, blueberries, black and red currant)
- Cubed ice
- A cocktail shaker

Partially melt the frozen bezzas by popping them in a bowl, and then popping that bowl into a bigger one, which should be filled with hot water. Keep a few aside for a garnish. Measure out 50cl white rum, 35cl lime juice, and 20cl of gomme syrup (or 1.5 teaspoons of brown sugar). Chuck them into your cocktail shaker along with a handful of cubed ice, and pout the now slightly mushy berry mix on top. Shake that money-maker for 30-40 seconds, then pour directly into stubby glasses and top it up with a couple of extra ice cubes, the frozen berries you kept aside, and a wedge of lime if you're feeling fancy.

Rhabarber Ingwer Booze Limo

MAKES TWO
You will need:
- A bunch of rhubarb
- A large knob (heh) of ginger
- White sugar
- Lemon juice
- VODKAAAAA
- Sparkling water
- Mint leaves (for garnish)
- Cubed Ice

This is a variation on our cafe's signature lemonade that I made for a friend who was visiting a few weeks ago. He decided that standard limo just wouldn't cut it, and asked me to amp up the original recipe with a shot of whatever I happened to have lying around. This is the result.

First, you'll need to whip up some rhubarb and ginger syrup. This is WAY easier than it sounds - peel and finely shred that large knob (hah) of ginger, then do the same with a large bunch of rhubarb. Chuck that into a saucepan with a little water and a lot of sugar, and let the mixture caramelise until you have a gloopy, sticky-sweet rhabarber-ingwer fiesta. Bottle the syrup and leave to cool for a couple of hours.

When the syrup is nice and cool, it's time for the fun to commence. Fill two tall collins glasses with ice, and pour approx 30cl of rhubarb and ginger syrup. Add 50cl of vodka, a hefty dash of lemon juice, and stir. Top this beauty up with sparkling water, and add a straw and some fresh mint leaves as a garnish. Et voila - a sweet but sharp boozy adult lemonade that will get you shitfaced in no time at all, while keeping you kinda hydrated at the same time.

That's all from me for now. I'm off to listen to The Smiths, clean up this mess, and avoid telling my boss where his rum has gone. Adios!