Scapegrace x Città: 5 cocktails to make at home this summer
We’ve teamed up with Scapegrace to bring you five refreshing cocktails to make at home. Scapegrace is an artisan distillery founded by brothers-in-law Mark Neal and Dan McLaughlin in 2014. Handcrafted in Christchurch, their premium gin and vodka is loved in New Zealand and beyond. Scapegrace Gold was awarded the best London dry gin at the 2018 International Wine & Spirits Competition—beating more than 600 other gins to win the supreme award.
Scapegrace works closely with bar consultant Mikey Ball. Mikey has more than a decade of international bartending experience across London, Dubai and Canada. Having returned to New Zealand, Mikey works as a consultant and developer in the local hospitality community. This includes collaborating with Scapegrace to create the world’s first naturally black gin.
We visited Mikey at the team at Scapegrace HQ to discover five refreshing cocktails to make at home. The must-try recipes combine Mikey’s mixing expertise, the distillery’s famed spirits, and our beautiful glassware.
Recreate the cocktails at home by following Mikey’s tips and recipes below.
Mikey, when it comes to making summer cocktails, what are your must-have ingredients or flavours?
Definitely any form of citrus. The best citrus you can get is in the garden—especially in New Zealand. As a kid, I always noticed people’s grapefruit trees would go untouched because they didn’t taste delicious straight off the tree. When grapefruit is juiced, it’s one of the nicest and fresh flavours to work with. You can do something as simple as fresh grapefruit with gin and sugar to make a beautiful grapefruit gimlet. I also like using fresh herbs and spices. New Zealand has lots of local botanicals that work amazingly well in drinks.
What’s the secret to recreating the perfect cocktail at home?
Know what you’re working with. You can never do too much research into the ingredients. Learn about the gin you’re working with and the botanicals that go into it. The same applies to the mixers and ingredients you add. For instance, if it’s a yuzu, you know that citrus works well with the fresh lemon flavour. The more you know about what you’re working with, the better the cocktail will be.
Is it best to match or contrast flavours?
There are two ways of looking at it. Both are possible but the contrasting method is a little harder. The safer way is to match or ‘volumise’ an ingredient that’s in the spirit. You know that lemon is probably going to work with lemon on the whole. The contrast is a little bit harder. There are some amazing books out there to help you—specifically, books chefs would use like The Flavour Thesaurus.
I often look at dessert recipes. You can ask yourself, “cardamom and pineapple… is that going to work?” Then type it into Google and if a bunch of recipes will come up, you’re in the ballpark of something that works. If it doesn’t come up with anything, often that’s a sign it hasn’t been done before—or that you’ve just invented a potential flavour profile. It’s definitely a game of trial and error. Don’t be afraid you’re going to drink some average drinks. The exciting part is discovering your signature drink to make at home!
Toby Cup
45ml Scapegrace Vodka
10ml Crème de Cacao Blanc
5ml sugar syrup (2:1)
Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters
Sprig of mint, to garnish
Fill a Rib Tumbler with crushed ice. Pour in Scapegrace Vodka, Crème de Cacao Blanc, sugar syrup, and bitters. Stir well and garnish with a sprig of mint.
Chokeberry Fizz
50ml Scapegrace Black
25ml fresh lime juice
15ml sugar syrup (1:1)
10ml egg white (or chickpea aquafaba)
3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
Soda water, to serve
Fill a cocktail shaker with Scapegrace Black, lime, sugar syrup, egg white, and bitters. ‘Dry shake’ the ingredients without ice—this ensures the cocktail becomes silky and frothy. Add ice and ‘wet shake’ the cocktail—this dilutes the cocktail and cools it down. Strain into a Big Top Highball and top with soda water.
Turbo G&T
45ml Scapegrace Silver
25ml Harpoon Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
East Imperial Grapefruit Tonic, to serve
Orange slice, to garnish
Fill a Finesse Highball with ice cubes. Pour in Scapegrace Silver and coffee concentrate. Top with grapefruit tonic. Stir well and garnish with an orange slice.
Scapegrace Gimlet
50ml Scapegrace Gold
25ml fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
Citrus leaf and flower, to garnish
Fill a cocktail shake with ice cubes. Pour in Scapegrace Gold, lime and sugar. Shake well and strain into a Hepburn Coupe Glass. Garnish with a citrus leaf and flower.
Harvest Spritz
45ml Scapegrace Vodka
30ml pear syrup or fresh juice
20ml Dolin Dry Vermouth
10ml liquid honey
Dash Peychaud’s Bitters
Pear and strawberry slices, to serve and garnish
Soda water, to serve
Sprig of mint, to garnish
Pour Scapegrace Vodka, pear, vermouth, honey, bitters and fruit slices into a Piccadilly Tumbler. Fill half the glass with ice cubes and soda water. Stir and fill to top with additional ice and soda water. Garnish with fruit and a sprig of mint. Triple recipe to fill a Piccadilly Carafe.
Serve cocktails and mocktails with our extensive glassware collection. Shop in-store at your nearest Città location or shop online now.
