Aotearoa Christmas Gin

The simplest way to drink Aotearoa Christmas Gin, and the one we keep coming back to. Pink gin, crisp tonic, a handful of fresh raspberries and a squeeze of lemon. It takes thirty seconds to make and suits everything from a Christmas Eve sundowner to a lazy afternoon at the bach.

Ingredients (serves 1):

30ml Good George Aotearoa Christmas Gin

120ml premium tonic water or soda water, chilled

4 to 5 fresh raspberries

1 lemon wedge

Plenty of ice

Method:

1. Chill the glass. Fill a tall highball or balloon glass right to the top with ice, and give it a quick stir to frost the glass.
2. Add the gin. Pour in the Aotearoa Christmas Gin.
3. Top it up. Pour the tonic or soda slowly down the side of the glass to keep the bubbles lively.
4. Add the fruit. Drop in the fresh raspberries, letting a few sink between the ice.
5. Finish with lemon. Give the lemon wedge a gentle squeeze over the glass, then perch it on the rim.

Tips:

• Tonic or soda? Tonic gives you a classic, slightly bitter G&T. Soda lets the raspberry and horopito come through more and keeps it lighter.
• Use more ice, not less. A glass packed with ice melts slower, so your drink stays cold and doesn’t water down.
• Try a twist. Add a few cracked pink peppercorns for extra spice, or swap the lemon for lime.

Simple, pink and properly Kiwi.

Ingredients:

45ml Good George Aotearoa Christmas Gin

25ml fresh lemon juice

15ml sugar syrup

20ml aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas) or 3 dashes of foaming bitters

Fresh raspberries and a pinch of crushed pink peppercorns, to garnish

Ice

Method:

Add the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and aquafaba (or foaming bitters) to a shaker without ice and shake hard for 15 seconds to build the foam. Add ice and shake again until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube, let the foam settle, then top with a raspberry on a pick and a pinch of crushed pink peppercorns.

Christmas in a glass, with the pav on top.

Boxing Day is for leftovers, long lunches and a jug in the middle of the table. This one’s bright, citrusy and easy to make for a crowd: pink gin, tart grapefruit and plenty of fizz, loaded with raspberries and mint. Make it once, and everyone helps themselves.

Ingredients (serves 6):

180ml Good George Aotearoa Christmas Gin

250ml pink grapefruit juice, chilled

Juice of 1 lime

500ml soda water, chilled

1 handful of fresh raspberries

1 lime, sliced into wheels

A few sprigs of fresh mint

Plenty of ice

Method:

1. Fill the jug. Half-fill a large jug (at least 1.5 litres) with ice.
2. Build the base. Pour in the Aotearoa Christmas Gin, the pink grapefruit juice and the lime juice, and give it a gentle stir.
3. Add the fruit. Drop in the raspberries, lime wheels and mint, pressing a few raspberries against the side of the jug to release their colour.
4. Top with fizz. Add the soda water just before serving so it stays bubbly, then stir once more.
5. Serve. Pour into short tumblers filled with fresh ice, making sure each glass gets a raspberry and a lime wheel.

Tips:

• Prep it ahead. Mix the gin, juices and fruit an hour before and keep the jug in the fridge, then add the ice and soda right before serving.
• Keep it cold. Freeze a few raspberries and lime wheels the night before and use them in place of some of the ice, so the punch chills without watering down.
• Make a zero-proof jug too. Swap the gin for extra grapefruit juice and a splash of raspberry cordial, so anyone not drinking can still get stuck in.

The easiest dessert you’ll make all summer. Cold raspberry sorbet, a splash of pink gin and a fizz of soda turn into a creamy, berry-packed float that’s half drink, half pud. It’s perfect for after Christmas lunch, when nobody can face another slice of pav.

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 generous scoop of raspberry sorbet

30ml Good George Aotearoa Christmas Gin

40ml chilled soda water

4 to 5 fresh raspberries

1 small mint leaf, to garnish

Method:

1. Chill your glass. Pop a coupe or small tumbler in the freezer for 10 minutes so the sorbet holds its shape.
2. Add the sorbet. Use a scoop dipped in warm water for a smooth, round ball, and sit it in the centre of the glass.
3. Pour the gin. Pour the Aotearoa Christmas Gin slowly around the sorbet rather than over the top, so it pools pink at the bottom.
4. Top with soda. Add a splash of chilled soda water and watch it fizz up around the sorbet.
5. Garnish and serve. Drop in a few fresh raspberries, top with a mint leaf, and serve straight away with a long spoon.

Tips:

• Make it ahead for a crowd. Pre-scoop the sorbet onto a lined tray and freeze it, then add the gin and soda just before serving.
• Swap the soda for lemonade if you like it sweeter, or tonic for a bit of bitter edge.
• Try another sorbet. Lemon or passionfruit sorbet also works well with the raspberry gin.

Dessert’s sorted. Spoon’s optional.