Savour the summer with cool cocktails

Summer brings with it those long evenings relaxing in the open air that always go well with a good cocktail. It’s nothing new; menus of restaurants and specialised bars on the Costa del Sol have been offering them for years.

Although the dictionary defines a cocktail as a mixture of other drinks with various ingredients, for bartenders they are the harmonious union of spirits (with or without alcohol) and creativity, chilled with ice and mixed in a cocktail shaker, where the magic happens.

The idea of mixing drinks to make new ones is as old as the hills, although according to various sources the word ‘cock-tail’ was first recorded in 1806 as a “stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind - sugar, water, and bitters”. This, in particular, is what later became popular as Old Fashioned, but the variety of combinations is as diverse as the inventiveness of those who make them.

Nowadays, cocktails have become almost a way of life and mixology, a true art. In the province of Malaga, too, cocktail has become synonymous with leisure and drinking culture, but also with foodie experiences.

Their popularity is growing, so it’s not surprising that ‘cocktail routes’ are being organised in cities and towns around the region. These events allow bars to show off their signature or new, more ambitious, cocktails and customers get the chance to sample them on a fun tour of participating establishments.

The recent cocktail tour in Malaga, organised in June by the 259 Cocktail Concept school, invited customers to sample 60 special cocktails in 20 bars and restaurants.

Some of these bartenders have revealed a few of their secrets, given tips and shared recipes that can also brighten the summer at home. But beware: not all of the star shakers wanted to reveal the exact quantities... So if you don’t get quite the result you were hoping for at home, you can pay the experts a visit in their bars and have a taste of their cocktail world.

The experts taking part in this feature are: Ángel Vita of Cobalto 15 (Malaga); Carlos Cervera of Nusa (Malaga); Álex Florido of Siroko Plaza (Malaga); Stefano Sale of Trocadero (Benalmádena); Ainhoa Hidalgo of La Tribu Jazba (Palapa Beach, Torremolinos and Bahía Beach, Torre del Mar); Leandro Gómez of Tercer Acto (Malaga); and Adrien Martínez of OnlyYou (Malaga).

Álex Florido

Venue: Siroko Plaza - Malaga

Ingredients: Tequila Espadín, pineapple puree, lime juice, hazelnut syrup, red chilli pepper.

Use the pineapple puree as a base in a long drink glass, then add a little red chilli pepper to a shaker, with the lime. Then pour in the tequila and hazelnut syrup and shake. Once well mixed, using a double strainer, pour the entire contents of the shaker into the glass, which has been previously filled with crushed ice, and garnish with pineapple leaves, red chilli pepper and dried pineapple.

Ángel Vita

Venue: Cobalto 15 - Malaga

Ingredients: Monkey Shoulder whisky, ginger falernum, hazelnut orgeat, lemon, Palo Cortado (float).

Mix 5cl Monkey Shoulder whisky, 1.5cl Ginger Falernum, 1.5cl hazelnut orgeat and 3cl lemon in the shaker with a little egg white and shake without ice to emulsify the ingredients. Then add the ice and shake again. Finally, very carefully and with a barspoon, add 2cl of Palo Cortado to suspend it in the liquid. Finish with a dash of angostura and a twist of orange.

Ainhoa Hidalgo

Venue: La Tribu Jazba - Palapa Beach, Torremolinos, and Bahía Beach, Torre del Mar

Ingredients: J.J. Whitley vodka, falernum, lime juice, wild grape syrup, ginger beer.

Pour 40ml J.J. Whitley, 20ml falernum, 20ml lime juice and 40ml wild grape syrup into a cocktail shaker. Shake well and pour the cocktail with crushed ice into an original clear glass. Finish with a splash of ginger beer.

Carlos Cervera

Venue: Nusa - Malaga

Ingredients: J. J. Whitley vodka, Blue Curaçao, strawberry puree, ginger falernum, pineapple juice, lemon juice, liquid sugar.

Add 50ml J. J. Whitley vodka, 15ml Blue Curaçao, 15ml strawberry puree, 10ml Falernum ginger, 30ml pineapple juice, 30ml lemon juice and 5ml liquid sugar together with 5 ice cubes into the shaker. Shake vigorously to create some froth from the added pineapple juice. Then pour into the glass making a doublestrain, top with pile ice and garnish with bamboo leaf, pineapple chunk, strawberry with bamboo stick and long straw. A Napoli glass is recommended.

Leandro Gómez

Venue: Tercer Acto - Malaga

Ingredients: Licorice infused Monkey Shoulder whisky, Amaro Montenegro, fig puree, homemade honey syrup, lemon, ginger ale

Put all the ingredients in the shaker, shake well, serve in a glass with ice. Finally top up with the ginger ale to give it some fizz.

Stefano Sale

Venue: Trocadero - Benalmádena

Ingredients: Monkey Shoulder Whisky, Grappa Poli di Moscato, acidic melon, HoneyGingerMix, smoky whisky aroma, candied ginger.

Chill a lowball glass with ice. Add the ingredients and ice in a shaker. Shake well. Then double strain into the glass. Garnish with a piece of candied ginger on a cocktail stick and perfume with the smoky whisky.

Adrien Martínez

Venue: Only You - Malaga

Ingredients: Dead Man Spiced, ginger falernum, pineapple juice, passion fruit puree, orgeat syrup, lime juice, ginger beer.

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Serve in a skull glass with plenty of crushed ice. Decorate with pineapple leaves, dried pineapple, flowers and a cinnamon stick.