Nigella

Nigella is named for Nigella Lawson.

Nigella embodies what Cocktails For Mums is all about. She encourages women to cook for themselves and for enjoyment every day, something we forget we can do. She is eloquent and clear in communication that reminds us of the strength of nurture.

I’ve spent years thinking how to embody our respect for Nigella in a cocktail. And this drink is deep, intense and shaken into a salt crusted coupe as a counterfoil to the initial sweetness with nigella seeds for the musky earthiness at the heart of every woman.

This cocktail isn’t licorice or aniseed forward. The sambuca’s job is to add depth and adultiness.

Recipients: Guests that can handle all the intensity in every sip.

Type: Shaken

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Guavanother Gimlet

Guavanother Gimlet is a drink we can (and do) drink a lot. She’s just sweet enough, refreshing and oh, so zestily aromatic.

The sweet tang of guava, snappy perfume of lime and floral sharpness of gin come together in a cocktail that has extremely wide appeal for all our testers and goes down very quickly.

Recipients: Everyone, honestly.

Type: Made in the glass

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Bloody Michelle

Bloody Michelle dwells in a delicious no man’s land. She is more rounded and mellow than a michelada and less thickly rich than a classic bloody mary. Okay, her country is less like no man’s land and more like everyone’s paradise.

Recipients: Friends who are squeamish about bloody maries due to their variable intensity and viscosity.

Type: Made in the glass, interactive.

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Marionetto

Marionetto is named for Marion Grasby. When we sent this recipe to Marion her response was, “I love this!” To which our response was, “OMG. I can’t believe it. She likes our recipe!”

We’re big fans of Marion’s joyous enthusiasm for sharing tastes that range from comforting to invigorating. We love her welcoming, easy communication style, too. And now, Marion is a brand new mum to baby girl, Charlie. We’re so excited for her we need to celebrate!

Caused by my own disinclination to make it properly, this is our preferred version of an Amaretto Sour, which features a frothy head. Traditionally, the foamy top is formed by egg white. Being lazy, I don’t want to separate eggs each time I serve this. Being finicky, I don’t like the idea of drinking raw egg white. Pineapple juice gives us the froth we need.

Liquid ingredients in Amaretto Sour recipes vary. They can be any combination of amaretto with or without bourbon plus sour mix, sugar syrup and/or lemon juice. However, the Amaretto Sour recipe we first tried was our Instagram friend’s cocktail_curiosity and we thank him for the inspiration.

We reckon we’ve simplified the recipe without losing the heady incense of fruit and almond. Because we’ve added one ingredient and removed two or three ingredients, we feel Marionetto is a new fluffy, recipe to serve to your favourite friends.

Recipients: Lovers of aroma and cherry Starburst.

Type: Shaken

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Mo McGrath

Here’s our most useful recipe, so far.

Mo McGrath is named for a friend who isn’t called Mo and stopped using McGrath the same night her cocktail was invented.*

Portable and easily found in bars, we’ve combined Mo’s ingredients at catered events, clubs, sporting grounds, picnics and hotel rooms. We’ve served her as a welcome drink and to the lingerers at the end of the night, to equal glee.

Recipients: Sparkling and still wine drinkers. Also, those who prefer to drink sparkling wine with a mixer.

Type: Made In Glass

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I Love Loosey

This is our cherry flavoured homage to Lucille Ball. Lucy was the original cocktail mum who fudged her way through household and relationship management, paving the way for the rest of us to be true to our goofy natures. In life, Lucille Ball was the creative genius we have to be to pull off being a modern woman.

Loosey looks and tastes like a proper cocktail but she’s only 30ml of alcohol so you won’t get too loosey.

Recipients: Fruit fans. And those that like to sip their drinks slowly while looking suave.

Type: Made In Glass

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Hello Berry

We’ve tried LOTS (hehehe!) of wine punch, sangria and wine based cocktail recipes. The issue has always been consistency. Wine varies. Unless you are using the same non vintage brand and varietal the end result will vary.

So we decided to come up with a red punch that works with the worst wine you can manage to sip. And make your guests sing with happy taste!

Recipients: Everyone. Honestly.

Type: Jug

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