Bramble cocktail
Makes: 1 litre
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photography by Martin Poole
Bramble cocktail
Delicious straight up, this classic blackberry cocktail also works brilliantly topped up with fizz
Makes: 1 litre
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
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Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
For the crème de mûre
- 600g blackberries
- 750ml fruity red wine - use vegetarian and vegan wine if required
- 350g granulated sugar
- 150ml gin or vodka (we used Gordon’s London Dry Gin)
For cocktails to serve 2
- ice cubes
- 100ml gin
- 30ml lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sugar syrup (such as Monin)
- 2 tbsp crème de mûre
- handful of fresh blackberries
Step by step
- To make the crème de mûre, wash and dry the blackberries and put in a large bowl. Pour over the red wine and then gently crush the berries using a potato masher. Cover with a clean cloth and leave in a cool place for 2 days, crushing the berries a couple of times during this time. Strain the mixture through a sieve, then strain a second time, this time lining the sieve with muslin or kitchen paper, to make sure there are no bits left in the liquid (you can use a clean coffee filter instead, if you have one).
- Pour the liquid into a pan with the sugar and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and add the gin or vodka. Leave to cool completely and then decant into sterilised bottles.
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To make the cocktail, fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Shake well and then strain into two ice-filled tumblers. Add 1 tablespoon of crème de mûre to each glass, allowing the liquid to sink to the bottom. Top with a few fresh blackberries to serve.*Use vegetarian/vegan wine if required.To storeStore the bottles of crème de mûre in a cool dark place. It should keep for up to 1 year so get ahead now for all your Christmas tipples!
