Curious cocktails for Valentine’s (From Streatham Guardian)

Curious cocktails for Valentine’s

11:45am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Freetime

Love it or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is the perfect evening for wine lovers to take the seductive route and add a splash of colour and passion to their after-dark soirees.

Impressing your loved one with a curious cocktail in the colour of love, or a sinfully delicious pretty pink fizz, will not only boost their happiness level but is sure to pull at the heart strings.

And for lessons in love, 2012 is a leap year, making February 29 the one day every four years when a woman can get down on one knee and propose to her other half.

So ladies, if you fancy popping the cork... and the question, a passionate red is a good way to seduce your knight in shining armour.

For sweethearts thirsty for a taste of Spain, try practising your mixology skills with Freixenet.

Spain’s most loved cava producer has created its ‘three Rs’ cocktail using Freixenet Cordon Rosado (£9.49, major supermarkets) to tantalise the taste buds. Here’s the recipe: Rose, Romance & Rosado 25ml Amaretto, three fresh strawberries, Freixenet Cordon Rosado.

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Muddle the strawberries and pour the puree in the shaker. Add the Amaretto and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with Freixenet Cordon Rosado. Garnish with an edible rose petal.

Gin lovers who appreciate Hendrick’s Gin (£24.69, 70cl, Waitrose) for its perfect pairing with a slice of cucumber may not be aware that this small-batch gin is also infused with rose petals, which gives Hendrick’s its floral nose, and the signature freshness plays a good supporting role in a champagne cocktail.

Hendrick’s rose 25ml Hendrick’s Gin, four to six fresh raspberries, 25ml lychee juice, 15ml organic raspberry and rose cordial, champagne.

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Muddle the raspberries and pour the purée into the shaker. Add the gin, lychee juice and cordial, then shake well. Strain into a chilled flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a raspberry.

Still rose and smoked salmon make wonderful bedfellows, and for a cherrylicious rose from south-west France, try Tanners French Rose, IGP des Cotes de Gascogne 2010 (£6.95, tanners-wines.co.uk).

Expressive and well rounded, it’s a vibrant blend of merlot, cabernet, syrah and tannat that can really stand up to food.

Extremely quaffable with bags of fruit, it’s also a delicious partner with a bowl of moules mariniere.