With Christmas on its way we have put together a beautiful three part series for Entertaining at Home. The idea behind this series is to bring a sense of ease and simplicity to what can be a very busy time of year. With a few flowers and some humble recipes, we hope to bring you a well of inspiration to come back to in the coming months, in preparation for the festivities that December brings!

The second part of this series is called: Entertaining with Cocktails.

Today we share two simple and classic cocktails that will not go a miss as we celebrate the arrival of summer, Christmas and the coming year! They are easy to prepare for a crowd and perfect to enjoy in the late afternoon sun. Inspired by Matisse's painting 'The Dance' we hope these cocktails will see you right through the festive season with a skip in your step! 

BORAGE FLOWER GIN & TONIC 

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 oz. gin (of your choice)

Tonic water

Borage flowers

ice cubes,

lime

orange zest for colour 

Add ice to a glass and a handful of Borage flowers. Pour gin over top and top off the glass with tonic water. Stir and squeeze fresh lime juice into the cocktail. 

Serve, garnished with additional Borage flowers and a sting of orange zest, if you wish.

Note: Use a good brand of tonic--anything too harsh or sweet can overwhelm the subtle notes of Borage. 

DIRTY MARTINI 

 Makes one cocktail 

 2oz vodka (or gin)

1 tbsp dry vermouth

2 tbsp olive brine

1 wedge of lemon

green olives 

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