Raspberry and Mint Gin Smash

This is a perfect cocktail for the Summer but frankly we’d have one at any time of the year. The Raspberry & Mint Smash is perfect for showing off our Copeland Raspberry & Mint ginfusion, which is distilled right here in Donaghadee using raspberries and mint leaves grown in County Down. At 37.5% alcohol by volume, this is a proper gin with a great juniper-forward taste and hints of sweet raspberry and tangy mint.

To make a Gin Smash, you’ll need a cocktail maker – any type will do – and a strainer. You can pick one up in any good hardware shop or even your local supermarket. We like to serve our Smash in a rocks glass (sometimes known as an Old Fashioned glass) which is normally cut glass, short and has a wide brim and heavy base.

You need sugar syrup for this recipe which you can buy from most supermarkets, but you can make your own at home really easily. Just heat 100ml of water and 200g of caster sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves and let it cool. You can make the syrup in advance, when you’re bored(!) and don’t worry if you make too much – you can store it in a jug in the fridge for several weeks.

Muddle about 6-8 mint leaves in the base of the cocktail shaker together with 4-5 raspberries (basically push and mash them gently with a spoon or a pestle). Add in 20ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 20 ml of the sugar syrup you made earlier, together with 50ml of Copeland Raspberry & Mint gin. Add a good handful of ice and shake until ice cold – about 10-12 seconds should do it.

Strain out the cocktail mix into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with 1 or 2 raspberries and a freshly picked mint sprig.

Careful now, this is a strong one!