Rhubarb cocktail

A tart, fruity, lightly sweet rhubarb cocktail recipe, with puréed rhubarb, natural lemonade and fresh lemon. A bright, colourful winter/spring cocktail.

Part of me believes that if you build the cocktail, the weather will come, so this bright, hopeful recipe is here for you in preparation for what I expect to be a beautiful weekend!

And what better way to reutilise the gorgeous Rhubarb sauce I posted the other day.

As the purée was made with Fentimans’ sugary (but delicious) Rose Lemonade, I turned to this for a mixer as well. The other ingredients in this drink are either resolutely tart or boozy, so some sweet is definitely called for to balance the flavours.

I almost never drink sweet, fizzy drinks anymore, having thankfully shaken off a previously unquenchable thirst for cola some years ago. But occasionally, exceptions must be made, and cocktails are one of those exceptions.

Although clearly still a sugar-packed occasional treat, I like to think that Fentimans makes a delicate, slightly more sophisticated soft drink, the subtle botanical flavours and sharp lemon enhancing the sticky sweetness – great as a mixer!

Lemon was the obvious addition to this drink, as it is for just about any drink ever – check out my favourite (healthier, non-alcoholic) Citrus fizz drink. Although you might think the rhubarb is tart enough, it actually works together beautifully with the lemon – indeed these are the two main flavours in a stunningly coloured Rhubarb salad with fennel and radish I made the other day.

Boozy, sweet, sour, fruity and colourful – my ideal summer cocktail. What do you fancy drinking at the moment?