24 September 2014

Mahiki mocktails… Sippin' on juice and juice

Every January, I ditch alcohol as a reboot after weeks on the Christmas diet.

You know… mince pie for breakfast, a sausage roll elevenses, roast beef with yorkshires followed by cheeseboard chaser.

I don't usually drink on a school night, but that goes right out of the window at Christmas. Champagne for breakfast? Sherry with lunch? Don't mind if I do.

Festive breakfast





So I find a couple of weeks off the sauce in January really helps me to ditch that mince pie induced coma.

But would I do it at any other time of the year? HECK NO.

Then I heard from an old friend who works for Macmillan Cancer Support. They've got a new campaign, Go Sober for October.

The idea is that you give up alcohol for the month of October, get sponsored by your friends and family, and raise money for charity.

Great idea, right?

Only, I've got a weekend of bridesmaid bonding, a birthday celebration AND a hen do coming up in October so wine is definitely on the menu.

But it's ok, because Macmillan asked Mahiki's mixologist Georgi Radev to create some mocktails for them. I thought I'd try making one of my own to get in the charidee spirit.

This one's called Macmillan's Autumn Punch





Mahiki, in London's Mayfair, became the club du jour after Prince Harry got his royal rah on there. Suddenly all the celebs wanted to party at the tiki bar and, with my showbiz journalist hat on, I joined in.

While everyone else was sipping champagne cocktails from Mahiki's famous Treasure Chest, I'd sidle up to the bar and ask for something booze-free. School night rulez.

Within seconds the (ridiculously good-looking) barmen would be knocking up a mocktail for me, so I already knew that Georgi's Macmillan creations would be gooooood.

Watermelon Wonder





I decided to try the Coco Kahona because I love coconuts.

Here's what it should look like.



Fancy one?

Here's what you'll need…

2 slices of pineapple, plus leaves to garnish
passion fruit
3 tsp passion fruit cordial
4 tsp lime juice
100ml coconut water

And here's what you do…

Put the pineapple and half the passion fruit in your cocktail shaker and muddle.
Add the passion fruit syrup, squeeze in the lime juice.
Add ice and the coconut water and shake.
Pour into a hurricane glass and garnish with two round slices of pineapple, the other half of the passion fruit and the pineapple leaves.
Drink and be smug.

A few confessions here. I'm not a major fan of cocktails and therefore don't own a shaker. I do own an empty Evian bottle though, so I jigged my pineapple around in that. Terribly professional.

I also couldn't find passion fruit syrup so I used passion fruit juice instead. Oh, and I didn't have any ice (freezer issues… don't ask) so let's just say my Coco Kahona was a bit of a shit version of nod to the Mahiki original.




Guess what though? It tasted bloody good! The coconut water makes it terribly tropical and I loved the sharp tang from the fresh passion fruit.

A very grown up booze-free drink.

Fancy a sober October with the help of Mahiki's mocktails? Get sponsored to give up booze from 1 to 31 October, with the proceeds helping people affected by cancer, by signing up for Macmillan Cancer Support’s Go Sober in October challenge. Check this: gosober.org.uk


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