Cocktails aren’t just for fancy nights out and high-end mixologists. In Mr Lyan’s Cocktails at Home, Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan, the man behind the award-winning Dandelyan and Lyaness bars in London and other venues in Washington DC and Amsterdam) shows how 70 innovative and exciting cocktails can be part of your get-togethers with friends, romantic evenings, or post-workday ritual.

Easy to make and beautifully photographed, the cocktails cover every mood and occasion, from sunny day drinks and winter warmers, to Friday night cocktails and morning revivers. Ryan perfects classics like the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan, and experiments with new, intriguing combinations, and exciting ingredients. In this second edition 9 additional cocktails, newly created by Ryan, provide even more inspiration.

 

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Golden Cherry Fizz 

Fresh cherries are one of my favourite fruits. When in season they can run the gamut of floral and bright, right through to something very deep and autumnal. This drink works with both, but the combination of the deep purple of a black cherry with the wine and the richness of the yolk is particularly special. Speaking of, the yolk might seem odd (and you can omit it if you’re serving it vegan style, but also check your wine if so!), but it gives a wonderful richness to the drink in the style of the classic Golden Fizz so is well worth trying. Keep the fruit after the infusion, too – they are great folded into salads, or served alongside cold cuts.

Gather

Handful of fresh cherries

10 shots (250ml/10oz) light red wine

1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

1 teaspoon loose-leaf Earl Grey tea

4 shots (100ml/4oz)

Regan’s orange bitters

Just over a shot (30ml/1.2oz) vodka

Just under a shot (20ml/0.8oz) lemon juice

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon sugar syrup (see p31)

Chilled small, narrow highball

Cubed ice

Chilled soda, to finish

Coin of lemon, to garnish

Fresh cherry, to garnish

 

Method

Add the tea to the orange bitters, leave to infuse in the fridge for 24 hours, then strain.

De-stone the cherries, slice, then add to the red wine and sugar in a microwave safe container. Stir, cover, then blast on high in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Allow to cool, then strain.

Add a shot (25ml/1oz) of the cherry wine mixture with the vodka, lemon juice, egg yolk, sugar syrup and 4 dashes of the infused bitters to a shaker.

Shake without ice, then add cubed ice and shake again. Double strain into the

chilled highball without ice (see p27), then crown with soda. Snap the lemon coin over the top, then discard. Garnish with a sliced cherry placed on the rim.

Magic

You can switch up the wine depending on the fruits you can get, but think about the drink as a whole. The Earl

Grey bitters work great with the cherries and the wine, but try to use a tea flavoured with real bergamot if possible (I love Rare Tea Company’s Earl Grey for this reason, and for the quality of the tea), but you can also vary the tea accent depending on your fruit. Lastly, use a true vodka that has character rather than sugar as a profile– grain vodkas work brilliantly here, so look for a Polish vodka, or one of the great smaller, local brands that have cropped up.

Recipe reprinted with permission from White Lion Publishing; New edition.