If you recall, I have been dying to taste the D’Urban Scarlet Gin from Distillery 031.  I had my first chance to try the unique gin  at a lunch at Steak & Grill Co in May this year.  Ever since then I have had this sublime gin on my list of must-buys.  So, when my sister surprised me with a bottle for my birthday, I had so many ideas up my sleeve of cocktails to try.  I knew I had to put together a post for the blog with these – that is, if they worked out.  And work out very well they did!

First off, I’d like to mention that this beautiful, brightly coloured gin is the first in the world to be made with cascara – coffee cherries that Distillery 031 sources from Beaver Creek Coffee Estate on KwaZulu Natal’s South Coast.  This is the red, fleshy covering of the coffee bean, and is what leaves the gin with a beautiful red colour and gentle berry taste.

The D’Urban Scarlet Gin has won a number of international awards, in San Francisco, New York and London – so you’re in for an absolute treat.

So – I put together 2 cocktails using the D’Urban Scarlet Gin and my Hubs put together 1 of his own.  All 3 tasted delicious and we’d all be happy to drink them again.

Scarlet G n T 

First up, I wanted to make a jazzed-up version of a regular G n T.  I threw in some beautiful edible flowers and a little flavoured soda.  You can use whatever brand you’d like, but I tried out the Chinchona tonic water (lovely and light) and the Pura Soda in the Cranberry flavour,  as it has 65% less sugar than regular soft drinks, and doesn’t contain colourants, so it wouldn’t disturb the beautiful colour of the D’Urban Scarlet gin.

The cocktail was easy, super refreshing and with the pretty edible flowers it would make the perfect drink for a girl’s lunch or bridal shower.

Scarlet G n T

I took a classic G n T, and added my own personal twist to it. Easy to make, but very impressive, and something I'll be drinking all summer!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 1

Ingredients

  

• 50 ml D'Urban Scarlet Gin
• 1/2 can Chinchona Tonic Water
• 1/2 can Pura Cranberry Soda
• ice cubes
• edible flowers to garnish

Instructions

 

• Add ice cubes and gin to your chosen glass.
• Top with the tonic and then the cranberry soda. Stir.
• Garnish with edible flowers.

Scarlet Martini

My mum is a huge fan of martini’s, so when I mentioned the idea of a red martini, she was ALL on board.  I must admit, I don’t like a regular gin martini, but this one is a little sweeter, and the spice from the Cinzano Rosso makes it absolutely delectable.  I loved the colour of it, thanks to the D’Urban Scarlet Gin.

Scarlet Martini

A play on the classic gin martini, we used both scarlet gin and red vermouth for this sultry cocktail.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 1

Equipment

• Cocktail shaker

Ingredients

  

• 25 ml D'Urban Scarlet Gin
• 25 ml Cinzano Rosso vermouth
• Large handful ice cubes

Instructions

 

• Add ice cubes to cocktail shaker.
• Add both gin and vermouth to shaker.
• Shake vigorously.
• Pour into martini glass and serve immediately.

Cascara Express

Hubs wanted to see if a coffee element would work with the D’Urban Scarlet Gin, what with it being made from coffee cherries.  We’ve both tasted a number of cocktails that contain coffee flavours and berry flavours together too, and so he got mixing.  So, he decided to add some Kahlua and maraschino cherries into a regular G n T!  Amazingly enough, this was his first try and it was DIVINE – so much so that we made more that same evening.  We made this drink with regular Fitch & Leeds tonic, as the plain tonic allows the other flavours to come through properly.

Cascara Express

Ever thought of adding coffee to a G n T? This one works amazingly well with the addition of Kahlua and maraschino cherries.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 1

Ingredients

  

• 25 ml Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 25 ml D'Urban Scarlet Gin
• 1 tsp Syrup from maraschino cherries
• Fitch & Leeds Indian Tonic
• 2/3 Maraschino cherries

Instructions

 

• Take a tumbler, add Kahlua, Scarlet Gin and syrup.
• Add a few ice cubes, and top up with tonic.
• Garnish with maraschino cherries and serve.

All three cocktails tasted equally delicious, and yet they were all so different.  I love how you can take one main ingredient and create so many different things with it!

If you’re keen to buy a bottle of the D’Urban Scarlet Gin for yourself, I have noticed that most of my local bottlestores carry it.  Otherwise, you can find it on Bottleshop HERE and Norman Goodfellows HERE.

Liked these drinks recipes?  Check out some of my others here: –

Christmas Bourbon Eggnog  – I took regular brandy eggnog and gave it a fun twist with the Jim Beam Devil’s Cut bourbon.

Irish Old Fashioned – Dubliner Irish whiskey in an Old Fashioned?  Sublime!