Cocktail Hour: The Royal Fusion

So, after all our excitement about picnics, sundresses, and lounging in the garden with a cocktail and a good book, summer turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I know, I know, and now that it’s September the weather already seems decidedly chillier. I want my money back.

But, all is not lost. As much as it pains me to admit that it might be time to pack away my floral frocks and oversized Jackie-O sunglasses for another year, there are some consolations about the fact that winter’s coming. And one of those is huddling up indoors with a wintery cocktail or two. Now, I know some of you are suckers for whisky sours and that type of thing. But to me, vodka is the perfect spirit to warm your cockles when it’s cold outside. Apparently a favourite of patrons of the Simachev bar in Moscow (a surreal yet intimate venue that appears to be a cross between a decadent boudoir and a traditional English old-man pub) The Royal Fusion is the ideal cocktail for when the weather’s dismal:

You’ll need these things:

• 40ml Russian Standard Original Vodka
• 50g seedless grapes
• 50g cubed pineapple
• 10ml vanilla liqueur
• 10ml hazelnut liqueur
• Dash of lime juice
• Dash of (simple) sugar syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water, easy peasy)

And you’ll need to do these things:

Muddle the fruit together in a mixing glass. Add the other ingredients and shake, shake, shake over crushed ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and, if you’re feeling fancy, garnish with grapes.

But don’t over-indulge, or your behaviour won’t be befitting of this cocktail’s royal moniker. It’s not regal to get loud and bawdy, fall over and flash your knickers. Just sayin’.