I always tend to begin the year full of inspired cocktail mixing and then by suggesting you some healthy fruit or vegetable based recipes that offer vitamins, antioxidants and other beneficial factors to help recoup energy spent over the parade of food and drink on tables over the Christmas holiday. Generally you can combine fruit with fruit but also vegetable with fruit if you like the taste. Experiment to see which vegetable or fruit helps you most and select only the best quality, preferably organic. Salute!

Ingredients >
2 large carrots
5cl clear apple juice
1 small apple
2 slices of fresh ginger root

Preparation >
Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend. Add a scoop of ice (optional), blend till smooth and pour into a highball. Garnish with a wedge of orange and stir it before drinking.

The majority of Champagne cocktails served in many restaurants are fruit-flavored drinks like the mimosa and Bellini, and sparkling berry drinks by different names. However, a couple of classic Champagne cocktails are bubbling up on drink menus.

The original Champagne cocktail is made by dropping an Angostura bitters-soaked sugar cube into a Champagne flute and filling with sparkling wine or Champagne. It is one of the few drinks today that is made just as it was when the recipe was first printed in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book “How to Mix Drinks” believed to be the first published bartending guide.

Another classic Champagne cocktail, the French 75, is commonly altered from the original, and even cocktail historians disagree on what the original was. The drink was named after the French 75 gun used in World WarI, and its creation is credited to U.S. Army officers. It is said that the casings of 75-millimeter shells made good drinking cups.

In his book “Straight Up or On the Rocks: The Story of the American Cocktail” (North Point Press; $12), William Grimes writes > ”The drink was originally compounded of Cognac, lime or lemon juice, and simple syrup,” but his accompanying recipe calls for gin instead of the Cognac. In “The Craft of the Cocktail” (Clarkson Potter; $35), cocktail expert Dale DeGroff writes > ”The recipe originally called for gin, but it became more popular using brandy,” and his recipe lists brandy as the hard alcohol.

According to several books and Web sites, the French 75, when made with brandy or Cognac, Cognac is brandy produced in the Cognac region of France, should actually be called the French 125. When made with bourbon, it is called the French 95.

French 75

Ingredients >
1 ounce gin
1/2 teaspoon simple syrup infused with Meyer lemon and a touch of cinnamon, see notes
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
4 ounces Champagne
For the Garnish > orange slice and cherry
To make syrup > Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Add two strips of lemon peel, preferably Meyer lemon, and a pinch of cinnamon. Bring to boil on high heat. Stir, and when sugar dissolves remove from heat. Cool. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Procedure >
Shake gin, simple syrup and lemon juice over ice in shaker. Strain into Champagne flute and add Champagne. Add the garnishes. Yields 1 cocktail.

Expectations are always high on New Year’s Eve. While we can’t guarantee the perfect evening, will at least make sure that your drinks, some with alcohol and some without, live up to the hype

Hot apple cider > Serves 6-8

750ml/24fl oz apple cider
250ml/8fl oz orange juice
125ml/4fl oz lemon juice
1tbsp allspice
The peel of one whole orange
4 whole cloves and a cinnamon stick
Muscovado sugar or honey, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a pan. Place over a low heat and bring to the boil. Add more honey, sugar, orange or lemon according to your taste. Reduce the heat and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes. Strain before serving.

Pomegranate and clementine juice > Serves 6-8

6 ripe pomegranates
12 clementines
250ml/8fl oz sparkling water
1tbsp caster sugar

Hold each pomegranate and turn it slowly in your hand while gently tapping it with the end of a rolling pin. This loosens the pips inside. Slice each one in half and, using a teaspoon, remove the ruby red pips from inside. Once you have done all six, place in a blender and purée. Pour the juice from the blender through a colander, to remove the pith and pips. Pour the liquid into a jug and spoon over the sugar. Cut the clementines in half and using a juicer, extract all the juice. Pour this juice on to the pomegranate juice. Using a wooden spoon, stir well to combine and pour over the sparkling mineral water. Serve chilled or over ice.

Raspberries with prosecco > Serves 6-8

1 punnet of raspberries
150ml/5fl oz good-quality brandy
1tbsp caster sugar
1 bottle of prosecco
6 sugar cubes

Place the raspberries in a sterilised jar, spoon in the sugar and pour over the brandy, Seal, and allow to sit in a cool, dark place for three to four days. To serve, place two or three raspberries in a champagne flute and pour in just enough brandy to cover them. Add one sugar cube per glass and top with prosecco. Served chilled.

Biccerin > Serves 6-8

300g/10oz dark chocolate such as Valrhona
300ml/10fl oz coffee (Nescafé will not suffice - either made in a cafetiere or a Bialetti using Illy or Lavazza)
150ml/5fl oz double cream
1tbsp icing sugar

Place the chocolate in a bain marie over a low heat. Make sure that the bowl that the chocolate sits in does not rest in the water - you want the chocolate to steam. Without stirring, allow the chocolate to melt by itself. Meanwhile, whip the cream into soft peaks and fold in the icing sugar.
Once the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and stir in the hot coffee with a wooden spoon. Divide between each cup and spoon the cream over the top so it sits on top of the coffee and chocolate. Serve while piping hot.

Sherry eggnog > Serves 6-8

1 medium egg, separate yolks and white
25g/1oz soft brown sugar
50ml/2fl oz dry sherry - Fino or Manzanilla
75ml/3fl oz full-cream milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
 
Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then slowly whisk in the sherry followed by the milk. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they peak and gently whip the cream. Fold the yolk mixture into the whites, then follow with the cream. Just before serving grate over a sprinkling of nutmeg and serve.

Fig Thyme
Serves 1

Note > Cointreau is an orange liqueur.

For thyme syrup >
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 5 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs

For cocktail >
• 1 fig, quartered, plus extra quarter for garnish
• 1 tbsp. ( 1/2 oz.) thyme syrup
• 3 tbsp. (1 1/2 oz.) pisco
• 1 tbsp. ( 1/2 oz.) Cointreau (see note)
• 1 tbsp. ( 1/2 oz.) freshly squeezed lime juice
• Fresh thyme sprig for garnish

Directions
To make thyme syrup > In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water and thyme. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and gently simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve (discarding thyme) and into a tightly sealed glass bottle; syrup can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

To make cocktail > In a cocktail shaker, muddle quartered fig with thyme syrup. Top with ice, add pisco, Cointreau and lime juice and shake 10 seconds. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a tall cocktail glass, garnish with fig quarter and thyme sprig and serve.

Chilcano de Pisco
Serves 4

• 2 c. ginger ale
• 1/3 c. pisco
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 drops bitters
• Crushed ice
• 4 lemon slices for garnish

Directions
In a glass pitcher, combine ginger ale, pisco, lemon juice and bitters. Pour in tall glasses filled with ice, garnish with lemon slices and serve. 

Pisco Sour
Serves 1

Note > To make simple syrup, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over high heat, gently simmering until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely; refrigerate in a tightly sealed jar for up to two weeks. Pisco Sour formulas can subtly vary, more or less lime juice, pisco, simple syrup or egg white, depending upon the bartender. 

• 1/4 c. (2 oz.) pisco
• 1/8 c. (1 oz.) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/8 c. (1 oz.) simple syrup (see note)
• 1/8 c. (1 oz.) pasteurized egg white
• 3 dashes bitters

Directions
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white, and shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a glass, crown with bitters and serve.

Piscorita
Serves 1

• Lime slices
• Margarita or kosher salt
• 1/4 c. (2 oz.) pisco
• 1/8 c. (1 oz.) orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau)
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 c. ice cubes

Directions
Rub edge of glass with lime slice and dip edge of glass in margarita or kosher salt. In a blender, combine pisco, orange liqueur, lemon juice and ice and blend at high speed until smooth. Pour into prepared glass, garnish with lime slice and serve.

Pisco Punch
Serves 12

Note > This recipe must be made in advance. Pineapple-infused pisco and grapefruit and lime-infused simple syrup add contemporary flavor notes to this classic punch, first concocted in late 19th-century San Francisco. It was writer Jack London’s favorite drink.

• 1 large pineapple (about 4 lb.), peeled and cut into 1-in. pieces
• 1 (750 ml) bottle pisco
• 2 c. simple syrup, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated lime peel
• 1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated white grapefruit peel
• 2/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Ice cubes
• Pineapple leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions
Place pineapple pieces in a large glass jar or bowl. Pour pisco over pineapple, cover and refrigerate for 3 days, shaking occasionally. Divide simple syrup between 2 small bowls, mixing grated lime peel into 1 bowl and grated grapefruit peel into other bowl; cover and refrigerate both bowls overnight.
When ready to serve, strain pisco into a glass pitcher (discarding pineapple). Strain both syrups into pisco (discarding peel). Add lemon juice and stir to blend. Fill 12 small glasses with ice and punch, garnish with pineapple leaves (if desired) and serve.

Toast the New Year with what is looking to be one of the up-and-coming names on the cocktail circuit: the Pisco Sour.

The December 31 countdown to midnight has been capped with Champagne for as long as anyone can remember. With “Sex and the City” reruns all over the tube, ringing in 2007 with the show’s signature Cosmopolitan seems so 2003. And a mojito? Been there, drank that. So toast the New Year with what is looking to be one of the up-and-coming names on the cocktail circuit: the Pisco Sour.

People are starting to catch on that it’s a very nice drink. They’re becoming more and more popular every day. Dale DeGroff, author of “The Craft of the Cocktail,” puts a more macro spin on it. “With the revival of everything South American these days, pisco is going to be growing in interest on the horizons of a lot of bartenders,” he said. “It’s going to start with the cocktail geek world and then move to the general public. It’s going to be a coming thing.”

THE SPIRIT > Pisco > The Peruvian and Chilean national drink has a rich 400-year history. The brandy-like spirit is produced in the same simple manner that Italians use to make grappa: Juice and pulp, extracted primarily from muscatel grapes, are fermented briefly and then distilled. Popularity in this country has ebbed and flowed. Californians first took to pisco (pronounced pees-ko) in the mid-19th century, when clipper ships sailing around Cape Horn would drop anchor in the Peruvian port of Pisco and stock up. Pisco was also in demand pre-and post-Prohibition. It largely fell out of favor following World War II, but it’s clearly poised to make another comeback. Peruvian political upheaval pretty much kept pisco off American shelves for most of the 1990s, but today more than a dozen brands are being imported to the United States, making their way into Pisco Sours and other increasingly popular libations. “Pisco has a distinctive flavor, so it’s not an easy base for cocktails,” said DeGroff. “You have to tread carefully to be a good matchmaker. Tropical fruits are a good way to go, which explains the Pisco Sour, and because it’s unaged, it’s also excellent with espresso and coffee liqueurs.”

THE INGREDIENTS >

Angostura bitters > People hesitate about the bitters. But they add a subtle clove taste.

Simple syrup > The sure-fire combination of sugar, water and heat forge an easy-to-make sweetening staple that any self-respecting mixologist should keep on hand.

Lemon juice > That’s lemon, not lime. Limes will give a Pisco Sour a margarita tone. And pay close attention to measurements. Because it’s an old craft cocktail, it requires care and precision. A small change in proportions can throw off the whole flavor.

Egg whites > The secret ingredient doesn’t contribute in terms of flavor; its role is to add a frothy, eye-catching bouyancy. Be wise and use pasteurized eggs, and make it easy by buying prepackaged egg whites, available in the refrigerated egg case. Or go one step further and buy powdered egg whites, found in the baking section of most supermarkets. 

Ice and a cocktail shaker > Set the stopwatch for 10 seconds, then get shaking. Any less, and you won’t have that nice frothy head on it. A too-vigorous shake is not recommended, either. You’ll have a pisco meringue instead! You might as well pour it into a prebaked pie shell.

Glassware > There are no hard-and-fast rules. Some mixologists prefer a lowball. Or you may use a festive flute. Maybe that’s why Pisco Sours are more popular with women. Guys generally don’t want to drink cocktails from flutes.

1 bottle white grape juice
2 litres of Lemonade, Sprite or 7up

1. Mix the juice and lemonade, spriteor 7up in equal amounts.
2. Garnish with orange slices, cherries, or strawberries.