Sea buckthorn cocktail with hibiscus

A morning juice, or evening sundowner?

Whether it’s shaking them up in a cocktail mixer or blending them for our morning smoothie, we love the combination of bright, fresh fruit flavours.

This recipe, like many of our other mocktails, is designed to be versatile. It’s as happy in the morning, as you pore over your inbox, as it is in the evening poured over ice!

If you prefer to have it as a morning juice, remember to pop a cup of hibiscus tea into the fridge the night before. That way, it’s just a case of mixing the remaining fruit juices with honey and blending the two together.

Alternatively, try it as a calming apéritif. If you’d like to add a shot of alcohol, try a white spirit. Pineapple, hibiscus and ginger all love tequila, but vodka or gin would work just as well.

How to use sea buckthorn in a cocktail

A few short years ago, few people knew about sea buckthorn. Now, it’s popping up everywhere from Bake Off to Masterchef!

While professional chefs prize sea buckthorn for its sharp, almost tropical flavour, we love it for its health benefits.

100g of sea buckthorn provides between 12 and 15 times the vitamin C of the same amount of oranges. These perky little berries also contain rare omega-7 fatty acids and beta-carotene, which our bodies convert into vitamin A. Both of these natural substances help to look after our eye and skin health, and to care for our mucous membranes.

Keen to expand your repertoire of sea buckthorn cocktails? It pairs particularly well with other citrus flavours like orange, lemon and lime, and tropical flavours like pineapple. You can also turn it into a delightful spritz by topping with sparkling wine.

How to use hibiscus in a cocktail

Hibiscus is a flower with brightly-coloured petals. Although it’s native to the tropics, many green-fingered home gardeners happily grow them in the back yard.

If you don’t have a store of hibiscus flowers in your window box, we recommend sourcing them dried. As always, look for an organic supplier to make sure that no chemicals or pesticides will make their way into your cold-brew.

Traditional hibiscus ‘tea' is made by infusing the petals in water (no need for actual tea leaves).  The tea itself turns a gorgeous, deep red colour and has a sharp flavour reminiscent of cranberry, or our favourite aronia berry.

It’s no surprise, then, that bartenders around the world have been using hibiscus to impart a luxurious colour and flavour to alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks alike. A perusal of a few of New York’s top cocktail menus would present you with creations such as hibiscus martinis, margaritas and spritzers.

Hibiscus tea is delicious on its own - and we recommend you try it! However in our cocktail recipe it gives an unusual floral element among the citrusy fruit juice that we find positively addictive.

Where can I get ginger juice?

We love the kick of fiery heat that ginger juice brings to our cocktail and, of course, it is the perfect partner for pineapple. But where can you get it?

Although you might not see it on supermarket shelves, ginger juice is readily available in lots of health and whole food shops.

If you can’t find it there, you can also easily make it at home. You can use a juicer or just a plain old food processor. Simply peel the ginger and chop into chunks. Whizz it up in the blender, and then add about a cup of water and continue to blend until you have a nice, evenly mixed juice. Strain out any leftover ginger bits with a fine sieve or - even better - a muslin or cheesecloth.

If you have any left over, it’s delicious on its own as a morning shot or mixed with a bit of fresh mint. You can add it to hot water to make ginger tea, or add to sparkling water for a homemade, healthy ginger ale.

How to dehydrate orange slices

There is such a thing as a fruit dehydrator, but we certainly don’t have one in the cupboard (and you probably don’t either!).

If that’s the case, fear not. It’s very easy to make the dehydrated fruit in the oven. Simply slice your oranges very thinly using a knife or a mandolin, and then lay them out with plenty of room around them on a lined baking tray.

If you like, you can add a sprinkling of cinnamon for extra flavour.

Pop them in the oven on a very low heat (around 190ºF) and leave them to dry out for around three hours. They should be completely dry when you take them out; if not, pop them back in for another hour or so.

As well as making a fabulous cocktail garnish, dehydrated orange slices are brilliant for decorating cakes, adding to teas, or even using as potpourri!

However you slice it, our cocktail is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.