Happy Hour

We take a recipe from Kay Plunkett-Hogge’s tipple recipe bible. Meet the Del Rio cocktail…

Even before I went to work in the fashion business, Dolores del Rio was one of my heroes. Effortlessly chic, achingly beautiful, she was also whip-smart and fiercely proud of where she came from. She was the first Mexican movie star, with a hugely successful career in Hollywood silents and talkies before the war, and a leading figure in the golden age of Mexican cinema, too. So, in naming a drink for her, I wanted something that reflected her roots in the State of Durango, and which captured a hint of her elegance and integrity. So the mezcal and the bitters fly the flag for Mexico, the orange of the Cura?ao provides some citrus warmth, and the peach speaks both as a fruit of Durango and a Renaissance symbol for the heart. And the gardenia? Miss del Rio always swore that eating gardenia blossoms maintained her flawless complexion.

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe flat peaches

40ml mezcal reposado

20ml Pierre Ferrand Dry

Cura?ao or Grand Marnier

a couple dashes of Bitter Truth

Xocolatl Mole bitters

gardenia petals, to garnish

METHOD

Squeeze the peaches by hand over a clean bowl to release their juice, making sure you retain all the pulp and skin in your hand. Then fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add 20ml of the peach juice with all the remaining liquid ingredients. Stir until icy cold. Strain into a stemmed glass, and garnish with the gardenia petals.

Extracted from?Make Mine a Martini by Kay Plunkett-Hogge (Mitchell Beazley, approx €21.50, octopusbooks.co.uk). Photograph by Kate Whitaker.

@MegWalkerDublin

For more recipes check out the September issue of IMAGE Magazine, on shelves now.