Cocktail Hour: Sprucing Up Your Festive Tipples

Marek Rozmarynowski, Fallon & Byrne’s resident cocktail fanatic gives us her expert tips on treating your guests to the best cocktails over the holidays.

I?recommend looking at ways to jazz up your cocktails through the addition of delicate details, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel of the drink itself. There are so many simple ways to elevate any cocktail, these are some of my favourites:

? Hibiscus flowers in syrup Add to your cocktail and watch it unfurl as it hits the liquid. It adds a delicate flavour and is very pretty to look at.

? Edible flowers The Steenbergs range, stocked in Fallon & Byrne, includes cornflowers, marigolds and orange blossoms, all of which can make lovely garnishes.

? Coloured sugar and salt Instead of using white sugar or salt to coat the rim of your glass, why not add some colour? You could also have some fun with the rim for your margarita by using a coloured salt – pink Himalayan rock, blue Persian or red Hawaiian.

? Dehydrated fruit Slices of dehydrated apple, orange or lemon look terrific nestling at the top of a Christmas cocktail. Freeze-dried berries are another simple way to garnish your drinks and add a little chill factor.

? Liquid smoke Consider adding a teeny tiny amount of this to a whiskey or bourbon-based cocktail for an added flavour punch.