There are many reasons I’ve never had a bar cart. For one thing, there’s something sublimely Abigail’s Party about having an area solely dedicated to drinking. Plus a bar cart says: “I have my life together! Friends regularly visit my house and enjoy doing so!” (Both things I’m unable to verify.)
My new home, however, comes complete with a drinks trolley, yet I’m scared to touch it. Why? Mainly because I just don’t think I’m capable of producing something I’ll actually like. Besides chucking some cold gin in a coupe and dropping in a poorly cut toenail of lemon, my mixologist skills begin and end at lumping a few liquids in a jug and calling it a “lazy girl cocktail” – although “cocktail” feels a rather grandiose term for creating what is, essentially, a domestic version of a Wetherspoon’s pitcher.
The drinks I want to make – a clover club, a porn star martini, a bellini, say – are out of my reach because I’m incapable of making a convincing fruit puree. I lose most of it to the walls of the blender, knacker my wrist grinding it with a pestle, add too much sugar or bankrupt myself by overbuying expensive fruit.
So I asked Mez Austin, bar manager at Morchella in central London, for advice on how to make a foolproof puree from summer fruits. From just a single 150g punnet of berries, Mez says you can make enough for a small summer party of eight to 10 people. Simply introduce your chosen fruit and sugar to heat.
How much sugar? Ah, that depends. “That will be determined by the fruit involved,” Mez says. “Pear puree, for example, will require a fair bit more sugar than strawberry or raspberry puree. It also depends on how ripe the fruit is – if you’ve bought it from a supermarket, I’d say maybe two tablespoons. Sugar also prolongs the preservation time of a puree.”
Leave the fruit and sugar on a low temperature, with a lid on, for five minutes, take off the heat, then blend once it’s cooled a little. “Blending is the tricky part,” Mez explains (“No kidding!” I think). “Over-blending can kill the effervescence of a puree, so blend just until smooth, then stop immediately.”
And there you have it: your very own DIY puree. You can now shake/mix/pipette it into myriad cocktails, but the easiest way to drink it is in a bellini. Mez has his own summer rendition, using pét-nat instead of prosecco for a chic twist. “Pét-nats often offer a broader range of flavour: a really dry, sharp one works brilliantly with a summer fruit puree such as redcurrant or raspberry, while a slightly funky and sour pét-nat works well with pear puree in an autumn bellini.” Now there’s something to look forward to.
Four tips for summer cocktails
Boiron Raspberry Fruit Puree £10.52 (1 litre) Henley Bridge, 0%. Mez’s preferred shop-bought puree. Keeps for eight days after opening.
Bristol Syrup Co Strawberry Puree £7.39 (600ml) Nisbets, 0%. Tart, sweet strawberry puree. Try it in a Tom Collins or French 75.
Roc Ambulle Pét-Nat £16.90 Les Caves de Pyrene, 9.5%. Bold and deeply coloured, with ripe cherry and raspberry notes.
Lost in a Field Frolic Pét-Nat 2023 £29.99 Grape Britannia, 9.5%. A sharp, aromatic blend of six heritage grape varieties from a project that seeks to protect them.
