First of the first, play the sound:

Roxi Rose’s Home Afternoons

The Hugo Cocktail – made with Bottega Prosecco and YO elderflower syrup

You know…? When people visit eachother and the host asks the guests what to serve, guests say, “Ah, nothing.” But if the hosts would not offer anything for real, well… only God knows how many bad words would they hear after the guests were leaving…

So, history teaches us that it is mandatory to serve your guests with something good when they step into your house. Unfortunately, the short spare time that we have and the busy life, limit our purchase of food and drinks in preparation for the friends that will visit us. But what do you do if the visit is also unannounced?? Well in such cases you should not leave the impression that you were caught on the wrong foot and you have to try to impress your friends with your best things you have in your kitchen.

On the other hand, even if you live in the same house with your parents, or with your beloved one, or a student fellow, we must occasionally allocate some time for the people around us. The late afternoons, when all the hustle and the bustle turns off, is the ideal time for an… edible attention.

As the title of the article says, I will tell you about today’s ace from the sleeve, or better said, the ace from the kitchen that can save you in cases such as the above: The HUGO Cocktail, reinvented by my vision.

First, I want to present to you its original version:

See? Surely you’ve already seen it in the past, since the glass has a classic characteristic shape. Moreover, the mint leaves and the ice are the elements that captures the eyes attention, while the Prosecco and the elderflower juice are the ingredients that delight the taste. A simple and balanced combination that pleases everyone.

I do not like to prepare sophisticated things or drinks to me, but I love to prepare them for the others, just as I do not like to follow traditional recipes or any other general indication. So my advice is to put your personal touch on everything you do, even if it is only a cocktail.

How do we make it:

Step 1:

In all the videos we see about preparing meals, we see all the ingredients put in bowls at first. Well, maybe in ” the real life” will result a large amount of dishes to wash at the final, but the organization that we get after selecting and individualizing the ingredients is worth it! So, those bowls does really make sense: they save you from running after the ingredients you need during the preparation and you have everything in front of you, without the need to consult the first part of the recipe every time. The ingredients I used are the second column.

Step 2:

Garnish the glass mouth right now, wetting it and turning the it upside down into sugar. RAW (low processed or unprocessed)! I just eat raw sugar because of the nutritional qualities that ot offers. The white sugar is harmful because it uses chlorine for bleaching. Brown sugar is same to white sugar but colored with all kinds of harmful substances. So, the raw sugar is not the same with brown sugar! True, it is not as sweet as the white one, but after a few days you will not feel the need of white sugar again. On the other hand, I abstain from sugar as much as possible: one teaspoon in coffee ( I will tell you more about my coffe soon), 0 sugar in any kind of tea, half sugar in milk cakes etc.

Step 3:

A: If you choose to use only two ovals of ice like me, then we prepare everything directly into the final glass. Cut the lemon in half. Put one half aside because we now use only one half of it. Cut the remained half in another half. Cut one of the two mini-halves you have now, in half again, as shown below. Then squeeze some of them in the glass. Because of the narrow glass I’ve chosen, I’ve cut small slices of lemon in different sizes, I’ve put them in the glass and added some mint leaves over them and I pushed everything to the leg of the glass with a knife. (For the glass to look good from top to bottom because when we add other liquids, the content of mint and lemon and ice will rise). Add the ice now.

B: If you like your cocktail with plenty of ice, then you add the following things into another glass. So take another glass, a highball for example. Cut the lemon in half. Put one half aside because we now use only one half of it. Cut the remained half in another half. Cut one of the two mini-halves you have now, in half again, as shown below. Then squeeze some of them in the highball. Now add some mint leaves, teh ice in the desired amount, and a few small slices of lemon. Mix everything, holding a hand over the highball’s head, sealed. Pour everything into the final glass and if the glass is narrow you can push the content down with a knife.

Step 4:

Add the syrup. YO syrup. Why? Because it has a very low content of sugar and is made only from quality fruits. Read the label if you do not believe me. We all know this brand of syrups, launched in Romania in 98… we can say that we grew up with it. I like it because, you see, is sufficiently concentrated but not overly, so it doesn’t require mixing. You can put sparkling water over, or still, or you can combine it with an alcoholic drink and it;s no need of mixing, because the syrup will dissolve pretty fast. Of the 10 flavors that are available, I like the elderflower syrup and the raspberry one. This year, YO (Ybbstaler Obstverwertung) celebrates its 60th birthday. I think they are really proud of this milestone, because to keep a company alive for 60 years and expand it into 12 countries is not easy. I told you those things to convince you to buy YO syrups whenever you want fruit syrup. The price is the same, but the quality is not; it is superior to any other commercial products.

Step 5:

Add the sparkling mineral water.

Step 6:

Add the Prosecco. I used the Prosecco from Bottega Gold. Careful! The combination of sparkling water and sparkling Prosecco is effervescent, so pour the wine slowly.

Step 7:

Of the half lemon that I told you to let aside, cut a circular slice. Cut the lemon with the size of a radius, from the outside toward the center (diameter / 2) and decorate the glass with it. Besides, do the same with a mint leaf. Voila! Your HUGO cocktail is ready!

This is the first article from the “Food & Drinks” category located in the Lifestyle section, where I will continue to write regularly. I hope that you liked the article and if you decide oneday to follow the HUGO recipe I hope you will also enjoy the result!

Photos:

Miscelanous:

With Love,