Blueberry gin sour cocktail

I have been so frustrated lately. Frustrated with the mess in the house (epic), the lack of proper kitchen (currently inevitable), the gloomy days and lack of decent light which makes blog photography very hard… I know that I should somehow suck it up and get through this but, honestly, I felt a severe lack of blogging mojo this week.

I think I need to step back and feel inspired again and meeting up with fellow food blogger Julia (of Vikalinka) this week and sharing our frustrations helped enormously (if you aren’t familiar with her blog do yourselves a favour and check it out – she is one very talented lady). Julia, if you are reading this, you helped much more than you know.

To combat my feelings of helplessness I made a cake today – for no other reason other than I NEEDED some cake. It was a make-it-up-as-you-go-along affair, finally using up the blueberries which kept falling out of the freezer (it is packed higgledy piggledy) and the cream cheese which I bought for another recipe and never used. The cake was a hit and the simple act of baking something made feel miles better.

There were a few leftover blueberries and in a fit of ‘waste not, want not’ I decided I would use them up in a cocktail. And thus the Blueberry Gin Sour was born. A very nice ending for those leftover blueberries and a real creative shot in the arm for me.

How to make a blueberry gin sour

Step 1. Muddle the blueberries, lemon juice and sugar (or sugar syrup). This can be done in a glass as in the video or directly in your cocktail shaker. If you want a really smooth cocktail then strain the pulp first and use the juice only in the cocktail.

Step 2. Add the gin and egg white and shake without ice. This (called a dry shake) will cause the egg white to foam up more but it’s not essential. Using a fresh egg white, as opposed to pasteurised egg white from a carton, will also create a better foam.

Step 3. If you have shaken without ice now is the time to add plenty of ice and shake again to chill your drink. Taste your cocktail by dipping a straw into the shaker. Make any final adjustments: do you need to add more lemon juice?

Step 4. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice or a chilled coupe glass without ice if you prefer.