Garnishes

Garnishes can be an important part of a drink but they need to make sense and add to it, either visually, with a flavour, or by complementing it with an aroma. Some of the garnishes I conceive are borne out of fun – I use cucamelons, for example (see photo opposite), because lots of people have never seen them, so finding a miniature watermelon perched on their watermelon drink is a novel element of surprise. But mostly I try to use garnishes that have a purpose; I don’t like using a garnish just for the sake of it. One of the garnishes that got people talking and trying a drink was when I shrunk a packet of Monster Munch and pegged it to the side of the glass. We’d created a Pickled Onion Monster Munch Gibson by distilling the snack with vermouth and then making a classic Gibson, but of course the drink is clear. Pegging the little packet to the glass gave an understanding of the drink – a link between a colourless liquid and its flavour. It was fun, but also useful.