For Andy

Andy, a good friend of mine, once asked me for some Maidenii Quinquina to make his yearly batch of quince paste. In return, he would give me some of the finished product. It was incredible: not your traditional quince paste, it was quite runny, which made it great for using in drinks. This is one I made using it and named it in his honour.
Serves
Serves 2
Total Time
10 Minutes Not including making the quince jelly
Ingredients
2 tbsp of Quince jelly
15 ml of orange curaçao
15 ml of quinquina
10 ml of lemon juice
Ice cubes, for shaking and serving
90 ml of tonic water
Thyme sprig, to garnish
For the quince jelly
5 quinces
Caster sugar (extra fine)
Method
Step 1

Rub the quinces with a cloth to remove any fluff. Place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, until very soft. The water will reduce
considerably.

Step 2

Strain the water through a piece of muslin (cheesecloth), squeezing out every last bit of juice, then compost the pulp. Weigh the quince juice and mix with the same weight of sugar in a saucepan.

Step 3

Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring as you go (until the sugar has dissolved). Continue to boil until the jelly reaches setting point. To test this, place a small saucer in the freezer.

Step 4

Once cold, dollop a bit of jam onto the saucer, wait a few moments, then run your finger through it. If it leaves a clean line with no jelly running into the middle, it's ready. The jelly will keep for up to a year in the fridge once opened.

Step 5

For the cocktail, combine all the ingredients except the tonic water in a shaker with ice.

Step 6

Shake, then strain into a highball glass. As always, gently top with your tonic, then finish with some ice.

Step 7

Garnish with thyme and toast to Andy.

Extracted from All Day Cocktails by Shaun Byrne and Nick Tesar (Hardie Grant, £12.74).

Fashion. Beauty. Culture. Life. Home
Delivered to your inbox, daily