Cocktails
Lychee Likey
To accompany the Vietnamese rice rolls we were having for dinner, I decided a lychee cocktail would be a good match.
This is another of my experiments that thankfully turned out really well. It’s a pleasant, thirst quenching cocktail with a subtle lychee flavour and an awesome pink glow.
Lychee Likey
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 mint leaves
- 3 lychees
- 60ml lychee syrup from the can
- 30ml vodka
- 15ml strawberry liquer
- 15ml lemon juice
- 30ml cranberry juice
- ice
Muddle sugar, mint and lychees in a mixer so lychees are mushed.
Add all other ingredients, including some ice, and shake well.
Pour into a tall glass with more ice and garnish with a lychee and lemon slice.

Pretend you are relaxing on a beach somewhere in South East Asia.
Frozen Strawberry Daquiri
This is my version of a strawberry daquiri – with added cranberry.
Frozen Strawberry Daquiri
- a scoop of ice (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large ripe strawberries
- 30ml Bacardi
- 30ml lemon cordial
- 30ml cranberry juice
As with all frozen cocktails, put the ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth.
Pour, with the help of a spoon, into a 250ml cocktail glass and garnish with a half strawberry.

Yum yum!
Backyard Sunset
I ran out of vanilla vodka and lemon juice so couldn’t make myself a Rosebud. What I came up with instead is a pretty good substitute. It reminds me of a Golden Margarita but without the tequila taste.
Backyard Sunset
- 30ml 42 Below feijoa vodka
- 15ml cranberry juice
- 60ml pineapple juice
- 10ml passionfruit concentrate
- 10ml lime juice
- ice
Fill shaker with ice and pour in all ingredients. Shake then strain into a margarita or martini glass.
Feijoas and passionfruit – two types of fruit that are ever-present in Kiwi backyards. What better way to enjoy their flavours than in a cooling cocktail.

Backyard Sunset
Rosebud – My Way
After having Rosebuds at Chow, I just had to know how to make one.
The last time we went, we made sure to watch the bartender closely to see what and how much he put into it. Chow provides a list of ingredients on their online cocktail menu so that was a good start.
After close observation and a couple of attempts, I’ve come up with the following recipe. The ingredients online say ‘passionfruit’, which is probably passionfruit juice or drink of some sort. I’ve opted for passionfruit concentrate because that’s what we have in the fridge. Being so, I’ve had to increase the other juices to make up the volume that the concentrate lacks.
The concentrate has seeds but you can just strain those when pouring.

Rosebud cocktail
Rosebud (my way)
- 30ml Absolute Vanilla Vodka
- 45ml cranberry juice
- 45ml pineapple juice
- 15ml passionfruit concentrate
- 5ml lemon juice
- ice
Put everything into a shaker. Shake really well and strain into a champagne flute. It’s prettier if some froth sits on top so add some from the shaker if it’s all just sitting there.
Not exactly the same as Chow’s but still delicious and very easy to drink – so be careful!
Update: Please see Kula’s comment below for the ‘real’ version. Cheers!
