"Don't be silly, there is always time for a cocktail, darling"

Our last trip to Las Vegas seemed to focus on cocktails! We were lucky enough to visit The Laundry Room.  One of the rules of The Laundry Room is no talking about The Laundry Room, so I cant give too much away!  There are also no photographs allowed but you may sketch if you like.  What I can tell you is that through a secret door is a dark and alluring speakeasy with the most fabulous cocktails.  If you are planning a trip to Vegas do some research and get yourself a reservation, you wont be disappointed.

The Laundry Room inspired me to up my cocktail game. Cocktails are what summer needs.

A Southside is a simple yet elegant cocktail and it tastes like summer in a glass. It’s bright and zingy and so simple to make. A lot of cocktails call for a simple syrup to sweeten things up. Whilst it is very easy to make a batch, you still need to do it in advance so it has time to cool. I recently bought some Ginger People: Ginger Syrup and it’s like liquid gold! I have been sneaking it into everything because I flipping love ginger! What better that a cocktail spiked with sweet yet fiery ginger! In case you don’t have a bottle of ginger syrup on hand (you really should you know) you can always make a batch of your own ginger syrup;

GINGER SIMPLE SYRUP

WHAT YOU NEED
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 thumb sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into small pieces

WHAT YOU DO
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add ginger; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard ginger. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

GINGER AND MINT SOUTHSIDE