"When I was 14, I was the oldest I ever was. I've been getting younger ever since"
The Lab in Montreal has created a range of Artisanal products hand-made in Canada, produced in small batches and made with 100% natural ingredients, for your cocktails and recipes. I was sent a package filled with these amazing cocktail syrups to test out. I will be testing each one in various cocktails (it's a hard job, but someone has to do it!) and I will let you know all about each recipe I try here on the blog.
The house was pretty quiet on testing day with only myself and Alfie in the kitchen. He wanted to join in the fun so I made one cocktail and one mocktail.
Shirley Temple
What do the Shirley Temple and Mary Pickford have in common?
The answer is the sweet, deep red syrup, Grenadine.
Grenadine is a commonly used, non-alcoholic bar syrup, characterised by a flavour that is both tart and sweet, and by a deep red colour. It is popular as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavour and to give a reddish/pink tint to mixed drinks.The Lab in Montreal has created a range of Artisanal products hand-made in Canada, produced in small batches and made with 100% natural ingredients, for your cocktails and recipes. I was sent a package filled with these amazing cocktail syrups to test out. I will be testing each one in various cocktails (it's a hard job, but someone has to do it!) and I will let you know all about each recipe I try here on the blog.
My first two cocktails features The Lab's Grenadine syrup.
MARY PICKFORD
A Mary Pickford is a Prohibition Era cocktail made with white rum, fresh pineapple juice, grenadine, and Maraschino liqueur.
WHO IS IT NAMED AFTER?
Mary Pickford, was a prolific Canadian-American film actress and producer. Known in her prime as "America's Sweetheart" and the "girl with the curls", Pickford was one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood and a significant figure in the development of film acting. Pickford was one of the earliest stars to be billed under her name (film performers up until that time were usually un-billed), and was one of the most popular actresses of the 1910s and 1920s, earning the nickname "Queen of the Movies".
MARY PICKFORD COCKTAIL
45ml White rum
45ml Pineapple juice
1 tsp Grenadine
6 drops Maraschino liqueur
1 Maraschino cherry to garnish
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry and serve.
SHIRLEY TEMPLE
A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic mixed drink traditionally made with ginger ale, a splash of grenadine and garnished with a maraschino cherry
WHO IS IT NAMED AFTER?
Shirley Temple was an American actress, singer, dancer, businesswoman, and diplomat who was Hollywood's number one box-office draw as a child actress from 1935 to 1938. She is 18th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female American screen legends of Classic Hollywood cinema.
Temple herself was not a fan of the drink, as she told Scott Simon in an NPR interview in 1986: "The saccharine sweet, icky drink? Yes, well... those were created in the probably middle 1930s by The Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood and I had nothing to do with it. But, all over the world, I am served that. People think it's funny. I hate them. Too sweet!"
She is very correct in that this drink is sweet but by that very nature, children of course, adore it!
SHIRLEY TEMPLE MOCKTAIL
Start with a tall glass filled with ice. Pour in ginger ale and top it off with a few splashes of Grenadine. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.
If you are not in the mood for a mocktail simply add a shot of vodka or rum and you have the fabulously named "Dirty Shirley".
THE GRENADINE VERDICT
I have tried quite a few Grenadine syrups and even made my own. The Lab's syrup is seriously delicious. Don't expect that bright red hit you get from other store bought Grenadine, this one is subtle and more restrained but the fresh, balanced flavours are a great addition to your cocktails.
I was sent The Lab's fabulous range of cocktail syrups to test out for the blog. I did not get paid so trust me when I say that if it's on the blog then I loved it! Only the best for you guys!
Images and mocktail drinking children are my own.
