Celebrate the start of summer and the Wimbledon tournament with this quintessentially English cocktail made with strawberry, tea and gin – the Strawberry and Gin Smash, aka The Wimbledon.
English summer
It’s that time of year when every other day we are teased with bright blue skies and glorious sunshine then the next day follows torrential rain. Wimbledon is plastered across our TVs and it’s the perfect excuse to sip a cocktail or two with friends as we cheer on our tennis champs – in a polite, pleasant British way of course.
The start of Wimbledon has always marked the start of summer for me. As a child I remember being devastated that it meant The Simpsons wouldn’t be on TV for two whole weeks!!! But now I just see it as a good excuse to pour a stiff drink, nibble strawberries and cream as we get over excited about two people hitting a ball about on a very well manicured lawn. Is there anything more British?
A stiff drink
The official drink of Wimbledon is of course Pimms. Now I’m a big Pimms fan but after attending a couple of weddings and a summer party or two already this month I am well and truly Pimms’d out. Plus, I’ve got a feeling a stiff drink will be required when watching Andy Murray loose (I mean win) so I decided to come up with a quintessentially English cocktail that could take the place of the usual glass of Pimms this year.
For my cocktail I had to use the most British spirits of all – gin. I was hoping that if I looked hard enough I’d find a craft gin distillery based in Wimbledon, West London. Unfortunately not. If there’s a distillery I’ve overlooked, please do let me know in the comments!
Instead I opted for the rather floral “Bloom“. You could use any gin that happens to be lurking in the back of your drinks cabinet but I’d recommend something light and fragrant rather than deep and spicy.
The best of British
Considering that I was using the best of British gin I had to use the best local strawberries too. I do wonder whether the hundreds of thousands of strawberries eaten at Wimbledon every year are British but then again, the weather has been so poor this year I know shops are struggling to stock strawberries form our little Island. I wouldn’t blame Wimbledon if they were struggling too. We have a pick-your-own near us and were lucky enough to buy a local batch of these rosy red fruits.
Gin and strawberries aside, there’s one final, very British ingredient to my Strawberry and Gin Smash – tea.
I let the tea cold brew in the gin (easier the more gin your are pouring and the more cocktails you are making), before adding the tea infused gin to the strawberries and blitzing them up in a blender. Check out the full recipe below.
Strawberry and Gin Smash – The Recipe
Ingredients
- 50ml gin
- 1 English breakfast tea bag
- 6 strawberries
- Ice
- Tonic water
Instructions
- Begin by steeping the tea bag in the gin for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Remove the stalks from the strawberries and, using a hand blender, blitz together 4 of the strawberries along with the gin.
- Pour the gin and strawberry mix over the ice and top up with tonic water. Slice one of the remaining strawberries and add to the glass.
- Cut a small slit halfway into the strawberry, up from the base and rest on the rim of the glass.
What I love about this cocktail is that it is sweet without any added sugar. When British strawberries are at their best they quite literally taste of sunshine – warm and sweet. The tea infused gin brings a fragrant note, the tonic water a bitterness that helps to balance the drink. If, however, you do manage to get a sour bunch of strawberries you can add a drizzle of honey to sweeten it to your taste.
It’s a long drink that will easily slip down, smash after smash, set after set during Wimbledon this year. Who will you be cheering for?
Like this recipe? Why not pin it for later?
This one looks fantastic! I’m surely going to try this gin, because I have tons of strawberries at home. So happy that Wimbledon is starting, go Federer!
Hi Igor! Glad you like it 😀 it tastes delicious! Hope you enjoy the tournament 🙂
This looks absolutely beautiful – I just love your wine glass too – what a perfect match for this drink, the green stem reminding me of strawberry tops. I don’t like gin so would sub for vodka but any excuse to eat more of these glorious British berries is grand by me 😀
Thanks Jo! You know I hadn’t put all that much thought into it but you’re right it does look like a strawberry top 🙂 I’m sure this would taste just as good with vodka 😉
Ohhh yum. I adore strawberries in cocktails. Love the idea of using tea!
It’s certainly something a little different. I think my OH thought I was mad “brewing” tea in gin 😛
This is the perfect cocktail for summer!I know some friends that will love this. I will make this at my next Girls Night In get together!
Hi Katie. Glad to hear you like it. I hope your friends do too!
What a gorgeous (and yummy) looking cocktail! I love anything strawberry, and while I’m not much of a fan of watching tennis, a drink this pretty would definitely make the matches fly by. 😉
Hahaha I like your thinking Tracy. I’ll admit I only watch the final! Can’t be bothered with all the other matches. This will definitely help though 🙂
I love how you added tea to this! I love gin and I NEED to try this! I hope that you enjoy the tournament 🙂
Thanks Diana! I’ve not been able to catch much of it yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to tune in for the quart-finals onwards!
Now this is the perfect summer cocktail. Full of flavor with a little punch!
Thanks Ali 🙂 glad you like it!
Lol @ pimm’d our. This looks really good. I have so many strawberries in my fridge def will try this. Pinning for later
Let me know how you get on making it Renz 😀
I love gin and I love strawberries. I know what I’m drinking this weekend.
Send me a pic if you do make it Aish 😀 tag me on twitter (@KitchenGoddess3) or instagram (@EFWalt) 😀 enjoy!
This is so gorgeous! I love that you used tea!
Thanks Diana it wouldn’t be a British cocktail without tea haha 😛
This is absolutely gorgeous and looks so refreshing! That glass makes it look like a flower in full bloom!
It does, doesn’t it Renee! I hadn’t spotten that until now 😀 thanks for your kind words!
I prefer Gin over vodka, and love the mixture of this cocktail. Will have to try it soon.
I have never been a big gin drinker, but this looks so good I may change my mind. I love that you used English breakfast tea for this recipe. It is one of my favorites. Hey, maybe I can convince myself I have having my afternoon tea with this yummy drink!
I love the gorgeous color of this cocktail. I never used to like gin, but recently I’ve tried a few that have me singing a different tune. I definitely want to sip this poolside this summer!
I put tea in everything but have yet to infuse alcohol with it so I must give this a try! I also have to try Pimm’s once and for all!
I can’t wait for Wimbledon to start this year! This cocktail sounds so refreshing!