Introducing Brown Brothers’ Spiced Winter Flora

In order to add some sunshine to these darker, colder months, Brown Brothers have teamed up with up-and-coming mixologist Kyra Elton to create a delicious winter cocktail, Spiced Winter Flora, heroing their award-winning dessert wine, Orange Muscat & Flora. With an alluring gold colour, zesty citrus notes, and hints of honey, this sweet wine from fourth-generation Australian winemakers, Brown Brothers, is the perfect addition to this spiced winter cocktail and your autumn get togethers.

Orange Muscat and Flora wine is a blend that is unique to Brown Brothers, created using two grape varieties that aren’t native or well-known in Australia. Sweet and rich yet beautifully balanced, this is a light and refreshing dessert wine that is the ideal pairing with the pudding course or cheeseboard this festive period, and the hero to the specially-created Spiced Winter Flora.

With two different levels of complexity options to choose from, the Spiced Winter Flora can either be a quick cocktail creation served as an aperitif, or the pièce de résistance of the evening with a little more labour of love. And if cocktails aren’t your thing, try a small serving of Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora on its own to round off a meal, or simply enjoy over ice.

So whether you’re looking for a luscious after-dinner treat, simple cocktail recipe to elevate your evening, or a masterpiece to impress family and friends with during a dinner party, Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora has you covered this winter.

Brown Brothers Spiced Winter Flora

Ingredients
60ml Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora (available from Tesco, £8.50; Booths £9.25)
5g fresh ginger
20ml diluted honey or spiced honey (see below for details)
20ml lemon juice
Candied ginger garnish (optional, see below for details)

Diluted Honey (quick and simple)
Create a simple honey water mixture by diluting honey with filtered water in a 2:1 ration; mix until fully combined

Spiced Honey (the pièce de resistance – allow a week!)
Infuse cinnamon, star anise, and all spice in honey for a week before creation; remove spices then dilute spiced honey with water as mentioned above

Candied Ginger Garnish (optional)
1 thumb of ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
Extra sugar for coating
Peel ginger, slice thinly (use mandolin if possible). Boil and simmer for 30 mins. Save ½ cup of ginger water, drain the rest. Add sugar to ginger water, simmer until syrup is made. Add ginger slices until temp reaches 110*C. Drain. Lay slices out on cooking rack, and after 2 hours place in a bowl of sugar and toss. Leave to dry overnight. Store in airtight container in a cool place for several months.

Method:
Add Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora to shaking tin with other ingredients. Add ice and shake vigorously so ice breaks inside the shaker. Strain into a tumbler/old fashioned glass over ice. If using the candied ginger garnish, rest a slice on top of the ice or use toothpicks to place on the rim.

And enjoy!