{"id":15458,"date":"2024-03-07T15:49:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T13:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/?p=15458"},"modified":"2024-03-07T15:49:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T13:49:30","slug":"sin-tax-serves-batch-cocktails-makes-cents-with-angostura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/sin-tax-serves-batch-cocktails-makes-cents-with-angostura\/","title":{"rendered":"Sin Tax Serves \u2013 Batch Cocktails Makes Cents with ANGOSTURA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>How to stretch your booze budget\u2026 batch cocktails are your friends when it comes to hassle-free entertaining at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">With the recent budget announcements of sin tax increases on alcohol (R5.53 on each bottle of spirits for starters) serving cocktails at parties, braais or sundowners with friends just got more expensive.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>But there\u2019s no need to give up on your Negronis and Old Fashioneds. Batch cocktails are an easy way of entertaining that can save you money, time and stress when done right.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One dash of good news is that ANGOSTURA\u00ae bitters doesn\u2019t fall under the alcohol tax band, so that essential ingredient of so many classic cocktails is budget-proof.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A big money-saving advantage of serving batch cocktails is that there is less wastage. Measuring precisely in pre-party calm, you can dole out the exact quantities you need, stir up your cocktail and chill ready to pour later. No spillage, no need for random mixology mid-party (when remembering the right ratios somehow gets harder\u2026 and someone has relocated the gin bottle to the garden), and perfectly consistent serves.<\/p>\n<p>Choosing one or two batch cocktails as the drinks theme for the evening also means you can focus your booze budget on just one or two good quality bottles, without the need to bolster your home bar with a multitude of different liqueurs, spirits and mixers to cater for every whim. Choosing the right cocktail to batch is key. Simplicity rules. Avoid intricate cocktails that demand small amounts of several different niche liqueurs (those bottles will be haunting you for years to come).<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Here are a few batch-friendly suggestions to cover every cocktail-worthy occasion.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sophisticated sundowners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A good Old Fashioned is one of the easiest cocktails to batch and make ahead and is a sophisticated spirit-forward sipper that the cocktail cognoscenti love. The straightforward combination of bourbon (or rye) whiskey, ANGOSTURA\u00ae aromatic bitters, simple syrup and water keeps well once mixed for a week or more (affordability tip: simple syrup is easy to make yourself). You can use the same method for a Negroni too (equal parts Campari, gin and vermouth).<\/p>\n<p>The standard advice for batching is to multiply the individual cocktail recipe by 8 and add a half cup of water to make up the optimum dilution it would normally get from being stirred with melting ice. Using a funnel to avoid spills, mix it into a big glass bottle with a flip lid. Taste and add more of an ingredient if needed.<\/p>\n<p>Once bottled it\u2019s easily portable too, ideal if you\u2019re heading to a scenic viewpoint to watch the sun go down. Take along plenty of ice to pour it over, orange slices for garnish and you\u2019re all set.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Late summer garden parties and braais<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to affordability and easy-drinking freshness, wine cocktails are having a moment. Syrup- or fruit-embellished spritzers, white wine mojitos and Sangria\u2026 yup, Sangria can be way more than the cliche stickily sweet alcoholic fruit salad that gave it a bad name (along with bad hangovers) in the \u201880s, and it works well as a make-ahead batch cocktail.<\/p>\n<p>The secret is in the wine you use (a fruity merlot is ideal), the addition of an orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Triple Sec (use fresh orange juice or soda water to dilute if you want a lower-ABV version) and, for depth of flavour and layered interest, the judicious addition of ANGOSTURA\u00ae orange bitters.\u00a0 Slice in some oranges and chill the jug or punch bowl in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chic pre-dinner drinks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not so much a batch cocktail as one that\u2019s easy to prep ahead of time and pour as guests arrive is the classic champagne cocktail. It\u2019s got all the glitz and elegance of bubbles, the sophisticated spice of ANGOSTURA\u00ae aromatic bitters, and you can make it with your favourite sparkling wine or prosecco for affordability. Simply line up your champagne glasses, place a sugar cube (or a teaspoon of sugar) in each and shake 3-5 dashes of ANGOSTURA\u00ae\u00a0\u00a0 bitters onto each sugar cube. Add an orange twist as garnish.\u00a0 Do this prep in advance, then pour chilled sparkling wine into the glass as each guest arrives.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Cheers to celebrating with friends without breaking the bank, whatever the occasion!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For more information on the ANGOSTURA\u00ae range and delicious food and cocktail recipes please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.angosturabitters.com\/\">www.angosturabitters.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Follow Angostura South Africa on Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AngosturaZA\/\">Angostura South Africa<\/a> and Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/angosturaza\/\">@AngosturaZA<\/a> for fun facts, recipes and brand updates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-112988\" src=\"http:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/batch-cocktails-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1150\" height=\"1725\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to stretch your booze budget\u2026 batch cocktails are your friends when it comes to hassle-free entertaining at home. With the recent budget announcements of sin tax increases on alcohol (R5.53 on each bottle of spirits for starters) serving cocktails at parties, braais or sundowners with friends just got more expensive. But there\u2019s no need&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15458"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15460,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15458\/revisions\/15460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.food-blog.co.za\/joburg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}