You’ve been served: Valentine’s cocktail with Thyme

Serves 2
For the rhubarb syrup
6 rhubarb
2 thumbs of ginger, grated
300g caster sugar

70ml gin30ml Aperol30ml blood orange juice30ml rhubarb syrupEnglish Sparkling / Champagne/prosecco to top up

Chop the rhubarb and mix together in a sterilized container with a lid and refrigerate for 3 days, make sure the rhubarb is in an even layer.  Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and put back into the re-sterilized jar. This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.  For the cocktail, put ice into a cocktail shaker (or large jar if you don’t have a shaker) and add all the ingredients except the sparkles.  Shake vigorously and pour into a couple of high ball glasses (with ice already added).  Top up with fizz (and a splash of soda) and serve.

You can blend together the leftover rhubarb and ginger along with 100ml of water, 50g of sugar, the juice of two oranges, and a lemon to make a sorbet for desert. Pass the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and churn (or pop in the freezer and stir every 30 mins).