The Singapura

OK. On a miserable rainy day in the Bay let's get stuck in with a tropical cocktail. There's even a good reason – I took advantage of the Riedel Father's Day sale and finally ordered a set of Nick & Nora coupes which I've been eyeing for a while.

Nick & Nora coupes are small cocktail glasses named after the central characters from the 1934 film The Thin Man, embodied by Myrna Loy and William Powell. They play a high-society couple who along with their wire-haired fox terrier Asta dabble in private detecting in between – or often while – drinking a truly heroic quantity of cocktails.

So many in fact that they named a glass after them.

So today we'll go tropical with a cocktail created thanks to my brother Graeme and his partner Mary who live in Singapore. For a couple of years now they have provided a supply of the cocktail's most important ingredient – toffee vodka.

Sadly, as far as I'm aware, the best brand of toffee vodka, the one they get me - V Gallery Toffee Fudge to be exact - is unavailable in New Zealand. On the bright side, Tofka, which is easy to find here, does a fairly decent job as a replacement.

This is a really easy drink to make. No weird ingredients or infusions and just a simple single shake. 

I must confess to increasing impatience while waiting for these glasses. Since I live in the Tauranga suburb of Wairoa the courier naturally delivered them to the town of the same name down Gisborne way. As you do.

But today they arrived. And beautiful they are too. So let's get right to the essentials of the blog's very first cocktail... 

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 SINGAPURA

40ml Toffee Vodka

20ml Lychee Liqueur

20ml Malibu

10ml ½ & ½ milk

10ml fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain, and garnish with grated lime zest

 Notes:

1. The sweetness of the vodka means no need for a sugar syrup.

2. The ½ & ½ adds creaminess without being as heavy as cream or coconut cream.

3. Lime balances the sweetness – add a little more if your tastes are less sweet than mine.

4. I use Kwai Feh Lychee Liqueur but Paraiso and pretty much every other brand are damn near identical.