How to Make a Jelly Bean Cocktail

This Jelly Bean cocktail recipe is from Home Cocktail Bible by Olly Smith, and recommends a round of jelly beans as an accompaniment – sounds great already, doesn’t it? This unusual cocktail combines Pernod and Crème de Mûre, creating a cocktail that’s subtly aniseedy, and full of rich berry flavours. Be warned that Pernod becomea cloudy as soon as you add water, so don’t expect a clear drink!

Read our full review of Olly Smith’s Home Cocktail Bible here.

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Jelly Bean Cocktail

Jelly beans, in my experience, have been known to assuage the symptoms of a hangover – or ‘wearing the Helmet of Thunder’ as I like to call it. This is a drink that also has a certain reviving impact. With the aniseed of the Pernod, the juicy, black fruit of the crème de mûre, and the sweet and sharp blended juice and syrup, I’d say this is one for the cocktail connoisseur. If you’re seeking to impress, craft this, hand it to your guests and stand well back. It’s either going to go one way or the other, but one thing everyone can agree on is how marvellous the colour is – it just needs ‘Purple Rain’ as a soundtrack.

Servings 2 people

Author Olly Smith

Ingredients

• 30ml (1oz) Pernod
• 30ml (1oz) crème de mûre
• 22.5ml (3/4oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 15ml (1/2oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
• 7.5ml (1/4oz) simple syrup (see page 11)

Notes

Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Lime wheel, and jelly beans on the side
Equipment: Cocktail shaker, strainer

Note: If you want to achieve the full bright purple effect, buy the brightest and most lurid crème de mûre you can find!

Instructions

• Fill a shaker with ice
• Add all the ingredients
• Shake vigorously to chill
• Strain into a chilled glass
• Garnish with a lime wheel and a side of jelly beans to eat while you drink

As Nicky says in her review, ‘the Pernod dictates that this will be a love it or hate it drink for many’ but she and her husband loved it, though theirs was visually very different from the image provided in the book.

Kavey Eats received a review copy of Home Cocktail Bible by Olly Smith from publisher Quadrille. Book photography by Matt Russell. Our photography by Nicky Bramley.