This cocktail is a mix of a bottle of Prosecco with frozen strawberries, ice, sugar, lemon juice and a couple of shots of white rum. It’s very sweet and refreshing.

The ice is important as on a hot summer’s day you might drink it a little too quickly. And while it tastes like a soft drink it is actually quite strong. So if you don’t like iced drinks, consider watering this down with sparkling water instead.

I love strawberry bellinis. I was thinking about making some but then I remembered the Raspberry Mint Daiquiri and I wondered what would a strawberry bellini crossed with daquiri taste like? It tastes like a heady mix of velvety sweet strawberry bubbles. So I call these strawberry velvet cocktails. Maybe there is another name for them. In any case, I love them.

If you would rather use fresh strawberries rather than frozen ones - do, it will be even better. You may not need to add so much sugar, so taste and adjust according to your taste. And I would advise doing the same when adding the rum. I found the white rum really improved the taste of the cocktail. It somehow balances the fruit and alcohol flavours. You may want to add a little more or a little less. So again, adjust according to your taste. Just remember that rum is quite strong, so to avoid making cocktails that are too heady, you might want to add more ice if you add more rum.

I leave the strawberries seeds in this. If you want something smoother, you will need to pass it through a sieve. I think it’s fine as it is. This is a sweet and simple summer cocktail, made in the simplest way possible.

Strawberry Velvet Cocktail

Yield: Makes ~1 ½ litres

Suitable for: Gluten-free diet

Ingredients:

• 750ml sparkling white wine
• 2 shots white rum
• 350g strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 cups ice
• ½ lemon,
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Instructions:

1. Put the strawberries and ice in a large blender with ⅓ of the Prosecco. Blend till the strawberries and ice are blended to slush or a close to a slush as possible. Pour the rest of the Prosecco, the rum and a good squeeze lemon. Sprinkle in the sugar and blend the mix again until well blended. Taste. You may want to add a little more sugar or another squeeze of lemon juice or some more ice. Taste and just to your preferences.

Enjoy!