Crafted Concoctions
FLAVOUR MAESTRO AND LUCKY BAT co-owner Danny Crichton is a whizz when it comes to boiling up a witches brew of delicious drinks. This month, he’s sharing his tricks of the trade at Accomplice to get you creating your very own tonics, syrups and cordials.
What’s on the menu?
We’re going to make a few different things, including a homemade tonic water. It’s made from a special bark that we extract quinine from. It’s pretty cool – it’s literally the bark from a cinchona tree and you boil it up… It’s a bit of a witches brew! It’s fun because you get to smash a bunch of stuff up in the mortar and pestle and mix all these ingredients together We’ll also make a homemade cola and a tom yum cordial.
Tom yum cordial? Yum!
It’s an idea inspired by the south-east Asian influences in Darwin. It’s like making a tom yum soup but taking out all the savoury bits and making it into a sweet, zesty and spicy drink.
Do you drink it on its own or as a good mixer?
It’s delicious as a non-alcoholic drink but at Lucky Bat we mix it with a dark rum.
Why is it worth the effort to make your own tonics and mixers, rather than buying off the shelf?
It’s about respecting the ingredients. If you spend upwards of $100 on a bottle of Green Ant Gin, then mix it with a $2 bottle of tonic water, it defeats the purpose of this beautiful drink.
It’s not too hard to learn these things, and once you’ve made a syrup or a tonic it demystifies it a bit and you can start creating your own recipes.
Sounds like a delicious workshop – will there be samples to take home?
Yes, participants will get to take home samples of the syrups and tonics. I’m also going to make a mini-zine recipe book for the drinks, so everyone will get one of those, too!
Tonics, syrups and cordials with Danny Crichton SUN 28 JUL | 1-4PM | ACCOMPLICE | $120 | creativeaccomplice.com.au
