I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Bombay Sapphire Gin

When you become a parent (especially a parent of twins) you quickly realise that days of rest and leisure are behind you. An evening out has become an evening in, heels replaced with slippers and you can’t remember the last time you watched the telly and had any clue what anyone was saying (without subtitles!)

But does staying in have to be a sacrifice? Is it possible to have a great adult style day or evening at home? I was really keen to test this theory with the Bombay Sapphire shop from Collective Bias.

Cocktails and Strawberries

I enlisted my husband for help with Gin based cocktail recipes (he has a book or three on the subject) and armed with our shopping list we set off for Sainsburys to purchase our ingredients.

Sainsburys does seem to have gone a bit Wimbledon mad at the moment with special offers, themed food, drink and even cardboard tennis balls attached to the shelves! It was easy to be swept up in the excitement and we bought strawberries and cream for our food. We planned to spend our afternoon watching world class tennis as we sipped cocktails and ate strawberries. To take a look at our shopping experience just click here.

Cocktails are easy to love, they’re fun, tasty and pretty to look at but I much prefer having them mixed for me! Thankfully my husband has more experience in this regard and under his tutelage I made a Chocolate Martini. It was wonderful (even if I do say so myself) so simple to make, but really indulgent. Definitely worth a try if you’re a cocktail novice like me (the recipe is below).

Chocolate Martini

Next we partook of a Strawberry and Cream cocktail (an invention of my husband). If the Chocolate Martini was indulgent then this was downright decadent! Probably not very kind to the waist line, but it’s heaven for the taste buds.

Strawberry & Cream Cocktail

Then followed some expert commentary by myself on the state of British tennis. In reality I tend to say how sorry I feel for people like Andy Murray and Laura Robson, Wimbledon must be very stressful with the weight of expectation they must feel.

Watching Wimbledon

I resisted the urge to have a siesta at this point and finished up with a Gin and Bitter Lemon. A very simple drink but really refreshing and great as a daytime cocktail. A nice alternative to Gin and Tonic as well.

Gin & Bitter Lemon

My test was now complete. So can you have a fabulous time in the comfort of your own home without feeling deprived? My answer…

Yes!

Cheers!

I loved all of the cocktails we made, I loved watching the tennis while eating strawberries and even more so I loved the fact that I could wear my slippers and curl up on the sofa! Plus an afternoon/night in is actually very economical, without high bar prices and taxi rides home you can really indulge.

Could it be improved in anyway?

I secretly wanted the Bombay Sapphire Gin to actually be blue in colour and not just the bottle. I appreciate that’s not really the point, but one of the things I love about cocktails is their flamboyant colours and presentation. It is fantastically fragrant though and smells like summer!

A box of chocolates randomly appearing on the kitchen counter wouldn’t go amiss either 😛

Chocolate Martini Recipe

45ml Bombay Sapphire Gin

15ml Chocolate Liqeur

15ml Vermouth

7.5ml Fresh Lemon Juice

Pop some ice into a cocktail shaker and then add the ingredients. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.