Pistachios, bourbon, summer fruits, mint and tea fitted the bill for this farewell party.
The "Around the World" theme gave us free rein to explore some international combinations and after a few discussions we settled on a pistachio sour (US bourbon, pistachios from the Middle East and India, China and Brazil as the largest producer of lemons, eggs and sugar) and a strawberry and gin punch to remind the hosts of some of the tastes of England they'd be leaving behind.
The sours were pretty much made to order, but the strawberry punch could be batched up and served from pitchers throughout the course of the evening, and with a little prep time in advance we were free to take full part in the evening's festivities - the beagle even took second prize in the fancy dress competition with his Willy Fog costume!
Pistachio Sour
50ml bourbon
25ml fresh lemon juice
15ml pistachio syrup
10ml simple syrup
25ml fresh egg white
Shake all ingredients with cubed ice. Strain into a chilled rocks glass and garnish with a sprinkling of crushed pistachios.