Get ready to raise your glasses because GT is turning 40, and we’re celebrating in style! To mark this magnificent milestone, we’re shaking things up with four delicious cocktails, each paying a nod to the remarkable culture of our iconic history. And what better partners to join us in the festivities than the legendary Cointreau orange liqueur and queer drinks guru and TV personality Aidy Smith.
This year has been all about the big 4-0, with events like the GT40 exhibition showcasing our rich history, and the GT40 campaign bringing together our incredible community. Now, as we gear up for the main event, we’re excited to unveil something truly special—four bespoke cocktails that have been inspired, concepted and created especially for our 40th birthday.
From soothing peach and pineapple spritz to spicy mango and velvety passion fruit treats, drinks expert Aidy Smith has curated and developed a series of thirst-quenching recipes that we can’t wait to share.
Here’s a sneak peek at the cocktails you can look forward to:
Divine Peach
A Peach Margarita with Cointreau Orange Liqueur that blends juicy peach and creamy vanilla orange with a refreshing citrus tang for a uniquely satisfying twist on a classic cocktail.
Ingredients:
25ml Cointreau Orange Liqueur
50ml Reposado Tequila
20ml Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
10ml Peach Syrup
2 Dashes Of Chocolate Bitters (optional)
Garnish with Fresh Peach Slice on Side of Glass
Recipe: Slice your pineapple leaf inside a highball glass and fill to the top with ice. Pour in the rum and top up with soda. Give a gentle stir with a bar spoon and garnish with the fresh pineapple slice and gold leaf. Use a paper straw to drink.
Some Like it Hot
A Spicy Mango Jalapeño Margarita with Cointreau Orange Liqueur that combines sweet mango and vanilla orange with a zesty lime and a bold jalapeño kick, finished with a salted chili rim for an adventurous flavor experience.
Ingredients:
20ml Cointreau Orange Liqueur
40ml Reposado Tequila
20ml Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
10ml Mango Syrup
1-3 Slices of Green Jalapeño with Seeds (From Mild to HOT)
Garnish with a Slice of Green Jalapeño (Remove Seeds)
Recipe: Place all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and muddle the green chilli into the liquid to intertwine the spiciness. Shake with ice until chilled and double strain into a rocks glass filled with ice, being careful not to get any seeds into the glass. Garnish with either a single slice of green jalapeño (no seeds) or multiple smaller slices (no seeds).
Priscilla
A Pineapple & Rum Highball with Mount Gay Rum offering a crisp, tropical flavor of fresh pineapple and toffee, light on sweetness yet full of refreshing, thirst-quenching flavours.
Ingredients:
25ml Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
100ml Franklin & Sons Pineapple & Almond Soda
4 Dashes of Bobs Summer Bitters
Garnish with a Fresh Slice of Pineapple on the Side of the Glass & Pineapple Leaf
Garnish with Edible Gold Leaf (optional)
Recipe: Slice your pineapple leaf inside a highball glass and fill to the top with ice. Pour in the rum and top up with soda. Give a gentle stir with a bar spoon and garnish with the fresh pineapple slice and gold leaf. Use a paper straw to drink.
Tootsie
A Raspberry Passion Fruit Martini with Passoã Passion Fruit Liqueur that fuses smooth raspberry and lively passionfruit with a rich vanilla undertone, creating a cocktail that’s both elegant and irresistibly indulgent.
Ingredients:
30ml Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur
40ml Vanilla Vodka
15ml Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
5ml Vanilla Syrup
6 Fresh Raspberries
Half a Passion Fruit
Garnish with 2-3 Raspberries on a Metal Cocktail Sword
Recipe: Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with ice until chilled. Double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with 2-3 fresh raspberries on a metal cocktail sword.
As Cointreau’s Senior Brand Manager, Ines Leitao Henriques puts it “Cointreau is delighted to have been invited by GAY TIMES to celebrate their milestone birthday together! For over 100 years Cointreau Orange Liqueur has been embracing inclusivity and freedom of self-expression, inspiring and enabling creativity in cocktail making. This selection of gorgeous cocktails crafted by Aidy is specially designed to surprise, excite and bring extra joy to this big occasion.”
Being no stranger to our screens, Aidy has been shaking, stirring and inspiring what the world sips for over a decade via his Amazon Prime series, The Three Drinkers. Offering his thoughts on this special collaboration, he shares “Throughout my career I’ve watched Gay Times evolve into the magnificent publication it is today. It fills me with joy to put my name to these creations and delve even deeper into our LGBT+ world, which is so close to my heart. Making cocktails doesn’t need to be scary or daunting, and these creations showcase just that. I can’t wait for everyone to shake and sip with as much joy as I’ve had working on this incredible collaboration”.
To make this celebration even more special, we’re releasing four exclusive videos on our social channels, each featuring a step-by-step guide to making these cocktails at home.
18+ Please drink responsibly.
Keep an eye on @GAYTIMES over the next few weeks to follow the series.