Sponsored Partnership with CPJ Ltd, Remy Cointreau & Dewars.
Port is a fortified wine, hailing from the northern Douro region of Portugal, typically served with dessert or cheese. There are three main types, tawny, ruby and white as well as other lesser-known port styles. People have this outdated image that port is for old “fuddy duddy” types, but I say au contraire. I’m not an old woman and have always enjoyed port. Growing up, my parents served it with cheese for special holiday lunches and I observed my mother using up the remainders and mixing it with club soda and adding a wedge of lemon. She was intolerant of waste and mimicking the port and tonic aka “porto tonico” ubiquitously drank in Portugal. Over there, there are various styles of port and white port is the popular choice for “porto tonico” but you can use others.
My earliest memory of Portugal is a family holiday in the beautiful Algarve region. I adore this Mediterranean nation, and this drink is my homage to that country by following in my mother’s footsteps and creating something new with almost empty bottles of vodka and port and replacing the tonic with fizzy lemonade. I’m notorious amongst my mates for making up drinks on the spot, mixing up things together in the same freestyle manner I cook my dishes. Sip and enjoy slowly. If you ever have an opportunity to visit Portugal, you should go! As the Portuguese say, “Saúde”!
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 15ml/ ½ oz lemon juice
- 30ml/ 1 oz Cockburn’s Port Special Reserve
- 30ml/ 1 oz Absolut vodka
- 60ml/ 2 oz Fever-Tree Sicilian lemonade
- Ice
- Lemon or lime wheel or peel for garnish
- Mint for garnish
Method
- Fill a highball glass with ice.
- Add port, vodka, mix well then top with lemonade.
- Garnish with lemon or lime and serve immediately.
* You must be 21 years and older to drink. Please drink responsibly!
Jacqui ‘JuicyChef’ Sinclair, founder of Nyam & Trod, is a British Jamaican award-winning chef, writer, and food culturist. She is a co-founder of Kingston Kitchen, an annual food event supporting food artisans. Jacqui has been an advocate of the Meatless Monday Global movement in Jamaica since 2011. Jacqui’s work has been featured in such publications as the Huffington Post, the Jamaica Observer, Saveur, The Jewish Post and numerous blogs. She has appeared on the Travel Channel’s ‘Bizarre Foods’ with Andrew Zimmern and Food & Wine’s Jamaica episode with Kwame Onwuachi.