the Elle next door: 3 SUPER SIMPLE MOCKTAIL RECIPES

This year I have been a strange contradiction - lol, story of my life - of super pumped for new beginnings and ready to take on the world (obviously insert all the sassy red dress dancing girl emojis here) and then simultaneously like, "can we start January all over again because I wasn't quite ready world?".

But one thing that I haven't failed at/felt like I needed to restart all over again because surely it's still December and we all need to be in bed watching Love Actually with leftover quality streets?... is Dry January (Yes I know, I'm a sucker for punishment). And in all honesty, the only reason that I've been able to stick to it is because I've forced myself to be more creative with my drinks and I may have found an absolute game changer in the form of the new Robinsons Fruit Cordial.

In short, they are the most perfect mocktail mixer, adding all of the fruit and sass to your drinks helping you breeze through Dry Jan (#yassss). So, Robinsons are introducing two new ranges for grown-ups, Fruit Creations and Fruit Cordial. They enlisted flavour experts - who knew that was a thing and where on earth do I apply? - to create the perfect fruit combinations (and my god did they do it). The Fruit Cordials, as well as all Robinsons squashes FYI, are made using real fruit and no artificial colours or flavourings and the new Fruit Cordials are also in a pretty snazzy - forever saying the word snazzy, forever secretly 90 years old - glass bottle which I love because it feels a little bit more sophisticated and grown up.

Clap a handful of mint leaves together to release the smell and flavour. Chuck - technical terms - said mint leaves into your glass. Squeeze in two wedges of lime and add a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. Add in your Robinsons Crushed Lime and Mint Cordial, top with soda water and a splash of Apple juice. Et Voila!

Mush some raspberries in the bottom of your glass using a muddler/whatever you can find to squish it all up (try harder not to be too blown away at my technical terms and knowledge). Cover your raspberries with the Robinsons Raspberry, Rhubarb and Orange blossom cordial. Throw in some pomegranate seeds and pour in your orange (at the side of the glass to keep the prettier than Harvey Specter colour split and you're done. Take a photo, post it on your instagram story, down in one.

THE PUNCH BOWL

Ingredients:

Chopped Strawberries, oranges, blueberries and pears
Robinsons Pressed Pear and Elderflower Cordial
Apple juice

Method:

So this one is the easiest of the lot. All you have to do is chop up lots of fruit, I went for strawberries, oranges, blueberries and pears for a bit of a fruit punch vibe. Mix with some apple juice and the Robinsons Pressed Pear and Elderflower cordial (incredible fyi) and enjoy. If you have some American style red cups, whack some in one of those and live your best American dream life!

And that brings me to the end of my little/big mocktail fangirl... I am obsessed with all three of these at the moment - although, shh, I think the Mojito-esque beaut might be my current fave - as they really are the perfect solution to nailing Dry January without feeling left out/like you never want to look at water/a cup of tea again. They really are just so easy to use but make such a big difference to your drinks so I couldn't recommend them enough.

I'd love to know if you've tried the Robinsons Fruit Cordial yet? If you're a mocktail girl/guy, what's your favourite combo? I always love hearing your thoughts!