Rolling Stone's: An old classic with a contemporary twist

If you'd been around since 1740 you might fancy a bit of an image update. If everyone's wearing Nike trainers and "engineered" denim, you'd feel a bit of a fool in a powdered wig and breeches. So pity poor old Stone's Ginger Wine, the beverage that time forgot. This spicy, sticky concoction has remained unchanged for 260 years and only gets dusted off at Christmas, to create the old fashioned Whisky Mac combo.

But Stone's has been through an image overhaul -- and unlike Marathon, Opal Fruits and Oil of Ulay, the name's remained the same. As have the label, taste and (probably) price. £4.79 seems a bargain for a bottle of 13.5 per cent proof liquor. Adventurous drinkers and wannabe mixologists should buy a bottle or two now, because its quirkiness is what makes it the ingredient that's pepping up some very modern cocktails. I made it my business to try them all at a recent tasting, in the interests of giving you, the reader, clear and concise advice on what to drink. If only my thoughts had remained clear and concise after several cocktails ...

Stone's gingery flavour is ideal for mixing with Champagne for the very upmarket Ginger Fizz; but then again, the blackberry-ish bite of a Gamble (ginger wine and gin) had a certain something. My favourite tipple, I decided, after some time, is the Ginger Cosmopolitan, a wintery, warm version of the Sex and the City drink that's become ubiquitous. It's got what every woman can feel good about ordering in a bar -- a catchy name, a groovy colour and a decent amount of alcohol.

Ginger Cosmopolitan

2 measures citron vodka

2 measures Stone's Ginger Wine

1 measure cranberry juice

1/2 measure fresh lime juice

orange zest

small piece of crystallised ginger

Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with flamed orange zest and the small piece of crystallised ginger. Make sure not to use too much cranberry, and warm the zest slightly before "flaming".

Gamble

1 measure gin

2 measures Stone's Ginger Wine

1 measure fresh lemon juice

1/2 measure gomme syrup

1/2 measure crème de mure (blackberry syrup)

Shake all except the crème de mure and strain into a tumbler filled with crushed ice. Make sure the ice is packed in, then float the crème de mure on the surface. Garnish with a slice of lemon and 2 short straws.