Serves 1

2	small chunks each of lime, lemon and orange, unpeeled
45 ml	young Cognac (such as Hennessy VS), or to taste
½-2 tsp	simple syrup, or to taste (see note)
6-8	mint leaves, rubbed, torn in half
To serve:	ice or crushed ice
To serve:	lemon twist or dehydrated orange slice (see note)

1

Place citrus in a tumbler and gently press with a muddler to release juices. Add Cognac, sugar syrup, mint and half a glass of crushed ice and stir to combine (ice cubes are fine too; you'll just need to stir for a little longer to get the right dilution). Top with more ice, garnish with a large lemon twist or a dehydrated orange slice, and serve.

Note This is a modern take on a very old classic. When lemonade fruit is in season, you can use it in place of any of the other citrus. To make simple syrup, combine equal parts of sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar, bring to the boil, then cool. To make dehydrated orange slices, slice an orange (including peel) into thin rounds on a mandolin, place on an oven tray lined with baking paper and dehydrate in oven at 60C overnight or until dry. This recipe is a direct submission from Alexx Stuart of Luxury Tastings; we haven't triple-tested it as we do every other recipe we publish in the magazine. Therefore it's intended as a guide only.

This recipe was published in November 2011.