I sat by my desk this afternoon, replying to emails and shopping online ( damn La Redoute!!!!) and felt like a nice cocktail. The clocks went back last night, so it got dark earlier, I wanted something strong, sweet and energising. We popped out to Waitrose to stock up on the spirits, got the Kalhua – (17 bloody pounds a bottle!!) and I produced espresso martinis.

Four measures of strong espresso coffee, 3 measures of vodka and Kalhua and 2 scoops of good vanilla ice cream, all shaken over ice and finished up with grated chocolate.  When I tasted it, it didn’t seem that strong, but beware- it gets to the head quickly.