Get inspiration for your next class with the "Green Paradise"

2 cocktails: fresh cilantro, 1 tsp cane sugar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, 3 cl Maraschino, 15 cl of very dry wine (preferably Sylvaner), ice. BTW, 3cl are about 1oz.

This is a light and wonderfully refreshing summer cocktail that helps you keep a clear head if you want to continue working on your lecture notes later in the day. Oh, well. Maybe it doesn't. But it definitely tastes yummy.

Fresh herbs and spices add a unique layer of taste to cocktails. The cilantro used here was a wild guess but works surprisingly well with the sweetness of the Maraschino and the neutral taste of dry wine.

Thoroughly crush a couple of cilantro leaves with sugar and cinnamon. Add the crushed materials to ice, Maraschino and wine and shake well, strain and you are done!

I double strain this with the coarse sieve on my shaker and a fine-meshed sieve to avoid crushed cilantro leaves getting into my glass (see photo). The cilantro gives this drink its wonderful green colour, which also inspired the cheesy name.

A very dry and neutral wine works best because it does not overpower the taste of the other ingredients. Sylvaner - a regional specialty in our neck of the woods - works well and comes in these funny round-shaped bottles. If you can't get hold of Sylvaner ... feel free to experiment, try Chardonnay or a very dry sparkling wine (be careful when shaking though :-).

Zum Wohl, cheers, enjoy.