Mother’s Day Brunch Recipe and Clean G Rhubarb (Non-alcoholic) Drink Review*

[Ad-gifted] Times appear to be changing when it comes to drinking alcohol and we seem to be moving away from so much heavy drinking. This is why drinks like Clean G and other non-alcoholic spirits from the CleanCo range are the perfect alternative.

These alternatives taste great when made with the classic mixers and you’ll know this from my last review where I got to try Clean R (the Rum alternative) and paired it in its most traditional way, with cola, it turned out great! So, this time we’re about to show you Clean G Rhubarb paired with some of its classic mixers so that you can decide whether this could be a good swap for you in the future – but as this post is aimed at Mothers on Mother’s Day – I am going to help you out with some gorgeous ways to use the latest drink from CleanCo.

CleanCo have non-alcoholic alternatives to many of your favourite spirits. But in contrast to Clean R (that we reviewed last year), we have also decided to make this with the perfect recipe accompaniment for Mother’s Day brunch.

When Mum wakes up fresh on Mother’s Day morning, there can be nothing more perfect than a Clean G and Mediterranean Tonic with a delightful, courgette pancake, with an easy-to-make ranch dipping sauce for the ultimate Mother’s Day brunch. I will also be showing you how to make some fancy fruity ice cubes see how they’re done below.

What I thought of Clean G Rhubarb and our Mother’s Day Brunch Recipe.

First things first – let’s try the drink…

I thought it had a strong taste of citrus with a hint of lemon zest (bitterness) followed by earthy notes that hit the back of your tongue (making have that botanical taste). For me, Clean G Rhubarb really replicates some of the base flavours you get from gin, of course without the recognisable warming you get from alcoholic drinks. Now you can get an idea of what it tastes like I will try it with our mixers and let you know if this can be a clean swap for your alcoholic version this Mother’s Day.

I thought this being a Rhubard G it would be replicating a sort of pink gin – so, I went for a Medeterian tonic, as I felt the flavours would lend themselves well to this. To chill the drinks I thought it would be fun to make some fruity ice cubes – I also thought this is a great thing for the kids to do for mum on Mother’s Day (if you’re a big kid and live away from home – you can make these in advance and take them ready frozen to your mum in a little bag with your bottle of Clean G).

You simply chop up your chosen fruit – I went with pomegranate, sliced strawberry, sliced orange and one with chopped lemon and I also added some juice. You place them into your icecube trays and if you’re fancy and skilled you can arrange them into shapes like flowers – I tried but didn’t quite manage it with all the fruit apart from orange. See the photos!

The Clean G Rhubarb and Tonic with the ice and fruit worked so well and it was fresh tasting and made me think that I was drinking the alcoholic alternative – so much so that when I thought I could drink another – I was initially reluctant – but then I remembered it was non-alcoholic – so I quickly whipped up a second drink.

The drink went perfectly with the pancakes which are a great savoury alternative to sweet ones and means that you can really feel as though you are having Brunch more like lunch than breakfast. I rarely have a savoury pancake as my kids love sweet ones but this means you can change things up for Mother’s Day and hopefully no one will eat the pancake before it’s dished up to a very special mum, aunt, sister, granny or whoever you decide to treat on this special day.

Keep reading for the recipe and how to make your Mother’s Day Brunch with your glass of Clean G Rhubarb and Tonic!

Recipe Courgette Pancakes and Ranch Dip

For the pancakes. I’m going to provide you with my usual weekend American pancake recipe. This gets made most Sundays in our house. You won’t need to use all of this mix. However, you can make some savoury and some sweet just follow the instructions below.

(This will comfortably make four biggish pancakes)

300 grams of self-raising flour,
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of olive oil or equivalent
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (this makes the pancakes, super fluffy)
300ml of milk
Two Large Eggs
– If you’re making these sweet, also add 4 tablespoons of sugar

For the Courgettes filling
1 small courgette grated
1/4 red onion very thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper

For the Ranch Dipping Sauce
1 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 tbsp of creme fraiche or sour cream
1 tbsp of lemon juice
a pinch of garlic powder
a pinch of salt and pepper
a tbsp of chopped chives and chopped parsley (combined so 1/2 tbsp each)
(you can double, triple, or quadruple the recipe accordingly)

Method – starting with the Ranch Dip, followed by the pancake.

Place the flour baking powder into a large bowl, mix and create a well in the centre. Add into the well, your eggs milk, oil and apple cider vinegar and give it a good mix until combined (don’t worry too much about a few lumps). Split the pancake mix into two bowls and leave one aside – you can add 2 tbsp of sugar to it later and make a few sweet ones if you have time – if not it will keep in the fridge for a day.

Keep one bowl of mix at the ready – then grate one small courgette into a small SEPARATE bowl and lightly cover it in salt and then leave for a couple of minutes whilst waiting for the courgette, thinly slice 1/4 of a small red onion and set aside. Once you have sliced the onion, go to your bowl of courgette using your hand, squeeze out as much of the water as you can, from the courgettes (you should end up with about 4 tablespoons of green water by the end which you can dispose of in the sink). Once you think they are dry enough add them along with the onion to the pancake mix and season the mix with salt and pepper.

I find it easy to use an ice cream scoop when tipping out the pancake into the pan. Cook the pancake until golden brown on both sides.

Then pop the pancakes on a plate and top with a bit of thinly sliced red onion, some chives and the ranch dressing or leave the ranch on the side (which is what I did as I didn’t want them to get too soggy), so you can dip your pancakes into it. Serve this alongside a the Clean G Rhubarb drink with Mediterranean tonic, and some fancy fruity ice cubes – Voila!

Where can you get your bottle of Clean G Rhubarb?

You can get your bottle here directly from their website.

How much is Clean G Rhubarb?

Clean G Rhubarb costs £16 but can also be bought as a bundle with Tonic Water which is £19 (and includes 8 cans of Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water)

About CleanCo

You may recognise the name Spencer Matthews, from the TV series Made in Chelsea which started back in 2011 and continued for a good number of years beyond that. However, in 2019 just before the birth of his first child, he decided to go clean – he became more focused and driven and hasn’t ever regretted his decision to change this aspect of his life.

He began to develop CleanCo in a way that was un-preachy about it being non-alcoholic. It was a way you could have a drink enjoying the same elements as you would if you were drinking alcohol. The drinks are made to be 1-1 replacements of traditional spirits.

The drinks at CleanCo are fun to make and fun to drink and can be enjoyed without a cloudy head from an ever-looming hangover, so if you want a fog-free Christmas check out all the varieties of drinks available along with a tonne of handy recipes on their website.

Review by: Lex Ward

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