Cocktails / Food
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Summer Slush
Did everyone try to sneak some of their Mom’s vodka slush from the ice cream bucket in the freezer while they were growing up? This is another oldy, but a goody.
Let’s be honest, you could essentially make any cocktail in large quantities and freeze it, so just let this inspire you to create your own summer slush cocktail.
Original Recipe:
9 cups water
2 cups sugar
Boil until the sugar is completely dissolved and let cool.
Add 2 cans of frozen juice concentrate and mix until incorporated. This is where the fun comes in. The traditional flavor my Mom used to make was lemonade and orange juice. I like to branch out and mix up the flavors each time.
2 cups of alcohol – The alcohol is typically vodka or gin, but I’ve used limoncello before. Consider using a flavored vodka that compliments your juice choices.
Freeze. Allow about 24 hours to freeze before serving.
Slush and outdoor movie night on July 4th Flavor ideas:
Margarita: 1 limeade, 1 lemonade with tequila and a splash of Cointreau or orange juice
Mojito: 2 limeade, a large bunch of mint leaves, add the frozen juice, mint and a couple ladles of your sugar water to a blender and blend until the mint is pureed – pour back into your container of sugar water, add rum (or for a Bootlegger use 1 limeade, 1 lemonade, mint and vodka)
Cosmopolitan: 1 cranberry, 1 limeade with citron vodka and a splash of cointreau
Berry Lemonade: 1 berry blend, 1 lemonade, citron vodka or limoncello, fresh raspberries
Gin Blend: Increase your water to 12 cups, 1 limeade, 1 lemonade, 1 orange juice, 3 cups of gin
To Serve:
Scoop the slush into a glass and top with a little soda. We usually keep the soda a mild flavor like: Sprite, 7 Up, Fresca or Squirt. A flavored bubbly water works well, too.
Tips:
I don’t use 2 cups of sugar… there is already a lot of sugar in the frozen concentrate and I find it gets too sweet. Try using 1 cup of sugar or even a sugar substitute.
This will attract bees. If you’re drinking outside, consider a cup with a lid or use Ball mason jars with lids and reusable straws like I did.
photo credits to Kaitlyn Ewine I like to make my slush early in the morning so I can mix it during the day while it’s freezing. This will keep it from turning into a solid chunk that you have to scrape every time you want a drink.
If it’s been several hours and your slush isn’t starting to freeze around the edges, your ratio of alcohol to water is too high. Try adding a little juice or a can of soda to the mix.
When we used to rent a lake cabin for a week every August, making a bucket of slush was the first thing I did after we unloaded the car.
I like to throw in a handful of fresh berries. Raspberries are really good because they break up when you mix the slush.
The last time I made this slush, I was short on time so instead of making the sugar water I used a 2 liter bottle of 7 Up. It worked really well.
Cheers! Stay cool.
What juice flavor combinations would you try?
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Bootleg Cocktail
This is a delicious lemon-lime and fresh mint summer cocktail that can be modified to your taste. You can use vodka or gin and you can make your bootleg concentrate as sweet or sour as you like.
Club Soda, The Botanist Gin and Bootleg Concentrate Bootleg Concentrate
1 can frozen limeade or frozen lemonade
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh mint leaves, washed
Add all ingredients to a blender (I love my Vitamix Explorian) and blend until the mint is well incorporated. I like my cocktails a little tart, but if you prefer a sweeter cocktail you can either add some simple syrup (heat 1 part sugar to 1 part water until dissolved, chill and store in the fridge for up to 1 month) to the blender or skip the fresh juice and use a can of frozen lemonade concentrate with the limeade and mint. The mint will separate when the concentrate sits, so just give it a stir each time you make a new cocktail. This concentrate will last in your fridge about 3 days before the mint starts to lose its bright green color.
Bootleg Cocktail Bootleg Cocktail
2 oz Botanist gin or Grey Goose vodka
2 oz Bootleg Concentrate
Add to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well.
Pour mixture into a glass filled with ice.
Top with 6 oz Q club soda, more or less to taste.
Garnish with a lime wheel or fresh mint.
For a non-alcoholic version just combine the Bootleg concentrate with club soda and / or lemonade.
Cheers!
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Italicus Spritz
This is one of my favorite cocktails at RPM Italian in Chicago. The special ingredient is the Italian liqueur Italicus. Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto is a blend of bergamot peel, Cedro lemons, chamomile, lavender, gentian, yellow roses and Melissa balm. An aromatic and lightly spicy liqueur which balances honeyed sweetness with rooty bitterness. It can be difficult to find (and it’s a little expensive) but if you want to duplicate this drink, it’s an essential ingredient.
Add to a cocktail shaker filled with ice:
1 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz Monkey 47 Gin
1 1/2 oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
A small pinch of sea salt
Italicus Spritz: Prosecco, Monkey 47 gin, Italicus Shake well and strain into a large goblet with ice cubes and top with:
4 oz of LaMarca Prosecco or your favorite brand
2 oz of club soda
Stir gently.
RPM garnishes their Spritz with a lime peel but I saw several Italicus recipes that suggested garnishing with green olives. So, if you like green olives, give that a try.
Italicus Spritz Cheers!
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Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz
I love Spritz Cocktails in the summer. The basic ingredients of a Spritz are Prosecco, club soda and one or two additional ingredients for flavor. Since rhubarb season is here, I created this Spritz using rhubarb. Try the recipe below, my Aperol Spritz recipe or just grab a bottle of Prosecco and club soda and create your own Spritz flavors with other liquors or bitters you might have on hand. I’ll be posting more Spritz cocktail recipes throughout the summer.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 c Rhubarb
1/2 c dried Hibiscus flowers
3 1/2 c Water
2 T Truvia or 1/3 cup sugar
1 lime, use a potato peeler or zester to peel the skin off the lime, try to get as little pith (the white part) as possible (juice the lime and save the juice for a different cocktail)
Before simmering Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Turn the heat down to simmer. Put on the lid and simmer for 30 minutes until the rhubarb is mushy and the water is dark red.
After simmering Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Pour / ladle into a fine mesh strainer to remove the sediment. Store the concentrate in a small covered pitcher or jar. The concentrate is good for two weeks in the fridge.
Note: I don’t really like sweet cocktails, so I tried making my concentrate without sugar and the rhubarb was way too tart. Taste the concentrate before taking it off the heat to see if you need to add more sugar.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz
1 oz Aviation gin or your favorite brand
1 oz Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 oz LaMarca Prosecco
2 oz Q club soda
Add all ingredients to a large wine goblet filled with ice. Mix well. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz Non-alcoholic Hibiscus Rhubarb Lemonade
1 oz Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 oz lemonade
2 oz club soda
Add all ingredients to a large wine goblet filled with ice. Mix well. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Cheers!
If you have a favorite Spritz cocktail, leave your recipe in the comments below.
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Iced Coffee with a Kick
If you like iced coffee, cold press coffee doesn’t have any of the bitter taste of brewed coffee but it does take 12 – 18 hours to brew. So, if you’d like an iced coffee this weekend, start making your cold press concentrate today. The cold press concentrate (undiluted) will last in your fridge about 7 – 10 days, but it will taste best if used within the first 5 days.
Cold press coffee:
2 c cold water
2 oz of coarsely ground (think French press ground) coffee (if you don’t have a scale, 2 ounces of ground coffee is about 1 cup)
Mix together in a jar or French press. Cover and refrigerate for 12 – 18 hours.
Pour the coffee through a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter or cheese cloth. Allow to drip for a while but don’t squeeze out the beans or your concentrate will taste bitter.
You should have 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cup of cold press concentrate. Pour the concentrate into a quart size mason jar, add 2 cups of cold water, refrigerate and use within 5 days. Note: If you’ve never had cold press before, it will get you buzzing. You may want to start with 4 ounces instead of 8 ounces.
For your cocktail:
8 ounces of cold press coffee
2 ounces of Baileys Irish Cream
Add ice and enjoy.
Iced Cold Press with Bailey’s Non alcoholic cold press:
Instead of Baileys, add 2 oz your favorite milk or milk substitute and a little maple syrup or your favorite coffee syrup for sweetener.
Cheers!
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Limoncello & Prosecco
This is a simple and refreshing cocktail that you can easily transport for a porch / patio happy hour. When we were invited to a friend’s house for a porch happy hour I packed my cooler with a bag of ice, a bottle of Prosecco and a mason jar of limoncello, along with my favorite “Mama’s Happy” glass, of course.
1 part limoncello (use your favorite brand, I’m fortunate enough to have a son who makes homemade limoncello)
3 parts Prosecco
Serve over ice and top with fresh berries and a lemon slice.
Now that the spring weather started cooperating, we recently started having one or two friends over for patio happy hours. Two weekends ago one friend came completely prepared and has now been awarded the “World’s Best Covid-19 Happy Hour Guest in recognition of Impressive self-reliance with style and flair.” How do you win such an award you ask? Well, you bring everything you may possibly need to prepare your own drinks… with matching glassware. He started with a beautiful crystal cut glass, ice and Blanton’s bourbon. Impressive start. He then reached into his cooler of tricks for a beer with a matching logo glass. To finish the happy hour, he pulled out a different imported beer and, you guessed it, another matching chilled glass. Impressive!
What is your Covid-19 happy hour style?
Limoncello & Prosecco Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Hibiscus Margarita
It’s almost Cinco de Mayo so get your margarita fixings ready. I’ve already posted three margarita recipes on my blog, click on the links for those recipes and pick the one that appeals to you. My all time favorite Scratch Margarita recipe here, my Refreshing Margarita recipe with Suja juice here and my Grapefruit Margarita recipe here. I love all of these recipes, and you’ll see they all have the same basic ingredients, but I wanted to branch out a little and try something new this year. (Click on any blue words in the post for recipes or more information.)
Hibiscus Margarita Ingredients First, make a hibiscus concentrate. If you can find hibiscus flowers that’s great, (available on Amazon) but if not, just pick up a container of natural hibiscus tea at the grocery store. The Republic of Tea is a good brand.
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water
Add 1/4 cup of hibiscus flowers or several tea bags
Let steep for at least 10 minutes until the concentrate is a dark red.
Strain out the flowers and discard. Refrigerate the concentrated tea for up to one week. (I like to store my fresh juices and concentrates in Mason jars.)
To make your drink extra special you can make a hibiscus rimmer for your glass. Grind equal parts sugar and dried hibiscus flowers together with a mortar and pestle. The sugar will help break down the hibiscus petals. Then add salt to taste.
Pour a little Cointreau in a plate to wet the rim of your glass and then dip the glass in your hibiscus rimmer. Fill your glass with ice and set aside.
Hibiscus Margarita To make the margarita, combine in a cocktail shaker filled with ice:
1 1/2 oz Patron Silver tequila, or your favorite brand of tequila
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz hibiscus concentrate
Shake well and strain into your glass with the hibiscus rimmer and ice.
Salud!
For a non-alcoholic drink with the hibiscus concentrate try: 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 oz Hibiscus concentrate and 5 ounces of club soda over ice.
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Bramble
The Bramble was created in London in the 1980s. It’s a refreshing spring cocktail that basically tastes like a blackberry lemonade. Enjoy this as the weather starts to warm up.
Bramble Ingredients 1 1/2 oz Nolet Silver Gin
.75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
.75 oz simple syrup
.5 oz Chamboard or Creme de Cassis
To make simple syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Chill. This will keep in the fridge for one month.
Add gin, lemon juice and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well.
Fill a glass with crushed ice and pour in gin mixture.
Top with Chambord or Creme de Cassis. Garnish with lemon and a blackberry.
Cheers!
Bramble -
Suja Margarita
I had trouble coming up with a name for this margarita… “Yummy Margarita” seemed a little subjective. I’m pretty sure the alcohol offsets any of the probiotic properties of the Suja, but trust me when I say it’s too tasty to care.
1 1/2 ounces Patron Silver or tequila of your choice
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce fresh lime juice (If I’m juicing multiple limes, I’ll juice 1 lemon as well to make an unsweetened sour mix.)
2 – 3 ounces Suja Vibrant Probiotic (Ingredients include strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry and lemon juice.)
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Salt the rim (if desired) of a tall glass and fill with crushed ice. Strain over the crushed ice.
For those of you who haven’t discovered Suja juices yet, you can find them in the refrigerated fresh juice section / produce area of Target or Whole Foods.
Cheers!
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Berry Vodka Soda
I like this drink, because it reminds me of the canned hard seltzer drinks, except it tastes much better! It’s refreshing, not too sweet and low calorie. Note: It does take 3 – 7 days to infuse your vodka so you need to plan ahead. However, once the vodka is infused it lasts indefinitely; so I would suggest making up a jar of berry vodka whenever you have a cup of extra berries.
Step 1: Make the berry vodka
1 cup of berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, etc.)
1 cup of vodka
Place your berries into a glass jar with a lid and pour in 1 cup of vodka.
If you want to get creative, add citrus zest, fresh herbs or a split vanilla bean to add additional flavors. Just make sure the vodka completely covers all of your add-ins.
Put the lid on your jar, give it a shake and place on a counter out of direct sunlight for 3 days. Give the jar a shake once a day to help the infusing process along.
Day 1 Taste the vodka after 3 days and continue infusing for up to a week if you want more flavor or color. Once the vodka has the color and taste you like, strain the infused vodka through a fine mesh strainer and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. (Discard the remaining fruit pulp, citrus peels, etc.) This infused vodka will last indefinitely.
Day 3 Step 2: Make your cocktail
2 oz infused vodka
5 oz club soda
Lemon or lime wedge
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add your flavored vodka and club soda. Stir gently. Garnish with a wedge of citrus and fresh berries, if desired.
Infused Vodka Cocktails Note: If you’d like more than 1 cup of flavored vodka, just grab a bigger jar and more berries.
Consider infusing your own vodka for other cocktails or martinis using the flavors you want in the cocktail. Some fun combinations: Lemon Zest and Lavender, Cranberries and Lime Zest, Watermelon and Mint or Cucumber and Thyme. If you’re trying a new combination of flavors, I would experiment with just one cup of vodka.
If you have a great infused vodka flavor combination, please share in the comments.