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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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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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Dark & Stormy
Several years ago we were lucky enough to visit a friend in Bermuda. In the time share lounge, they had an honor bar with ingredients and recipes for several cocktails. I mixed myself a Dark & Stormy. Whenever I drink one, I think of sunshine and pink sand beaches.
We’re currently on Anna Maria Island for six weeks and I recently had a Dark & Stormy. It tastes just as good on white sand beaches!
Dark & Stormy (photo bomb by Sylvia, the flamingo) 2 ounces Dark Rum (I used Goslings)
5 ounces Goslings Ginger Beer (regular or diet)
Lime wedge
Add ingredients to a glass filled with ice. Stir gently to mix.
Enjoy while thinking of your favorite sandy beach.
Cheers!
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Grapefruit – Lychee Fizz*
I discovered this light refreshing cocktail in Alys Beach, Florida.
1 1/2 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
1 oz Giffard Lichi-Li
1/2 oz fresh Ruby Red Grapefruit juice
1/4 oz fresh Lime juice
Club soda
Combine first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with grapefruit, if desired.
*cocktail recipe from Neat at Alys Beach
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Rhubarb Gimlet
It’s rhubarb season! Instead of baking with it, I suggest making a cocktail. This is a French Gimlet with rhubarb and Aperol.
Rhubarb Simple Syrup
Combine 1 – 1 ½ cups of chopped red rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stir until all sugar is dissolved, simmer for 15 more minutes until rhubarb has broken down and the sauce has started to thicken. Turn off the burner and let cool. After I turned off the burner, I added in several strips of lemon peel. Once cool, pour the simple syrup through a mesh strainer, discard the rhubarb pulp and lemon peel. Refrigerate the simple syrup for up to 1 week.Cocktail
2 oz gin (I used Dampfwerk Barreled Gin again)
2 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1 oz Aperol
2 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz rhubarb syrup
Combine in shaker. Shake well. Pour over ice in a rocks glass or serve up in a coupe.
Garnish with a lime twist.
Cheers!
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Strawberry Rosé Cocktail
Saturday is National Rosé Day, so I’m posting a simple Rosé cocktail.Use your favorite Rosé (still or sparkling) or buy one from this list of The 25 Best Rosé Wines of 2018.
Make your ice cubes and strawberry simple syrup on Thursday or Friday, so all you have to do on Saturday is combine.
Strawberry Ice cubes
Slice 2 – 3 strawberries and place in an empty ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze.
Strawberry Simple Syrup
Combine 1 cup of sliced strawberries, 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer and stir until all the sugar is dissolved, simmer for 10 more minutes to extract the strawberries juices. Turn off the stove and let cool. Pour the simple syrup through a fine mesh strainer, (the left over strawberries don’t look great, but they taste delicious. Add them to a smoothie, or on top of oatmeal or ice cream.) Refrigerate the strawberry simple syrup for up to 1 week.
Cocktail
Fill a goblet with strawberry ice cubes.
Fill 3/4 of the glass with Rosé and 1 ounce (or a splash, if you don’t want to measure) of strawberry simple syrup. Stir.
Garnish with a fresh strawberry.
Cheers!
If you have any strawberry simple syrup left over, add a splash to a glass of fresh lemonade.
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Old Fashioned
I don’t care for whiskey (Scotch, Bourbon or Rye) but in order to give equal time to those who do, I will have guest cocktail recipes. This Old Fashion recipe comes from our son, Nathan.
2 oz Bulleit Bourbon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 shakes orange bitters
3 shakes Angostura aromatic bitters
1/2 teaspoon of Luxardo cherry syrup
Stir in a shaker with ice.
Pour into a glass with one large ice cube. Garnish with Luxardo cherries.
Cheers!
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French 75
This is a nice before dinner cocktail. It’s a little sweet, so I typically can only drink one.
1 oz gin1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup (heat 1 part sugar with 1 part water until sugar is dissolved, chill in the fridge for up to 1 month)
2 oz champagne
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice; combine gin, lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake and strain into a champagne flute or coupe glass.
Top with 2 ounces of champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
Cheers!