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Italian Strawberry Spritz
We had a delicious, refreshing strawberry spritz at Marina Grande in Sorrento, Italy and I did my best to recreate it. It’s perfect for a summer cocktail party!
Sorrento Italy Two key components of this cocktail are the strawberry infused white vermouth and Italicus.
White Vermouth – this is not the dry vermouth you use in your martini. Look for white vermouth (vermouth blanca or bianco) which has crisp floral and citrus notes. If you have trouble finding white vermouth, Cocchi Americano Bianco is a great substitute in this cocktail.
Italicus – This is an Italian liquor made from herbs. It’s expensive, but there’s really nothing else with a similar profile. (I use Italicus in another delicious cocktail, the Italicus Spritz, if you’re looking for ways to use up the bottle.)
A day or two before you want to make this cocktail, infuse the white vermouth (or Cocchi Americano Bianco) with fresh strawberries. Wash the strawberries, remove the green stems and slice up the strawberries into quarters. Place the strawberries in a large Mason jar and pour the white vermouth over the strawberries. Seal and let sit on the counter for at least 24 hours. Shake every 4 – 6 hours to redistribute the strawberries and help the infusion process. Once the strawberries have lost most of their color and are looking a little mushy, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, capturing the infused vermouth. (The longer you infuse the strawberries in the vermouth or Cocchi, the pinker your spritz will be.) Pour the strawberry infused vermouth back into the Vermouth bottle or a Mason jar and chill. Discard the strawberries.
Recipe:
1 1/2 parts strawberry infused white vermouth or Cocchi Americano Bianco
1 part Italicus
3 parts processo
1 part club soda
Combine in a wine glass over ice, stir gently, garnish with strawberry slices.
Italian Strawberry Spritz Salud!
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Kaitlyn’s Strawberry Piña Colada
Cocktail-of-the-week takeover by Kaitlyn. Here’s a drink for those of you who are in the mood for more of a smoothie than a hard alcohol drink. The perfect blend between a Strawberry Daiquiri and a Piña Colada (aka Lava Flow.)
4 oz. Caribbean Rum
4 oz. Coconut Cream
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup of ice
Add all ingredients to a blender or magic bullet. Blend until smooth, add more ice if it’s too runny. Garnish with a pineapple slice and a strawberry.
Cheers to turning 21 tomorrow!
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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.