Summertime Cocktails!

Okay, so maybe cocktails aren’t a traditional picnic addition, but since when are we traditional?

Just make sure when you make these you’re being legal, i.e.; of age, drinking in a legal picnic spot (like your backyard) and have a DD on hand! (if you have people who need to leave the picnic spot).

Now, onto the goods. Our friend Michele loves to play around with drinks, she was perfectly happy to help us out with three of her favorite summertime cocktails.
 

NC Style Bramble-

(adapted from a recipe from the NY times … if you go to the link you’ll see there’s a great article attached to the recipe). Measurements are for 1 drink.

2 oz. gin

1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ oz. blackberry brandy

½ oz. blackberry simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water combined double the amount of blackberries (ie 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 2 cups berries). Heat over medium until boiling, remove from heat and mash the berries in. Let cool to room temperature. Strain your mixture, and put into a squeeze bottle (like this one). The simple syrup will keep for awhile in the fridge.

Combine all ingredients with crushed ice, stir and enjoy. If its too sweet, add more lemon juice; to tart, add some simple syrup.

  

Bellini Sunset-

(this recipe uses more of your blackberry simple syrup. To make a simple Bellini, eliminate the blackberry simple syrup… but really, why would you want to?)

  

1 part fresh peach puree (squish some fresh peaches into a bowl, strain through a fine mesh sieve and tah dah!)
2 parts sparking wine (Michele swears by Segura Viudas Brut Reserva, inexpensive and tasty)
squeeze of blackberry simple syrup (see NC style bramble recipe for recipe)

Into a champagne flute pour in your peach puree. Add the squeeze of simple syrup, and top with your sparkling wine.

Finally we’re going to give you a recipe for Mojitos. We’re going to use the recipe exactly as it was presented to us by Michele.

Mojito (Note: this recipe makes 2 mojitos. If you’re making one you really might as well make two).

Hardware:
Heavy-duty wide rimmed glasses. Barware is not to be discounted when making the labor-intensive mojito.
Muddler: Once you use the right tool you never want to go back. You can use other things, but, just suck up the $7 for a muddler.
Crushed Ice

Software:

2 limes
30 peppermint leaves. Not spearmint, peppermint.
Granulated sugar
Cheap, clear rum. Cheap, not “cask-aged” or any other fancy crap.
Seltzer

Set out each glass. Place 1 ½ tsp. of granulated sugar in each glass. Add 15 peppermint leaves to each glass.

Add ¾ of a shot glass of fresh lime juice in each glass.

Muddle a lot (until mint has given its all).

Add 1 ½ shot glasses of rum to each glass. Stir so sugar gets totally dissolved. Add crushed ice. Add about, oh, two shot glasses of seltzer. Dip spoon in under the ice and stir gently to get stuff mixed without destroying your carbonation. Try to keep mint detritus in the bottom of the glass because it is not “cool” or “authentic” to be sputtering out a piece of destroyed mint leaf.

Also, do not decorate with fresh mint. This is not a frickin’ mint julep.

Out of balance? Simple syrup will fix the problem if it’s not sweet enough; lime juice will fix the problem if it’s too sweet. When in doubt, add more rum.

Enjoy responsibly!!