Serves 1
Coarse salt, for rim of glass
Grapefruit slice, for garnish
1/3 cup freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons vodka
1 tablespoon Campari liqueur, or grenadine
1 to 1/2 cups ice cubes
Directions
Place salt in a saucer. Moisten the rim of a glass with a grapefruit slice. Dip rim in salt. Combine juice and vodka with Campari or grenadine in the jar of a blender; blend. With the motor running, add ice until fully incorporated and slushy. Pour into prepared glass.
Ingredients
Serves 15
15 mint sprigs
1 ounce whipping-quality pasteurized egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)
2 bottles sparkling Shiraz
3 liters club soda
11/2 cups St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
Directions
Brush mint with egg white. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, and let dry on a wire rack. Mix lemon juice and remaining sugar in a large punch bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add Shiraz, club soda, and liqueur. Serve with ice, and garnish with sugared mint sprigs.
Wine adds dimension to a punch instantly. This drink incorporates sparkling Shiraz, and is a good recipe to have in your repertoire -- it can be made in minutes.
Ingredients
Serves 8 to 10
1/4 cantaloupe, peeled
1 small peach, pitted
1 small nectarine, pitted
2 bottles chilled dry rose wine
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups golden or red raspberries
Directions
Slice cantaloupe, peach, and nectarine into bite-size pieces. Pour wine into a large pitcher, and stir in sugar. Add sliced fruit and raspberries, and refrigerate, covered, for 2 hours.
For a fruitier punch, let the fruit sit in the wine overnight. When ready to serve, strain the wine, and add freshly sliced fruit.
Ingredients
Serves 12
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed lime juice, about 9 limes
3 pounds Bing cherries
18 ounces best-quality black cherry or plain vodka (
http://www.beekmanliquors.com/)
1 bottle sparkling water (750 mL)
Directions
Bring sugar and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool completely. (Makes about 2 cups syrup.) Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.
Put lime juice into a medium nonreactive bowl. Halve and pit cherries; add to lime juice. Stir in syrup. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
Stir cherry mixture and vodka in a large serving bowl. Fill 12 glasses with ice. Spoon 1/2 cup cherry-vodka mixture into each glass. Top off with sparkling water. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
7 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, fruit cut into 1-inch cubes
4 teaspoons superfine sugar
6 ounces (3/4 cup) silver tequila
24 basil leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) triple sec
6 cups small ice cubes
Directions
Place 24 watermelon cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover, and freeze at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
Puree remaining watermelon and the sugar in a blender until smooth. Pass through a sieve lined with cheesecloth into a bowl. (You should have 3 cups.)
Place tequila and basil in a glass pitcher, and crush with a wooden spoon. Stir in watermelon juice and triple sec.
Place watermelon cubes in glasses. Using a cocktail shaker, mix 3/4 cup margarita with 1 cup ice. Strain into a glass. Repeat. Serve garnished with basil.
After a stay in the freezer, cubes of watermelon become "ice" for this margarita, which gets an herbal edge from basil-infused tequila.
Ingredients
Serves 8
2 cups sugar
12 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 24 lemons
2 cups vodka
Directions
In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups water with the sugar and thyme; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature.
Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a large glass measuring cup; discard thyme. You should have 2 cups syrup. Cover with plastic; chill.
In a large serving pitcher, stir together lemon juice, vodka, and chilled syrup; garnish with thyme. Divide evenly among eight tumblers filled with ice; serve immediately.
Watermelon Punch
Ingredients
Serves 4
3 cups seeded watermelon, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups white vermouth
1 1/2 tablespoons superfine sugar
3 cups crushed ice
Edible pansies, for garnish
Directions
Place watermelon, vermouth, and sugar in a blender; process until watermelon has been liquefied, about 10 seconds. Add ice; process 3 seconds more. Garnish with pansies, and serve in chilled glasses.
Ingredients
Makes 1
1 cup ice, plus more for serving
1/2 cup Lillet Blanc
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) gin
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
Splash of tonic water
1 cucumber spear, for garnish
1 cinnamon stick, for garnish
Directions
Put ice, Lillet, gin, orange juice, and basil in a cocktail shaker; shake well. Fill a glass with ice; strain mixture into glass. Add tonic water. Garnish with cucumber spear, cinnamon stick, and basil sprigs.
IngredientsServes 8Lemon juice (about 1/4 cup), for coating glass rims
Superfine sugar, for coating glass rims
Frozen Ginger Lemonade2 to 4 cups vodka
Lemon zest curls, for garnish
Directions
Dip rims of glasses in lemon juice and then in sugar. Pour 3/4 cup frozen ginger lemonade into each glass, and top with 1/4 to 1/2 cup vodka (to taste). Serve immediately garnished with a lemon curl.
Ingredients
Serves 6
2 1/2 small ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups), plus 1/2 mango cut into slices with skin, for garnish
4 ounces best-quality golden rum
4 cups fresh pineapple juice (from a 4 1/2-pound pineapple)
Fresh tropical fruit, such as dragon fruit and star fruit, for garnish
Directions
Puree mangoes, rum, and 1/2 cup water in a blender. Pour 2 ounces puree into each of six 12-ounce glasses. Fill glasses with ice, and top off with pineapple juice. Garnish with tropical fruit.
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The Summer is coming to an end and I thought these were some great refreshing end-of-the-summer cocktails. Maybe you can serve some of these at your next party, get-together, or over the Labor Day Weekend....remember drink responsibly!
Have a Sweet day!
