Raspberry Lemondrop Martini

To Make Lemonade:

1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
3 cups cold water

Mix hot water and sugar together until dissolved. Mix in lemon juice and water. Refrigerate.


To Make Cocktail:

Fresh raspberries
1 shot Stoli Raz
1 shot Chambord, optional (if not using Chambord, use 2 shots vodka)
Ice
4 oz freshly-squeezed lemonade
Sugar

Shake lemonade and vodka in ice-filled cocktail mixer.

Press rim of martini glass onto plate of sugar.

Pour optional Chambord shot into martini glass.

Carefully pour lemonade mixture over Chambord.

Float 4-5 raspberries as in martini glass.

Garnish with lemon twist.

Mojito Mania - Raspberry, Guava and Mango Mojitos

Ingredients for traditional Mojito:

1/2 shot simple syrup 1 1/2 oz white rum 1 oz fresh lime juice
8 mint leaves 1 splash seltzer
Ice

Muddle mint leaves with rum. In cocktail shaker, add rum, mint, ice, simple syrup and lime juice. Shake vigorously and pour into glass. Pour splash seltzer into cocktail shaker and mix around, then pour over mojito. Garnish with lime wedge.


Variations:


Mango Mojito:

Use 2 oz mango flavored rum in place of white rum. Add a few pieces of diced mango when muddling.


Raspberry Mojito:

Add 10 raspberries to mint and rum. Muddle well, then finish like normal mojito.


Guava mojito:

Add 1 oz guava nectar and increase rum to 2 oz.

Ginger & Lemon Martini

So, I have been experimenting with my new, oh-so-cool lemon and ginger-infused vodka. I decided to combine a bunch of my favorite ingredients and see what happened. Dee-lish-us!

I played around with the quantities, and settled on this (adjust according to your preferences):

2 ounces ginger and lemon-infused vodka
4 ounces ginger beer
1 splash lemon juice
1 generous splash Angostina bitters
1 lemon wedge
Sugar
Ice

To be all sophisticated (remember, I am 26, a big girl now!) I used a large martini glass for this drink.

Pour vodka, lemon juice and bitters into cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice. Shake vigorously.

Run lemon wedge over martini glass's rim. Press rim into sugar on plate.

Pour contents of cocktail shaker into martini glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with lemon wedge!

White Wine Sangria

This drink is easy to prepare, light and delicious for the summertime. It goes well with food or can stand alone. A plus is that unlike its red partner, this sangria does not need to sit overnight to blend the flavors. It's a great alternative to a traditional red sangria-perfect for the 4th of July, Independence Day!

1/2 cup thinly chopped pineapple
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup diced mango chunks
1/2 cup raspberries
3/4 cup peach schnapps
1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc (Vinho Verde would be a nice & sweet alternative)
Seltzer water (for Sauv Blanc)
Sugar, to taste

Place fruit in large pitcher. Pour peach schnapps over fruit and muddle slightly with a large spoon.

Pour white wine over fruit (if using vinho verde, this is an effervescent wine and should be added a short while before serving...muddle the fruit A LOT in this case).

Refridgerate sangria at least one hour.

Taste sangria before serving, add sugar if needed (about 1/4 cup).

Scoop a little fruit into each glass.

Top with ice cubes and pour sangria over ice.

Splash a little seltzer water over sangria.

Serve with a straw, and a fruit garnish.

Strawberry Basil Summer Cocktail

One of the best drinks I have had was a strawberry basil martini served at 28 Degrees , in the South End of Boston. At first strawberries and basil seemed an unlikely combination, but after trying my friend's drink, I was hooked. Bursts of fresh basil and sweet strawberry flavor ensure this will be a staple on my balcony this summer.

To make:
3 fresh basil leaves
3 large fresh strawberries
2 ounces vodka
2 ounces seltzer
1 lemon wedge
1 teaspoon sugar + extra for glass rim
Ice

Muddle the basil and strawberries in the bottom of a shaker. Add the vodka, sugar and ice. Shake well. Rub rim of glass lemon wedge and dip in sugar. Pour cocktail into glass, top with seltzer and garnish with the lemon twist.

Frozen Strawberry Watermelon Margarita

Ingredients: (Makes about 4-6)

5 cups diced watermelon, frozen
1 cup fresh strawberries, stems removed and sliced in half (reserve a few to garnish)
1 cup silver tequila
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet melon is!)

Add frozen watermelon, berries, tequila, lime and sugar to blender and pulse until mixture is softened, then blend until smooth.

Blackberry Mint Margaritas

Blackberry Mint Margaritas

Ingredients: (Makes about 4-5 drinks)

2 cups fresh blackberries
1 ½ cups reposado tequila
1 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup simple syrup

In large pitcher, muddle mint leaves and blackberries (reserve a handful of berries to garnish).

Mix in tequila, lime and simple syrup.

Pour into tall thin cocktail glasses until about 1/2-2/3 full. Top with ice and garnish with remaining blackberries.