The Snow Drop

March is a time when it is hard to not think about warmer weather, sunshine and being on the lake. But, this year Mother Nature has decided to give us our dose of winter in March. This cocktail is in honor of that. Instead of a Lemon Drop I am calling this The Snow Drop. This is a modified Lemond Drop with a unique Strawberry Lemongrass Essence Vodka, Ginger liqueur, lemonade and a splash of fresh lemon juice. You can also add a splash of seltzer water or Lemon kombucha for some fizz!

Ingredients:

2 oz Strawberry Lemongrass Vodka

1 oz Ginger Liqueur

2 oz Lemonade

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Splash of strawberry or lemon seltzer

Lemon twist or a strawberry

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a martini glass, top with seltzer or kombucha and garnish with a twist of lemon.

End of a Long Day

This cocktail showcases an aged Gin from Short Path Distillery in Everett, MA. Check out how they made this gin on their website!

https://shortpathdistillery.com/

If you are lucky enough to live in Mass it is well worth the trip. If you cannot get access to a bottle you can certainly use a different aged gin.

Ingredients:

2 oz Short Path Old Tom Aged Gin

1/4 Blackberry Simple Syrup (this is the syrup used in the Mockjito last week!)

1/4 oz Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur

Juice from 1/2 lime

Top with low calorie tonic water or club soda

Garnish with a lime twist

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until cold. Strain into a rocks glass and top with tonic water or club soda. There are so many tonic waters on the market these days. The type of tonic water that you choose could change how you experience this cocktail. I recommend making this with tonic water and also making it with the club soda to decide which you prefer.

Blackberry Vanilla Simple Syrup

What you will need:

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 mint leaves

Combine the blackberries, water, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mint leaves and let sit for 10 min. Cool and use for the Blackberry Mockjito or another creative cocktail!

Blackberry Mockjito

Since so many people are doing dry January and February I decided to take a break from an alcoholic seasonal sipper recipe and try something fruity, refreshing and non-alcoholic. I chose to make Blackberry Simple Syrup to really accenuate the blackberry flavors but you could certainly muddle a small handful of berries to keep it simple.

Ingredients:

2 oz coconut water

1/2-1 oz blackberry simple syrup (or a small handful of blackberries)

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Top off with Blackberry or plain seltzer

Mint to muddle and for garnish

Muddle 2-3 mint leaves with the coconut water (and berries if you are choosing the simpler recipe). Add the blackberry simple syrup and lemon juice. Shake until cold. Strain into a rocks glass and top with seltzer. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a blackberry.

Blackberry Vanilla Simple Syrup

What you will need:

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 mint leaves

Combine the blackberries, water, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mint leaves and let sit for 10 min. Cool and use for the Blackberry Mockjito or another creative cocktail!