Drinks Archives – sweet d

It’s COCKTAIL TIME!!! Do I sound like Sandra Lee? Cool I was trying to. This weekend was busy with family bonding before my brother moved to Seattle, so I’m bringing you a short and sweet recipe today. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity though, it’s maybe my favorite drink I’ve ever made. To begin this story I must first explain to you that we went berry picking this weekend. It’s becoming a Lewis family tradition really, and I’m certainly not mad about it. We drive to Eastern Long Island for pie, berries, and wandering, and maybe a quick ride on the carousel (yes I am 24 years old, why do you ask???). But anyway, we picked a surplus of blackberries at the berry farm, and, having just made a pie two days earlier, I was looking for something else to do.

We all accidentally dressed the same and I’m not mad about it for sure.

Enter this Blackberry Gin Fizz. Inspired by this recipe here, it combines berry puree, lime juice, gin, and a splash of something fizzy. THAT’S IT. The original recipe calls for club soda, but since the grocery store didn’t have that and I LOVE my fruit flavored seltzers, I swapped it out for grapefruit seltzer. It’s worth mentioning that I made more the next day with a Passionfruit La Croix, and it was NEXT LEVEL delicious, so feel free to mix up your seltzer flavors. This drink is refreshing, light, and a little herby from the gin, and the most perfect summer drink. For real, I used to think I wasn’t a gin person but suddenly, a blackberry gin fizz is just the beginning of my new life of gin fizzes.

Before we get started, here are your 5 things to be happy about today!!
ONE. Rainy summer walks.
TWO. Longstanding family traditions.
THREE. Coming into the air conditioning after being outside.
FOUR. Giving your room a good clean and finding something you thought was lost forever.
FIVE. Peach and berry cobbler, bubbling from the oven.

Let’s go!!

Print Recipe

Blackberry Gin Fizz

Sweet, fizzy, herby and refreshing, this is the perfect drink for when you never want summer to end.

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Drinks

Keyword: blackberry, cocktail, gin

Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar
2 cups gin
1 cup fresh lime juice
Fruit seltzer or club soda
basil + rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

In a blender, puree together the blackberries and sugar until smooth. Let the mixture stand in the blender, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Strain the berry puree through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. Measure out 1 cup of the puree and transfer to a large pitcher. Pro-tip: use the remaining berry puree as a non-alcoholic mixer for seltzer!
Stir the gin and lime juice into the pitcher with the blackberries and chill before serving.
To serve, fill each glass with ice, then fill each glass a little more than halfway with the gin mixture. Top with club soda or seltzer, and garnish with one sprig each of basil and rosemary.

Need some more summery recipes? Look here, here, and here!

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You know when you have a lot on your mind, and you forget that you have things to bake/ cook/ write about and suddenly it’s Monday? No? Just me? Okay well yeah that happened to me which is why today’s post is a margarita recipe. I think we all deserve a drink. I did, however, make a strawberry rhubarb pie on Saturday with the freshest strawberries I’ve ever had, but I won’t be posting it here because I still can’t get the thickness of the filling right. Bakers who make Strawberry Rhubarb pie, do you use tapioca, cornstarch, or something else entirely? This time around, I went with tapioca and it was still so runny! I cut out a slice before it was cool which definitely didn’t help, but still. ANYWAY.

This week, I was supposed to be taking a Chocolate Cake Decorating class in Brooklyn under the direction of one of my absolute faves, Erin McDowell. To my dismay, I received a call Monday morning that due to a water main issue, the class was cancelled. Guess I have to make my own chocolate cake to make up for it!! This is one of two cake decorating classes I’ll be taking this year because I’m insane. The other is at Bon Appetit (!!!!) with Claire Saffitz of the Test Kitchen and it was well worth the money I paid tbh. Like I said last week, this is the year of stepping up my layer cake game, and I’m not messing around!!

Anyone who knows the Lewis family knows that we love a good margarita. And because I’m me, I like to try different flavor combinations here and there. So, just because I don’t have a strawberry rhubarb pie recipe for you, doesn’t mean I can’t still talk about rhubarb. As you can see, this isn’t just any margarita recipe. RHUBARB. MARGARITAS. I hope it excites you as much as it excites me. This drink is a little sour, a little sweet, and so refreshing, not to mention its literally the most gorgeous color. Am I going to have to add a Drinks section on my recipes page?? This is the first drink recipe on Sweet D!! Look at us doing big things.

Okay before we get started, here are 5 things to be happy about today:
ONE. The smell of ripe strawberries.
TWO. Taking a day off in the middle of the week without any real plans.
THREE. Giving your room a good clean on a Sunday afternoon.
FOUR. Drinking enough water in a day.
FIVE. Gummy vitamins for adults.

Let’s drink!! {Adapted from here and here!}

Print Recipe

Rhubarb Mint Margaritas

A little sweet, a little tart, with a gorgeous hot pink color, this is the perfect summer drink for your next barbecue!!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Drinks

Keyword: drinks, margarita, rhubarb, tequila

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Rhubarb Mint Simple Syrup Ingredients

2 cups rhubarb chopped
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar

Rhubarb Mint Margarita Ingredients

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup white tequila
1 cup Cointreau
1 cup Rhubarb Mint Syrup
flaky salt for the rim
mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

Rhubarb Mint Simple Syrup Steps

To a saucepan, add rhubarb, mint, sugar, and water, and cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the rhubarb is beginning to soften.
Strain the syrup through a mesh sieve into a mason jar or other heat-safe container, and allow to chill before using.

Rhubarb Mint Margarita Steps

In a large mason jar or cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, tequila, cointreau, and rhubarb simple syrup and shake until well mixed.
Take a wedge of lime and run it around the rim of your glass, then press into a plate of flaky salt. Add ice and serve a generous portion into each glass. Garnish with more mint and enjoy!!

Looking for more rhubarb content? Look here, here, and here!