Cocktails

Blackberry Lavender Lemonade + Cocktail Recipe

July 28, 2018 No Comments Cocktails

It has been a long time since I’ve shared a Saturday Spirits post. But, this past hot weather and a challenge from Oregon Berries to create a recipe featuring blackberries and edible flowers got me thinking about a deliciously sweet, cold blackberry lemonade that would be fun to sip on a long afternoon playing outdoors.

Oregon blackberries are perfectly in season at this time of year, but thankfully, you can capture the fresh berry flavor all year long with the use of frozen Oregon blackberries. This recipe makes a tasty non-alcoholic lavender blackberry lemonade and tips for an easy cocktail created with this base recipe.

This post is in partnership with Oregon Berries. All opinions are my own. About Oregon Berries: The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission focuses on promoting caneberries to multiple audiences, and supports Oregon berry farmers by fostering plant research and farming education initiatives. Find Oregon Berry brands on the Oregon Berries website!

In the past, I was not much of a fan of lavender in my foods or beverages. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to appreciate the subtle floral note as an addition to different drinks, meals, and desserts. The combination of tart lemons, sweet blackberries, and lavender is an especially good use of this edible flower.

Blackberry Lavender Lemonade

I started this recipe by making two different simple syrups. I made a lavender simple syrup and a blackberry simple syrup. Then combined the syrups with freshly squeezed lemon juice and water.

The simple syrups help sweeten the lemonade, but I do suggest sweetening to taste a bit as I tend to like things a bit more tart.

Lavender simple syrup:

I was able to find a beautiful lavender plant at our local farmer’s market. I’ll be planting it in my yard so that I can continue to make this simple syrup year after year.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 heads of fresh lavender

Directions:

In a small heavy bottom saucepan place all ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Cook for about 5 minutes and take off the heat. I let mine sit for 10 minutes to cool a bit and allow the flavor to meld a bit more.

Strain, reserving the liquid.

Blackberry Simple Syrup

If you’ve never had an Oregon blackberry then you may think of blackberries a bit differently than I do. I always associated blackberries with lots of seeds and a berry flavor, but just not worth the effort to cook with/eat due to the seeds. However, after eating Oregon blackberries it has become my favorite berry by far! Juicy, bold flavor and not the same seedy feeling that I’ve had experienced in the past. I’ve learned that Oregon is an ideal growing environment for berries due to the great combination of how the Oregon soil, air, and water work together. The berries that are chosen for Oregon Berries products are picked at the peak of ripeness and are frozen within 24 hours of being picked to maximize taste, juiciness, and nutrition.

Ingredients:

16 oz frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently so that sugar doesn’t burn.

Cook until the blackberries are cooked down and the sugar is dissolved. About 5-10 minutes.

Strain mixture, smashing all the blackberries and reserving the liquid.

Blackberry Lavender Lemonade

Makes approximately 1 64 oz pitcher

1 cup of lavender simple syrup
1 cup of blackberry simple syrup
Freshley squeezed juice of 12 lemons
4 cups water
Blackberries and lemon slices for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and chill.

To create a tasty (and easy) cocktail with this mixture add in your favorite gin or vodka. This makes an easy summer cocktail for those who wish to imbibe.

See my other Oregon Berries recipes:

I love working with Oregon Berries because I already buy them and eat them on the regular. Getting to share my love with you is icing on the cake.

Can’t get enough blackberries? Check out the hashtags #oregonberries or #putaberryonit to see what others are doing with Oregon Berries!

A Well Crafted Party

Host a Cider Tasting Party – VIDEO

August 5, 2017 No Comments A Well Crafted Party

Tasting parties are so fun to do as they give guests a bunch of different choices and allows everyone to really find something to their own liking. We’ve done a variety of tasting parties in the past including a whiskey tasting, wine tasting, ice cream tasting, and beer tasting. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit KGW’s Portland Today to share tips on how to create a great cider tasting party featuring Julian Hard Cider. See the segment here:

Host a Cider Tasting Party

There are a variety of ways you can host a cider tasting party. I tend to start by picking out my ciders at the store. This cider tasting is tasting different varieties of the same brand, but you could also choose to taste different ciders across a variety of brands. Below are some tips for hosting your next cider party:

Do a blind tasting. Want to see which company makes the BEST cider? Try getting the same style of cider from around 5 different breweries. Wrap each one in a paper bag or with paper. Mark each bag with a different number. Put out tasting sheets so guests can write down what they like and disliked about each cider. At the very end, have everyone say their favorite number and find out which cider was the overall winner, and on.
Taste food too. Try pairing the ciders with foods that should go well with them. Look for foods with similar flavors that may be enhanced when trying the cider with it. Food is important for more than just pairing flavors, it will help keep your guests from becoming too inebriated.
Keep your samples small. This is also a safety thing… but, it also serves to allow guests to really get a good taste of each of the samples and then move on to drinking their favorite of the samples.

Free Cider Tasting Printables

Get your free Cider Tasting Printables below. Print and cut out per the directions on the printables.

I’ll be sharing the recipes for some of the pairings featured in the video above soon! Check back next week!

Have you ever been to a tasting party? What made the party fun? Comment below!

Cocktails

Saturday Spirits: Cherry Limeade Cocktail

May 27, 2017 1 Comment Cocktails

A million years ago I got my first real job as a carhop at my local Sonic Drive-In. It was my first of many, many years of creating fun drinks for people to enjoy. The classic and all-time favorite soda of mine was the Cherry Limeade. Sonic just had that secret recipe that really blended the flavors just right. Of course, there was also the perfection of Sonic ice. When Wild Roots Vodka sent a beautiful bottle of their Dark Sweet Cherry Infused Vodka my mind instantly went to creating a tasty, adult-only Cherry Limeade. I didn’t have the perfect Sonic ice to set it apart, but I did have the perfect blend of cherry and lime that made for a refreshing Summer beverage.

Sonic’s—likely not-so-secret—recipe for their Cherry limeades combined freshly squeezed limes, cherry syrup, maraschino cherries and Sprite to make the sweet and sour beverage. You could really do the same with this vodka, some limes, and Sprite. However, and perhaps this is my age showing, I’ve come to enjoy drinks with just a tad less sweetness than I have had in the past. I prefer to not use Sprite in favor of lime flavored soda water.

While it is called “Dark Sweet Cherry Infused” vodka I didn’t find the liquor quite as sweet as I expected. (Perfect for me!) But, if you do prefer a sweeter drink then perhaps sub the soda water for a lemon-lime soda or add a little bit more maraschino cherry juice than called for in the recipe below.

More uses for Cherry Vodka:

In playing around testing different drinks with the Wild Roots Dark Sweet Cherry Vodka I also tested it out in some cola and made a fabulous adult Cherry Cola. Check out the Wild Roots website for more Cherry Vodka recipe ideas. (Click the plus sign next to description of the Cherry Vodka on the site.)

Dark Cherry Limeade Cocktail

This drink recipe serves one. However, you could absolutely make a pitcher of this to serve in bulk by multiplying ingredients by the number of drinks needed. If you are making ahead, then mix everything but the soda water together and chill until needed. Add the soda water right before serving.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 oz White Rum (not a flavored variety)
1/2 oz of Dark Sweet Cherry Vodka
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz Maraschino Cherry Juice (May substitute grenadine to taste if you’d prefer)
Maraschino Cherries and Lime Slices for Garnish

Directions:

Note: Build this drink over ice. If you can get nugget ice then definitely go for that! I liked building my drink where the cherry was on the bottom because it looked so pretty as the color seeped to the top. Before drinking you’ll want to give it a stir with your straw.

Pour Wild Roots Dark Sweet Cherry Vodka and Cherry Juice over ice.
Pour in the Rum and lime juice.
Add in a few lime slices.
Top with Lime Soda Water
Garnish with a few Maraschino Cherries

This drink will be next to me most of this long-holiday weekend. Hopefully as I enjoy the swimming pool!