Jul
There’s no denying it — summer and cocktails just go together. When the weather warms, the red wine invariably gets pushed aside in favor of concoctions that clink in perspiring tumblers.
And this summer, I’m all about homegrown herbs in my drinks. It started with the vodka lemonade made with lemon verbena ice (recipe below) that a friend whipped up on one of those gloriously impromptu post-work summer meet-ups. And then there’s my newfound fascination with perfecting a watermelon mojito. So naturally, when I got around to planting my herb garden a couple weeks ago, mint and lemon verbena were on top of my must-have list — along with the basil and cilantro that feed two of my other summer obsessions, caprese salad and homemade salsa.
Grow, little plant, grow.
Two kinds of mint — peppermint and lemon mint
The plants look forlorn now, but I’m already daydreaming about the potions I can make with these fragrant leaves. And there’s plenty of inspiration to be found online. Fresh herbs, fresh fruit, homemade syrups, oh my! The Kitchn has a great roundup of herb cocktails (some of them using my dear, dear basil), and I could get lost for hours exploring the options on Liqurious. It also happens to be drink week over at the lovely blog Food in Jars.
What I love about herb cocktails is that the process invites creativity. I mean, really, how badly can you mess up a drink? (Don’t answer that.)
What are some of your favorite summer drinks? Share them in the comments so we can all enjoy!
Oh, and here’s that recipe:
Lemon Verbena Ice 3 cups water 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel ½ cup fresh lemon juice couple sprigs of fresh lemon verbena
In a medium saucepan combine water and sugar, bring just to boiling to dissolve sugar. Add lemon verbena sprigs. Turn down heat to low simmer and let steep about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Take out verbena, strain liquid if leaves came off. Stir in lemon peel. Let cool. Stir in lemon juice. Pour mixture into a two-quart baking dish (my friend uses her metal brownie pan). Cover and freeze for four hours, until starting to firm. Take out and use a fork to scrape ice into shaved consistency, then push any liquid toward the edges and frozen bits toward the middle. Cover and return to freezer until firm. Use a fork to “shave” all ice. Cover and keep in freezer for up to one week. Use in place of ice cubes in mixed drinks.
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