Strawberry Thyme Gin Rickey

We finally got around to planting our annual batch of tomatoes and herbs (along with hot peppers and cucumbers). For a while, we'd talked about doing raised beds, but, to be honest, I don't think we're ready to commit to something like that. Between the produce we get from our coop and what we grow in our pots, we're doing just fine. That may change in the future, but, for now, we're content with what we have. 

At the end of a long day, I like to walk around and see how our plants are doing, often with a gin and tonic in hand. We've skipped over spring and are in full-blown summer mode here, which means we're all about the g+ts (or t+ts (tequila) or r+ts (rum)). Whatever it is, it has to be refreshing... something with bubbles and lots of lime. I'm also a fan of incorporating herbs into my drinks. For a fancy, gin and tonic, I'll add sprigs of rosemary to provide some aromatics. 

I bought strawberries at the store and quickly forgot about them (shame, I know). I remembered just before they started to turn and decided the perfect use for them would be a festive summer drink. A batch of simple syrup, with the berries and thyme, makes a wonderful seasonal cocktail. Here's to warm, sunny days... hopefully spent by a lake or beach! 

Strawberry Thyme Gin Rickey

Yield
6 drinks

Glassware
Highball glasses

Tools
Jigger
Fine mesh sieve

Ingredients

For the strawberry-thyme syrup
1 cup sliced strawberries
.25 cup sugar
1.25 cups water
2 fresh thyme sprigs

For each cocktail
1.75 oz gin
1 oz lime
.75 oz strawberry thyme syrup
Ice
Soda water

Garnish
Sliced strawberries
Thyme sprigs

Directions

1. To make the strawberry-thyme syrup, heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk until sugar has dissolved. Add sliced strawberries and thyme and continue to cook until strawberries are mushy. Press the strawberries to release all their juices. Let syrup cool and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Syrup can be stored in a glass jar with a lid for up to 1 month.

2. To prepare each drink, pour gin, lime juice, and strawberry-thyme syrup into a highball glass. Add ice and top with soda water. 

3. Garnish with sliced strawberries and thyme sprigs. 

Cherry Mind Eraser

We eat copious amounts of cherries over the summer. Bags and bags of them. There's always a full bowl on the table at the Cape and that's what we snack on throughout the day. But as much as I adore them, I so rarely cook with cherries. They just never last long enough to do anything with them. Which may have been why I was set on using them for this cocktail. Just a way to mix things up and play with an ingredient I don't utilize enough. 

The cherry-coffee pairing isn't one I see very often, but that rich, dark fruit along with the vanilla/caramel notes in the Kahlúa® were meant for each other, as evidenced by this Cherry Mind Eraser (you can get the ingredients over at Drizly). What I didn't expect was how it'd taste almost exactly like cherry cola. But that's pretty much what it is. A boozy cherry cola, making it the perfect porch sipper. I've loved all of the recipes I've created using Kahlúa®, but this Cherry Mind Eraser is the one I've been most excited to share with everyone and the drink I plan on preparing for guests all summer long. 

This is my third creation featuring Kahlúa® and I think each one was quite different. While the Mind Eraser is definitely for warmer months, the Kicking Bull and Coconut Milk White Russian feel a bit more suited for cooler weather. 

To try your hand at making a Cherry Mind Eraser head over to my recipe page on Drizly to get your cocktail ingredients! (There's a code for free delivery just for you! Just use "KahluaBOS" when you checkout.)

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kahlúa®. All opinions expressed here are my own. Also, please drink responsibly.

Cherry Mind Eraser

Yield
1 drink

Special tool
Cherry pitter

Ingredients
For the cocktail
1 part Kahlúa®
1 part vodka
1/4 part cherry syrup (see recipe below)
1 part soda water

For the cherry syrup
1.5 cups fresh cherries, pitted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

Directions
To make the cocktail
1. Fill rocks glass with ice.
2. Add Kahlua and vodka.
3. Add cherry syrup.
4. Top with soda water.

To make the cherry syrup
1. Place the cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Add water and lemon juice and stir to combine. 
2. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 12-15  minutes, being sure to smash the cherries with a wooden spoon (to release juices) and stir often.
3. Remove from heat and let cool. 
4. Strain liquid of cherries (be sure to save the cherries so you can snack on them later). 
5. Transfer syrup to an airtight container and refrigerate (will be good for a few weeks). 

Source: Adapted from the Mind Eraser recipe posted on the Kahlua® website. 

Beverage and prop styling by Catrine Kelty

The Kicking Bull (Kahlua and Tequila Cocktail)

I'm a fan of cocktails with a kick. Add jalapeno to my drink and I'm a happy guy. But spice, in general, is how I roll. I tend to remember dishes or beverages that have a little heat in them. It's become my thing at bars: can you make me something spicy? If the bartender is game, we're automatically best friends. A few months ago I made such a request at one of our favorite local establishments and was served up a drink with ghost pepper-infused tequila. Don't ask me what else I drank that night... I probably couldn't feel my tongue anymore... but, hey, that drink stuck with me!

When I approached this classic Kahlúa® drink, the Brave Bull (the ingredients for which can all be ordered through Drizly) and saw it had tequila in it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do to give it my unique spin. Well, it did go through some iterations. I thought about maybe muddling the booze with jalapeno, but decided that might be a bit too intense for this slow sipper. Instead, I went with a more subtle approach and rimmed the glass with a mixture of cayenne, sugar, and cinnamon. This is a cocktail with some deep flavors - the coffee/caramel of the Kahlúa® and the green pepper of the tequila - and the sugar and spice mixture helps to accentuate those notes.  One thing that I enjoyed was how the lime juice used to rim the glass provides some nice zing to help cut through it all, making you want to go back in for another taste. 

This is my second creation featuring Kahlúa® and, between this and the Coconut Milk White Russian, I'm getting to see how versatile this liqueur is. But this won't be the last time you're seeing it used here... there's another Kahlúa® cocktail coming your way next month (it'll be a drink to serve at all of your backyard barbecues this summer).

To try your hand at making a Kicking Bull, head over to my recipe page on Drizly to get your cocktail ingredients! (There's a code for free delivery just for you! Just use "KahluaBOS" when you checkout.)

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kahlúa®. All opinions expressed here are my own. Also, please drink responsibly.

The Kicking Bull

Yield
1 drink

Ingredients
For the cocktail
1 part Kahlúa®
2 parts tequila blanco

For the rim
1 lime wedge
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
1. Add the sugar to a small plate. Add the cinnamon and cayenne and mix to combine. 

2. Moisten the rim of a rocks glass with a lime wedge. Dip the rim into the sugar-spice mixture and rotate slowly until the rim is coated.

3. Fill the glass with ice cubes. 

4. Add the Kahlúa® and tequila. 

Source: Adapted from the Brave Bull recipe posted on the Kahlua® website. 

Beverage and prop styling by Catrine Kelty