Sweet, savoury sippers to enjoy on summer days
There’s nothing better than relaxing with a drink on a warm day. Here are some recipes for special summer sippers.
The first three were created by Nathan Cameron for the Casey’s Grill Bar chain. The Prime Restaurants Inc. beverage manager says he wanted to give a twist to traditionally popular summer cocktails. In the case of the margarita, it’s the addition of beer. For the sangria and mojito, the secret ingredient is hard cider.
The last recipe, from Foodland Ontario, is a savoury libation featuring tomatoes, called a sangrita cooler.
Shock Top Margarita
Makes: 1 serving 3/4 oz tequila 3/4 oz orange liqueur 1 oz fresh sweet lemonade 3 oz Shock Top White Ale (or any American wheat beer) 1/2 orange slice, for garnish
To an ice-packed glass, add tequila, orange liqueur and lemonade. Top with beer. Stir well and garnish with an orange slice on the rim of the glass.
Strawberry Cider Mojito
Makes: 1 serving 1 oz spiced rum 1/2 oz strawberry purée (commercial or homemade) 1 oz fresh sweet lemonade 6 to 8 mint leaves or to taste 3 oz hard (fermented) cider 1/2 strawberry, for garnish
To a cocktail shaker, add rum, strawberry purée, lemonade and mint. Add a scoop of ice, shake well and strain over icepacked glass. Top with cider. Stir well and garnish with strawberry on rim of glass.
Blueberry Cider Sangria
Makes: 1 serving 3 blueberries 3 lime slices (reserve one for garnish) 1/2 oz blueberry vodka 1 oz Cabernet or Merlot wine 1 oz fresh sweet lemonade 3 oz hard (fermented) cider 2 oz soda
To an ice-packed glass, add all ingredients in the order listed. Stir well and garnish with reserved lime slice on rim of glass.
Sangrita Cooler
Sangrita, a popular spicy Mexican beverage, is prepared with juicy, sweet, ripe tomatoes. Traditionally, a shot of tequila is served on the side to sip alternately with the sangrita — slowly, one after the other. Makes: 4 servings 3 field tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered (about 1 lb) 1 cup each tomato juice and orange juice 2 Tbsp diced red onion 1 tsp hot pepper sauce 1 clove garlic, minced 1 piece cucumber (10 centimetres long), peeled and chopped 4 stalks celery, for garnish
In a blender, combine tomatoes, tomato juice, orange juice, red onion, hot sauce, garlic and cucumber; process until smooth. Refrigerate to thoroughly chill. Stir to mix. Pour into chilled glasses and garnish each with a celery stalk.
Tips: To peel tomatoes, cut an X in bottom of each and place in heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for about 30 seconds or until skins begin to split. Immediately drain and cool in ice water. Peel and cut out cores. To seed tomatoes, cut in half crosswise and squeeze out seeds.