It’s Spring Cocktail Season! The baby showers have begun in earnest, the bridal showers are right around the corner, and soon, we’ll just invite people over to sit on the porch and have a drink. That day is not today because today is pouring down rain and cold. It’s actually gross out. Earlier this week we got a glimpse at what spring will look like and she was perfect. Until then, let’s plan our cocktails and a little dip or something to go with.

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A traditional mint julep has muddled mint leaves and bourbon with a little simple syrup. It’s a very boozy cocktail. When I’m making a cocktail for a party, or for day drinking, I usually try to tone down the booziness. So for this, I made a mint-y pink lemonade to mix with the bourbon and take down the concentration of liquor. It also is a great replacement for the simple syrup as pink lemonade is pretty sweet.

The history of the cocktail comes from it being a sweet cocktail combined with an herb. Traditionally a ‘julep’ was used to administer medicine. The word ‘julep’ comes from the Spanish ‘julepe’ which can mean “medicine.” If you’ve had a traditional julep, it’s not hard to imagine medicine hiding in there - it’s a strong drink with strong flavors.

The trick to the Mint Pink Lemonade is to not let the mint steep for too long in the lemonade. Mint will get bitter after a bit - so leaving it for a few hours is perfect, overnight is too long.

This version of a mint julep is a lot less boozy than its origin and makes a great party drink. This is a perfect cocktail to make in a pitcher too! You can serve these for your next Derby party or really anytime you need a summer sipping cocktail!

Pink Lemonade Mint Julep

makes one drink

2 ounces mint infused pink lemonade

1 ounce bourbon

mint to garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine lemonade and bourbon over ice. Shake or stir and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint leaves.

Mint Infused Pink Lemonade

1 cup pink lemonade

6-8 sprigs mint

Rip the mint leaves and add them to the pink lemonade. Let rest in the fridge for at least one hour, but after 6 hours, pull out the mint leaves. They will get bitter otherwise!

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It’s golf season again! I don’t know how many of you are excited, but I’m excited. We live on a golf course so we spend a lot of time watching people golf. In the summer, we head out to the course - but I refuse to golf when it’s raining or cold. If it’s not a sunny day, a lovely walk and a fun outing - then I’m not going.

So I get particularly excited when the sun comes back out and the season starts back up.

Golf season is the perfect time to whip out your best goofy outfits, strong cocktails, and great visors. Do you play? What’s your vice on the course?

Arnold Palmer ‘Tini

2 ounces good lemonade

1 ounce tea vodka

lemon garnish

STEP 1

Pour the vodka and the lemonade in a shaker. Fill with ice and shake.

STEP 2

Strain into two martini glasses and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Tea Vodka

1 cup vodka

1 tea bags

Pop the tea bags into the vodka and let soak until dark brown. In the sun, it takes about 2 hours.

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I keep trying to figure out fruit in a cocktail that would still taste delicious and not like too much fruit in a cocktail. This one I started wondering about around St. Patrick’s Day because I was pretty sure it would turn out green - I was right! Not only is it green, but it’s delicious.

The tartness of the kiwi lends itself perfectly with the lime and tequila. It’s not too sweet, not too sour. It’s practically the perfect cocktail.

Kiwi Margarita

makes 2 cocktails

1 kiwi, skinned and chopped

1 lime, juiced

4 ounces anjeo tequila

1 ounce cointreau

lime wedges and kiwi for garnish

STEP 1

In a cocktail shaker or a pitcher, muddle together kiwi and lime juice until blended.

STEP 2

Pour in booze and fill with ice. Shake or stir until combined.

STEP 3

Strain into two cocktail glasses filled with ice.

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This year we are going skiing during Easter weekend so Easter cocktails will be mandatory! What could be better than a fun bloody mary just before hitting the slops? The hill we go to has an amazing tradition of costumes while skiing, so I can’t wait to see who comes down the hill as the Easter Bunny!

A regular Bloody Mary is great but I love a good pun so a Bunny Mary seemed hilarious to me. The kids all rolled their eyes. When it’s made with carrot juice - it becomes the perfect Easter cocktail!

Bunny Mary

makes 2

8 ounces carrot juice

4 ounces vodka

2 tablespoons Bloody Mary seasoning

2 tablespoons Bloody Mary mix

garnishes like carrots, bacon, pickled asparagus, pickled beans, celery, and lime wedges

In a small pitcher, stir together the juice, vodka and seasoning until well combined. Sometimes the seasoning sinks to the bottom, so stir to totally integrate! Run a lime wedge around the edge of two glasses and dip them into the Bloody Mary mix. Pour the vodka mixture into the glasses filled with ice. Add your favorite garnish!

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How about a traditional Bloody Mary?

Click here!

What about one made with tomatillo?

I cannot believe I didn’t think of this before. It’s so simple. And so delicious! It tastes just like a boat drink, but without the booze. My kids love this one - and depending on your kids - you can you spicy ginger beer or the version that’s a little more sugary. I choose the spicy one because we like the zip of it all!

This would make an amazing pitcher cocktail too! Fill all of the ingredients in a pitcher, pop it on the counter (do not add ice) and let guests pour their own. I highly recommend this for Easter.

Pineapple Ginger Mocktail

serves 4

4 ounces pineapple juice

8 ounces ginger beer

lime wedge garnish

fresh ginger root

Divide the juice and ginger beer across four glasses filled with ice. Top with a garnish of fresh ginger and a squeeze of lime!

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A few nights a week we decide we aren’t drinking. Not for any big reason, just because we don’t need to/want to/feel like it. But sometimes, it’s nice to have something a little more special than bubbly water. This is that.

I’ve also found it’s kind of nice to go through the process of “mixing a drink,” with the muddling, and the shaking and the straining, this is that.

The flavors are perfect for right now, it’s light and refreshing. The coconut water adds a depth that is so delish. If you don’t have it, you can always muddle the cucumber and mint and just top it with bubbly water - it’s also good, but not AS good.

Coconut Cucumber Mocktail

makes two

12 slices of cucumber

3 sprigs of mint

1 lime

2 cups coconut water

mint, cucumber slices and lime wedges for garnish

STEP 1

Drop the cucumbers and mint into a cocktail shaker. With a muddler or the handle end of a table knife, muddle together the cucumber and mint until it’s completely smashed.

STEP 2

Pour in the coconut water and squeeze half a lime - add ice. Shake well.

STEP 3

Strain into glasses filled with fresh ice. Garnish with cucumbers, limes and a spring of mint.

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Thanks to our friend Taylor Swift, this classic cocktail made a return to the scene last year. Some of us are old enough to have had the cocktail the first time around when Sex and the City made it a hit. Some of us lamented the demise of it when we decided that Sex and the City was passè. Thank goodness it was made cool again.

And made cool in time for Valentine’s Day! It’s the perfect drink to shake up this holiday. Especially if you can garnish it with a heart shaped strawberry. I mean, can you even?

Classic Cosmopolitan

makes 2

4 ounces vodka

2 ounces cranberry juice

1/2 ounce cointreau

juice of 1/2 lime

STEP 1

In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, juice, cointreau and lime. Add ice and shake well.

STEP 2

Strain into a coupe and serve immediately.

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Does anything scream “New Orleans” more than a hurricane cocktail? They are a classic - invented in the 1940’s. There are several stories. My favorite is that the cocktail began at a speakeasy in New Orleans. The year was 1941. The code to get into the speakeasy was “Storm’s a brewin’” - which clearly led to the thematically appropriately named drink. Whether the glass that’s shaped like a hurricane lamp actually inspired the name of the drink OR was chosen to compliment the name, I prefer to think that someone with impeccable thematic skills made it all happen.

Mr Hedin and I had a classic hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s when we were in New Orleans last year. It was good. It wasn’t “the best thing ever” but it was good. Part of what turns me off is when a cocktail is preprepared and poured out of a jug. Not a fan. I like a drink made to order. I always think it tastes better.

I started researching how to make this drink. There are literally one zillion recipes. Every one of them had a different combination of ingredients, totally different rums, and none could agree on lemon vs. lime.

So I started mixing. And it was hard work. I landed on a recipe that feels like what we had at Pat O’Brien’s but made with real ingredients at home. I also simplified the rum situation. My favorite tiki bar, Smuggler’s Cove, did all the work on finding the perfect rum options for this cocktail - you can use one! Hooray! It’s annoying to have a pantry full of booze that only works for one recipe.

Classic Hurricane Cocktail

makes two drinks

2 ounces passion fruit syrup (see below)

4 ounces black blended rum (I use Blackwell Black Gold)

the juice of one lime

STEP 1

In a sauce pan, pour one cup passion fruit juice and reduce to 1/4 cup. Simmer it on low and just let it cook down. Remove from heat and let cool.

STEP 2

Pour the passion fruit syrup, rum and lime juice over ice in a cocktail shaker and shake it up well.

STEP 3

Pour all contents into a cocktail glass and garnish with a wedge of lime and a cherry! Sip slow.

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The original champagne cocktail is mentioned in Casablanca, in Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad, and has been turned into one million variations. This is the classic one. The OG.

It’s pretty simple - and it works - like most classic cocktails. It’s a little sweet (sugar) a little bitter (bitters) a little warm (cognac) and deliciously bubbly. The lemon on top is the perfect topper.

I found that if you swirl the cognac with the sugar before you add the champagne, it’s a better drink immediately. But it is not as impressive when you serve it. If you don’t swirl, the sugar cube bubbles with the champagne and it looks so pretty. But it takes a few minutes to get to the delicious drink you’re craving. Either way, you should totally make these for New Year’s Eve.

The Original Champagne Cocktail

1 sugar cube

2 -3 dashes bitters

1/2 ounce cognac

Champagne

lemon

Drop a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute. Drip the bitters onto the sugar cube and let it sit so it soaks up. Pour in the cognac and swirl a little (optional - it’s better for flavor, but not the looks). Then top with champagne, pouring slowly to not get too much foam.

Cut a lemon with a wedge knife or a vegetable peeler and squeeze it over the top so there’s just a hint of lemon oil. Serve immediately!

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