Ingredients:

2 ounces (60 ml) gin

4 ounces (120 ml) freshly squeezed pink or red grapefruit juice

1 ounce (30 ml) Aperol or Campari liqueur

1 fresh quarter slice of grapefruit, for garnish

Preparation:

Fill the glass with crushed ice. Add the gin, juice and Aperol. Garnish with your grapefruit slice.

Swirl or stir gently. Enjoy!
Depending on which juice you use, you can end up with a beautiful shade of light pink or a red ruby hue. Whatever colour it is, the taste is guaranteed to be refreshing and delicious! If you make this recipe and want to share it with us, tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

Picture yourself sitting outside with your sunglasses on, a cool and refreshing drink in hand and some fun music playing. The warm weather is here and with it should come delicious cocktails – or mocktails – to keep you cool while enjoying that time in the sun. Nothing can get you more in that blissful summertime mood!

This week we have not one, but two fresh, fruity and flavourful cocktail recipes for you to choose from and they’re pretty much a tropical vacation in a glass. The Pink Pitcher Punch and the Pear Gin-ger Punch with Basil, brought to you in collaboration with blogger Allison Sklar, will do more than just quench your thirst! With or without the alcohol, these drinks are tasty and refreshing, easy to make, and perfect to enjoy with the festive long weekend atmosphere! Just right for some solo sunbathing, or for an exciting night of celebrations with friends, these drink recipes feature a choice that will suit anyone with an active sweet-tooth or with taste buds that take pleasure in a more bitter taste.

So set up your outdoor living space, put on your playlist of fun-in-the-sun music, and follow Allison’s steps on how to easily make yourself both of these succulent drinks, ideal to savour this long weekend.

NOTE: You can plan ahead to avoid watering down your punch. Before adding alcohol, scoop some of your mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. When it’s time to serve, your ice will be made of punch, adding flavour, not diluting it! 

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Pink Pitcher Punch

Servings 1 pitcher

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh unsweetened pink grapefruit juice
• 2 cups grapefruit-flavoured sparkling water
• 1 1/2 cups vodka more, or less, to desired strength
• 1/3 cup campari
• 1 large pink grapefruit sliced into rounds
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• Ice cubes just before serving - see note above

Instructions

• Combine grapefruit juice, 1 cup pomegranate juice (extracted with the thinkkitchen Citrus Reamer), sparkling water, vodka, campari & grapefruit slices (the Laguiole Knives make a great tool for cutting citrus) in the Flare Pitcher. Stir gently.
• Fill your Flare Old Fashion glasses 1/2 way, leaving room for 3 tbsp pomegranate juice. Slowly add pomegranate juice and allow it to sink to the bottom, forming a gradient effect.

Notes

MOCKTAIL OPTION: Replace vodka with 1/2 cup sparkling water and 1/2 cup grapefruit juice.

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Pear Gin-ger Punch with Basil

Servings 1 pitcher

Ingredients

• 3 cups pear nectar
• 2 cups ginger beer
• 1/3 cup gin
• 1/2 cup vodka
• Large handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 2 fresh pears sliced
• Ice cubes just before serving—see note above

Instructions

• With the thinkkitchen Himalayan Salt Mortar and Pestle, muddle together the basil & ginger. Add into a pitcher, like our colourful Amazon Pitcher.
• Pour in pear nectar, ginger beer, gin & vodka. Stir. Serve over ice in the Amazon Bottles for extra tropical effect!

Notes

MOCKTAIL OPTION: Omit the gin and the vodka, and enjoy!

Helping you make the most of the sunny season,

Allison Sklar is a Montreal native who started her blog in 2009. Allison is an advocate of plant-based diets, and she eats mostly vegan diet at home, but she does not like to label herself. For instance, from time to time, you may catch her enjoying some sustainably sourced fish, as she did last summer in New Orleans. You may also see her occasionally drizzling some fair trade honey into her green tea. Call her a flexatarian, a pescetarian, a confused omnivore, whatever – she eats what she enjoys, and she encourages you to do the same. Allison creates the majority of her own recipes, unless otherwise stated. She is inspired by friends, family, and of course, whatever’s in her fridge. For more of Allison’s recipes follow her on Instagram and Facebook or visit her blog!