As the holiday season comes to a close, there’s no better way to bid farewell to the festivities than with one last round of beautifully crafted drinks. Whether you’re savoring the lingering moments of celebration or opting for a fresh start on January 1st, we’ve got you covered with a trio of tantalizing beverages – including a vibrant mocktail for those choosing a lighter path.

Mezcal Paloma:

Ingredients:

• Rim your glass with Tajin
• 1.5 oz grapefruit juice
• ½ oz lime juice
• ½ oz agave syrup
• 1.5 oz mezcal
• Ice

Instructions:

1. Rim your glass with Tajin for a spicy kick.
2. In a shaker, combine grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave syrup, and mezcal.
3. Shake well and strain the mixture into your prepared glass over ice.
4. Give it a gentle stir, and voilà – the Mezcal Paloma, a perfect blend of smoky and citrusy notes to savor one more time.

Apple Cider Mimosas:

Ingredients:

• Chilled apple cider
• Sparkling wine or champagne
• Apple slices for garnish

Instructions:

1. Fill half of your champagne flute with chilled apple cider.
2. Top it off with your favorite sparkling wine or champagne.
3. Garnish with apple slices for a festive touch.
4. Enjoy the crisp and bubbly goodness of an Apple Cider Mimosa, a delightful twist to the classic mimosa.

Blood Orange and Grapefruit Mocktail:

For those opting for a non-alcoholic option, indulge in the rich flavors and deep red hues of a Blood Orange and Grapefruit Mocktail.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz blood orange juice
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• Tonic water or soda
• Sliced blood orange and grapefruit for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a glass, combine blood orange juice and grapefruit juice.
2. Add tonic water or soda to your liking for effervescence.
3. Garnish with slices of blood orange and grapefruit.
4. Raise a toast to a refreshing and visually stunning mocktail, perfect for a light and bright beginning to the new year.

Wrap up your holiday season in style with these last sips, appreciating the artistry of mixology and the joy that a well-crafted drink brings to your gatherings. Cheers to new beginnings and the promise of exciting adventures in the year ahead!

Step 1: Making Lemon-Lime Sparkling Water Start by gathering the following ingredients:

• Fresh lemons and limes
• Cold, filtered water
• Ice cubes

1. Fill the retro sparkling beverage maker with cold, filtered water up to the recommended level.
2. Squeeze the juice from fresh lemons and limes into a separate container.
3. Add the lemon and lime juice to the sparkling water in the beverage maker, adjusting the amount according to your taste preference.
4. Securely attach the carbonation chamber to the beverage maker and carbonate the water following the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Once carbonated, carefully pour the sparkling lemon-lime water into a glass filled with ice cubes.
6. Garnish with a slice of lemon or lime and enjoy the refreshing and naturally flavored drink.

With the retro sparkling beverage maker and a variety of natural fruits, you can create a range of flavorful sparkling water combinations to stay hydrated in a refreshing and delicious way. Whether you enjoy classic lemon-lime or prefer to experiment with fruit infusions, homemade sparkling water is a great alternative to sugary sodas and a fantastic way to quench your thirst naturally.

So, grab your retro sparkling beverage maker, choose your favorite fruits, and embark on a journey of refreshing hydration that is sure to delight your taste buds. Cheers to a healthier and more flavorful way of staying hydrated!

We chose to make mocktails but you can easily adapt these recipes and any alcohol of your choice to make them as big batch cocktails!

Lavender Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¾ cup honey
• 6 cups water
• 2-3 drops lavender essential oil or 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lavender flowers
• Ice cubes
• Edible lavender flowers for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a large pitcher, whisk together the freshly squeezed lemon juice, honey, and water until the honey is fully dissolved.
2. Add in the lavender essential oil or fresh lavender flowers and stir to combine.
3. Refrigerate the lemonade for at least 30 minutes or until chilled.
4. To serve, pour the lavender lemonade over ice cubes and garnish with edible lavender flowers

Pink Pansy Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of pink lemonade
• ½ cup of cranberry juice
• 1 ½ cups of lemon-lime soda
• Ice cubes
• Pink pansies for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a pitcher, mix together the pink lemonade and cranberry juice.
2. Slowly add in the lemon-lime soda and stir gently.
3. Refrigerate the drink for at least 30 minutes or until chilled.
4. To serve, pour the pink pansy drink over ice cubes and garnish with pink pansies.

Note: Be sure to use edible flowers that are specifically grown for consumption in your cocktails and mocktails. Avoid using flowers that may have been exposed to pesticides or other chemicals.

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! 

Print

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.

Print

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!