summer drinks Archives | GFF Magazine

Blueberry-Rosemary Lemonade

Erika — Tue, 31 May 2022 13:55:00 +0000

Wow friends and neighbors at sidewalk sales, brunches, or picnics with this deliciously modern take on the warm-weather classic. Add vodka and sub bubbly water for the 2 cups water in this lemonade recipe and you’ve got the perfect happy hour thirst-quencher.

Blueberry-Rosemary Lemonade Gluten-Free Recipe

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blueberries
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 (2-inch) sprig rosemary
1-1/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 15 lemons), strained
Ice

Instructions

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, rosemary, and 1/4 cup water over medium-low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are soft and broken down, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Strain the blueberry syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, gently pressing down on the solids to extract the juice. Stir the lemon juice and 2 cups water into the pitcher. Add ice and serve.

Photography Erin Ng

Celery Gin Spritz Gluten-Free Recipe

Erika — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 15:27:57 +0000

Good thing this recipe makes extra Celery Simple Syrup because that stuff is so good, you’ll want seconds. For easy entertaining, you can make up these cocktails with gin up to a week in advance and store it in the fridge.

Celery Gin Spritz Gluten-Free Recipe

MAKES 8 DRINKS Also, though it doesn’t taste like it, this cocktail is martini strength; for a lighter version, use less gin and more soda or skip the booze to make fabulous virgin cocktails.

Author Olivia Mack McCool

Ingredients

For the Celery Simple Syrup:

2 cups sugar
2 cups chopped celery stalks and leaves
1 teaspoon celery seeds (optional)
Ice

For serving:

4 limes, 2 cut into thin wheels and 2 quartered
16 ounces gin
1 (1-liter) bottle club soda or seltzer water
8 celery stalks, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Make the simple syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar, 2 cups water, the celery, and celery seeds and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, mash the celery a bit with a wooden spoon, and let steep until cool. Strain into a jar or container with a lid and refrigerate until use.
To serve, fill each glass with ice, a couple of lime wheels, 2 ounces gin, 1 ounce celery syrup, and a squeeze of lime juice. Stir, top with club soda and a celery stalk, and serve.

Photography Chelsea McNamara

Gluten-Free Turmeric Sangria Recipe

Erika — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 22:13:01 +0000

Anything but the traditional wine-and-fruit mix, this Camille Becerra gluten-free turmeric sangria cocktail recipe is one of the fiercest, most exciting libations we’ve had in a long time. Make your sangria with sparkling wine to wow everyone at the party and know that you're enjoying totally gluten-free and very anti-inflammatory turmeric with your sangria You’ll need to juice fresh turmeric root with a juicer or get a juicing shop to do it for you. But trust us, it's worth the effort. And beware: turmeric juice stains.

Servings people

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup fresh turmeric juice from juicing about 1⁄2 pound fresh turmeric root
1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
1⁄2 cup honey or agave
1 750 ml bottle dry white wine or sparkling wine, chilled
6 sprigs basil for garnish

Instructions

In a pitcher, add the juices and honey and stir until combined. Add the wine, stir, pour into glasses, garnish with a basil sprig, and serve.

Photo Sheri Giblin

Gluten-Free Lawrenceburg Swizzle Cocktail Recipe

Erika — Wed, 30 May 2018 21:56:54 +0000

The essence of Kentucky and the tall, frosty cousin to the julep.

Servings

Ingredients

8 mint leaves
1 1⁄2 ounces bourbon such as Wild Turkey 81 bourbon
1⁄2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 1⁄2 ounces pure maple syrup
Peychaud’s Aromatic Cocktail Bitters

Instructions

In a highball glass, tamp 7 of the mint leaves, fill the glass with crushed ice, add the bourbon, lemon juice, and maple syrup, and stir to combine. Add a mound of crushed ice, drizzle a few drops of bitters over the top, garnish with the remaining mint leaf, and serve with a swizzle stick.

Photo: Maren Caruso

Gluten-Free Piña Swizzle Cocktail Recipe

Erika — Wed, 30 May 2018 21:53:16 +0000

The sophisticated version of the classic vacation drink, complete with silky, creamy goodness.

Servings

Ingredients

5 fresh cilantro leaves
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce reposado tequila such as Espolón Tequila Reposado
1 ounce sweetened coconut milk
1⁄2 ounce fresh lime juice
Lime zest for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a highball glass, tamp the cilantro leaves, fill the glass with crushed ice, add the vodka, tequila, coconut milk, and lime juice and stir to combine. Add a mound of crushed ice, garnish with lime zest, and serve with a swizzle stick.

Photo: Maren Caruso

Gluten-Free Negroni Cocktail Swizzle Recipe

Erika — Wed, 30 May 2018 21:48:02 +0000

A playful twist on the classic Italian bittersweet cocktail with tropical-spice notes.

Servings

Ingredients

3⁄4 ounce dry gin such as Bulldog Gin
3⁄4 ounce Campari
3⁄4 ounce John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum a sweet, spiced syrup available at specialty liquor stores
3⁄4 ounce ultrapremium full-bodied vermouth, such as Cinzano 1757 Vermouth
3⁄4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 long strip orange peel for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a highball glass filled with crushed ice, add the gin, Campari, Velvet Falernum, vermouth, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Garnish with the orange peel and serve with a swizzle stick.

Photo: Maren Caruso

Gluten-Free Manzanita Swizzle Cocktail Recipe

Erika — Wed, 30 May 2018 20:46:20 +0000

Feisty, smoky, earthy, and tropically tempting with Latin flair.

Servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon thinly sliced baby bell pepper optional
1 1⁄2 ounces white tequila such as Espolón Tequila Blanco
1 tablespoon mescal
1 ounce pineapple juice
1⁄2 ounce fresh lime juice
1⁄2 ounce Habanero Simple Syrup (below)
Pinch of red pepper flakes sea salt, and sugar, mixed together, for garnish (optional)
Pineapple leaf for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Place the bell pepper at the bottom of a highball glass, fill the glass with crushed ice, add the tequila, mescal, juices, and simple syrup, and stir to combine. Add a mound of crushed ice, sprinkle with the spice mix, garnish with the pineapple leaf, and serve with a swizzle stick.

Habanero Simple Syrup

Instructions

Add a spicy kick to any cocktail with this sweet concoction: In a medium pot over medium heat, combine 3 cups of sugar and 1 1⁄2 cups of water and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add 1⁄2 of a seeded and thinly sliced habanero chile, cool, and strain, discarding the solids. Keep syrup refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 weeks.

Photo: Maren Caruso

Gluten-Free Jamaican Swizzle Cocktail Recipe

Erika — Wed, 30 May 2018 20:22:44 +0000

Super approachable and refreshing, with the tropical funkiness we love about Jamaican rums.

Servings

Ingredients

1 1⁄2 ounces dark Jamaican rum preferably Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaican Rum
4 ounces coconut water
3⁄4 ounce fresh lime juice
1⁄2 ounce Rich Simple Syrup (below)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 long strip lime peel for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a highball glass filled with crushed ice, add the rum, coconut water, lime juice, and simple syrup and stir to combine. Add a mound of crushed ice, drizzle the bitters over the top, garnish with the lime peel, and serve with a swizzle stick.

Rich Simple Syrup

Ingredients

2/3 cup cane sugar (unrefined)
1/4 cup water

Instructions

This syrup is more concentrated than regular simple syrup, so it allows you to add more sweetness and mouthfeel to your drink without watering it down: Combine 2⁄3 cup unrefined cane sugar and 1⁄4 cup water in a small pot over low heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, then cool.

Photo: Maren Caruso