Anyone familiar with my eating habits, knows that berries were one of the last holdouts from my childhood picky-eater days. In fact, it's only been the last couple years that I've embraced them, starting with blueberries, then blackberries and strawberries. Today, I enjoy them as snacks, in desserts, salads and cocktails.
Muddling berries is great way to impart some fresh summer flavor into a cocktail. For this recipe, I combined the sweetness of blackberries with the fresh taste of mint and some tart lemon. The results were pretty refreshing and, although I used vodka (specifically a small-batch Washington State vodka from Dry Fly distillery), I've also tested this with gin. Both work great, depending on what you prefer.
Blackberry Mint Fizz
8 mint leaves
3/4 oz. simple syrup
6-7 blackberries
1 1/2 oz. vodka (Dry Fly Washington Wheat Vodka)
1 oz. lemon juice
Club soda
Add mint leaves and simple syrup to glass and muddle. Add blackberries and use muddler to crush berries. Add ice, vodka and lemon juice and stir to combine. Top with club soda.
I like this one better with gin. And I'm glad you eat berries now. (Although this always leaves less for me.)
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