By Robyn
I’m bad at most any craft, whether it be knitting, where I’ll manage to drop every other stitch, or gluing, ending up with a sticky mess. When my daughter was a Girl Scout, we had to do crafts all the time. Making guitars out of cigar boxes is one I remember. I’ve avoided all such things since.
But my one exception is mastering the art of the craft cocktail which has been a pandemic pleasure both on Zoom and increasingly in person. Blending the ingredients is easy and fun. If you make a mistake measuring you’ve invented a new cocktail! And best of all you get to enjoy drinking the result.
Here is a cocktail and an alcohol-free mocktail I came up with last summer for my 45th college reunion. We actually made them for our cocktail hour and had to squeeze 80 limes. The sparkling wine or ginger ale make it a festive drink for the new year. Happy 2023 everyone!
Verdant 45 Cocktail
Ingredients:
¾ oz fresh lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
6-8 mint leaves
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 ½ oz gold rum
2 oz sparkling wine
Mint sprig for garnish
Directions: Combine lime juice, simple syrup, rum, bitters, and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Muddle. Add ice. Shake well and strain into glass. Top with sparkling wine or champagne and garnish with a mint sprig.
Verdant 45 Mocktail
Ingredients:
¾ oz fresh lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
6-8 mint leaves
1 dash Angostura bitters
3 ½ oz ginger ale
Mint sprig for garnish
Directions: Combine lime juice, simple syrup, bitters, and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Muddle. Add ice. Shake well and strain into glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with a mint sprig.
Enjoy!