31 Aug The Lakeside Cottage Mocktail Recipe
The Lakeside Cottage Mocktail Recipe
As we mentioned on Monday, we recently tended bar for a wine spritzer party a friend of ours was planning. When our friend mentioned he wanted a non-alcoholic spritzer on the menu, we enthusiastically told him about our newfound skill in making grenadine from 100% pomegranate juice.
‘How about house-made Shirley Temples?’ we asked.
‘I was kind of imagining something more summery,’ he said. Undoubtedly that was true. Probably he also didn’t want to serve Shirley Temples, even if they were house-made.
Among all summer fruits, cherries are the ones I most look forward to, I think this is partially because they remind of my family’s favorite summer vacation spot, a lakeside cottage near a cherry orchard in Michigan. And then partially it’s because I love cherry’s rich, tart flavor.
Well, it just so happens that Trader Joe’s carries not only 100% pomegranate juice, but a 100% tart cherry juice as well. We thought we’d see if could make a cherry cordial out of it, using the same method as for grenadine.
It worked. Well. I think the cherry mocktail was the favorite drink of the night at the spritzer party. We always know a mocktail is a success when people, after tasting it, ask, ‘This is non-alcoholic, right?’ That’s a sure sign that people like it, and that it has a depth people don’t expect from a mocktail. And, again, it’s super easy to make.
We were able to put our new cordial-making skill to use in a more summery, less Shirley way. Thanks, Trader Joes.
Lakeside Cottage Mocktail Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 oz tart cherry cordial*
- 4 oz seltzer
Instructions
- Combine the cordial and seltzer, and add lots of ice.
*Cherry Cordial Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup 100% tart cherry juice–make sure it’s tart, and there’s no sugar added, because see below
- 1 cup sugar
- a few drops of orange blossom water (optional. If used, seriously do it sparingly)
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a jar with a tightly closed lid.
- Occasionally give the jar a little shake.
- Within a couple of hours the sugar should be dissolved, and the cordial is ready. If you don’t shake at all, it’ll be ready within 24 hours.
