Drink In Life

Saying Goodbye to the Winter Blues with Blueberries

Posted on March 14, 2019 by drinkinlife

I am fortunate to live in a town that has one of the best You Pick Blueberry Farms in the state of Washington. Each year around the first of August Bybee Farms Blueberry Farm opens for a short season that usually only lasts about two weeks. For the last 10 plus years I have been there on opening day first thing in the morning with buckets at the ready to fill with the beautiful dime size blueberries that are bursting on the plants. As a family we eat a lot of blueberries year round, in smoothies, muffins, on yogurt for breakfast and of course in blueberry pie. For this reason we pick between 40-50 pounds of blueberries on opening day and then process them to store in the freezer in 2 cup bags to be enjoyed until it is blueberry season again.

Flash freezing the blueberries on a cookie sheet in the freezer makes bagging the blueberries easier.

Today I want to share two recipes that are perfect for frozen blueberries.

Blueberry Tequila Sour Cream Pie

Begin by putting 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain really well) in a bowl with 2 Tbsp fresh chopped mint, 1 Tbsp lime juice and 1/4 cup of silver Tequila. Mix well and let it set for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. For this recipe I used a Blanco Tequila from Tequila Corcel.

Prepare 1 deep dish unbaked pie crust with your favorite pie crust recipe or a store bought pre-made pie crust.

Filling:
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Topping:
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp cold butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare pie crust by covering the crust’s edges with foil. This will help to keep the edges from getting too brown.
To make the filling, combine sugar and flour together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in sour cream, egg, vanilla, salt and nutmeg over medium speed for about five minutes. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes.
While pie is baking, prepare the topping by crumbling together the flour, sugar, and butter with a fork.

Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle on the topping. Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes until topping is golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.

The rich creamy Tequila Blueberry Sour Cream Pie pairs perfectly with a Syrah wine or a similar red like this Ruah Proprietary Red Blend from Washington Winery Desert Wind. With a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Syrah, this Ruah offers cocoa notes that linger on the finish, with a mixture of plum and vanilla bean flavors.

*Served slightly warm with a glass of wine, this dessert is guaranteed to chase away the winter blues*.

Blueberry and Pink Peppercorn Margarita
A Blueberry Margarita is just the right winter drink to use frozen blueberries. With the addition of pink peppercorns this Margarita gets kicked up a notch. This drink has a flavorful balance of sweetness from the blueberries and peppery essence from the pink peppercorns. The pink peppercorns add a unique twist to a typical blueberry Margarita.

For this Blueberry and Pink Peppercorn Margarita I used a Resposado Tequila from Tequila Corcel.

The first step to making the Margarita is to make a Blueberry Concentrate. Combine 3 cups of frozen Blueberries with the zest and juice of 1 lime and 1 tablespoon of crushed pink peppercorns with 1 cup of raw sugar in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, while stirring bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until blueberries have broken down, continue to cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.
Strain blueberry mixture through a cheesecloth or fine sieve; let cool.

Margarita Ingredients for one drink:
1.5 ounces of tequila
1 ounce of lime juice
1 ounce triple sec
1 ounce of Blueberry Concentrate
½ cup of ice
Garnish: Wooden skewer of blueberries and salt with crushed pink peppercorn rim

Instructions:
In a cocktail shaker add tequila, lime juice, triple sec, blueberry concentrate, and ice.
Shake and pour serving into glass with salt and peppercorn rim. Top off the margarita with a splash of club soda.
Garnish with blueberries on a wooden skewer

A winter treat with the taste of summer in a glass.

Now all that is left to do is sit back and wait for Spring to arrive. Cheers!

Images and content ©Drink In Nature Photography/Drink In Life Blog

Home Cocktail Ginspiration.

Posted on March 5, 2019 by drinkinlife

Leave a Comment

Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes that really inspire you. Today I would like to give you some Ginspiration with two refreshing fruit and herb Gin cocktails and a classic Dry Gin Martini.

Two of the best ingredients for a delicious cocktail are fresh produce and a well crafted spirit.

A well-crafted home Gin cocktail begins with a quality Gin that can stand alone and stand out when introduced to other ingredients. Over the last several decades there has been an impressive amount of innovation in the production of gin. Many new distilleries are experimenting with the botanicals used to flavor gin, which has enormously expanded alternative aromas and flavors. Drawing from seasonal botanicals, as well as foraged wild plants, there is an explosion of new gins which span the spectrum of traditional to unconventional.

The current gin revolution has been spurred by the creative minds of the new artisans. The United States now has over 600 craft distillers, many of them are starting with Gin production because unlike brown spirits that require a period of extended maturation, gin requires little or no aging. While new distiller’s brown spirits are quietly maturing, clear spirits like Gin and Vodka allow a new distillery to create revenue.

For these cocktails I have selected three distinctive American Gins that paired perfectly with the cocktail ingredients. For the Red Grapefruit Gin Fizz, I used California Distillery Loch & Union. This Gin has a classic flavor that I think is enhanced by the additional ingredients in the drink. The Blackberry Gin Fizz recipe incorporated a Gin produced by Northern California Distillery SipSong Spirits, and was chosen for the Gin’s unique Italian Juniper taste. Keeping true to a Classic Dry Gin Martini I wanted to highlight the Gin, so I chose Builders Botanical Gin from Restless Spirits crafted in North Kansas City, Missouri. Thinking about the flavors of the Gin that you use in your home cocktails will definitely enhance the overall outcome of the drink.

Red Grapefruit Gin Fizz
Serves 2

Infused Cardamom Rosemary Syrup
8 cardamom pods
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 rosemary sprigs

Cocktail
2 oz infused simple syrup
3 oz Gin
1/2 cup red grapefruit juice
splash of Prosecco

Garnish rosemary sprigs

In a small saucepan bring sugar, water to a simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add cardamom pods and rosemary sprigs and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the rosemary and cardamom and use right away, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To make the cocktail add infused simple syrup, gin and red grapefruit juice over ice in a cocktail mixer and stir. Using a strainer, divide the mixture in two and pour directly into glasses filled with fresh ice. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Blackberry Gin Fizz with Juniper & Thyme

Ingredients
12 frozen blackberries
1/4 lemon, chopped into little pieces
2 sprigs of thyme
10 juniper berries
1 cup Raw Sugar/1 Cup Water
Gin
Club Soda

Simple Syrup Instructions:
Combine water and raw sugar with crushed Juniper Berries and Thyme sprigs into a small pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain mixture to discard juniper berry and Thyme. Use immediately or keep refrigerated for up to a month.

Divide the blackberries and lemons evenly between each tumbler. When you’re ready to serve, use a muddler to mash the berries and lemon until the fruit is crushed. Add 1 oz Infused Simple Syrup to each glass and fill each glass with ice. Top with 1.5 oz gin and a dash of club soda, stir well and serve.

The Classic Gin Martini

Ingredients
2 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1 dash orange or Angostura bitters
Garnish: 3 olives

TRAGANO GREEK ORGANICS GREEN OLIVES from Zēlos™ Authentic Greek Artisan https://zelosgreekartisan.com/

Steps to Make It:
In a mixing glass filled with ice cubes, combine the gin and vermouth, pouring more or less vermouth to your taste.
Stir for 30 seconds.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Add a dash of orange or Angostura bitters.
Garnish with Olives.

Each of these exceptional gins highlight different botanical flavors, from juniper berries to pine needles to lime peels. The continuing rise of Artisan Distilleries make it so easy to create fantastic gin cocktails. Have some fun mixing and matching with different kinds of ingredients to bring out the flavors of the gin or keep it classic with a Dry Gin Martini.