Fundraiser: Here's to Summer Cocktails!

It’s my favorite time of the year!  But when the heat is sweltering, there’s nothing better than a nice, cool cocktail by the pool.  Serve these summery Saffron59 favorites at your next BBQ or just for yourself!

At a recent Cetana fundraiser to raise money for the educational future of Burma, our Burma Rise cocktail was a hit:

Recipe: Burma Rise

Ingredients:

½ cup vodka

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup ginger infused simple syrup

¼ cup pomegranate juice

½ cup club soda

Muddled Thai basil leaves

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients except club soda and Thai Basil into a pitcher and stir to mix.  To serve, pour into glass of ice and add 3-4 leaves per glass of Thai Basil and top off with club soda.

Blood Orange Sangria

Here’s an unusual use for Earl Grey tea and gin:

-Earl Grey MarTEAni

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Earl Gray Gin Infusion (see below for recipe)

3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 ounce simple syrup

1 lemon twist, for garnish

Instructions:

Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice and add the gin infusion, lemon juice, simple syrup.  Shake for approximately 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add lemon twist.

Earl Grey Gin Infusion

Ingredients:

1/4 cup loose Earl Grey tea leaves

1 liter gin

Instructions:

Add tea leaves to the bottle of gin.

Replace cap and shake well.  Allow the tea to steep in the gin for 2 hours; strain gently to remove the tea leaves. Do not press the tea leaves to extract excess gin -- this can make the infusion bitter.

One of our most popular summer drinks contain fresh seasonal blood orange.  It’s colorful and refreshing:

-Blood Orange Sangria

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups apple juice

2/3 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)

1/2 cup sugar

4 whole cloves

3 seedless blood oranges, each cut into 16 wedges

2 (750-milliliter) bottles fruity red wine

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, and stir until sugar dissolves.  Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.  Discard cloves and cinnamon sticks.  Pour sangria into individual glasses, including the fruit.