For refreshing cocktails that you can pretend are healthy, include some fruit in your drinks this season.
In the winter, we crave drinks like creamy Kahlua, but in the summer, it’s the sweet, crisp and clean taste of fresh fruit we want. Here are some beverage ideas that’ll take you through to the end of summer. The only bad news? When fruit is outweighed by alcohol, as it is in these cocktails, your dietitian may not agree that it qualifies as a good way to get your daily allowance of it.
Get your punch bowl out for sangria
A summer favourite and perhaps the most well-known fruity beverage is sangria. Nibbling on the wine-soaked fruit after downing the sweet, juice-infused wine is the best part of this fizzy beverage. If you’ve always made red wine sangria, try something new this season, such as white wine sangria or Champagne sangria, here in these simple recipes. Want to go full-out Spanish theme? Throw a tapas party while you’re at it.
Experiment with different fruit in your mojitos
A simple way to change up your classic mojito is to muddle some fruit with your mint and sugar. Try strawberries, watermelons, mangoes or kiwis, for example. If you want to further play up the fruit flavour, use a rum flavoured with the same fruit — this will really pack a fruity punch.
Prep your blender
Those sugary, icy slushes that some establishments call daiquiris don’t hold a candle to those made with real fresh fruit. Think of it as a smoothie, only spiked with alcohol. They’re the perfect cocktail if you’re hosting a Mexican fiesta.
Turn your watermelon into your keg
Which fruit is everyone’s favourite in the summer? Watermelon! To make a boozy watermelon “keg,” drill a hole into a whole watermelon, then pour in an entire bottle of vodka and let it sit overnight or longer. The fruit will soak up all the vodka. Once ready, cut the watermelon into chunks that you can eat just like that, or use them to dress your cocktails. Be sure your guests are aware the fruit has been soaked in vodka — you wouldn’t want parents giving any vodka-infused fruit to their young children!
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