Summer Fruit Cocktails

Summer isn’t summer without these fruit suggestions for your favourite cocktails

You can’t get much more laid-back than stretching out on your porch, deck or yard under a blazing sun with a glass of cold spirit in your hand. Add a fruit element to your summer drink and you’ve got the ultimate in a season refreshment. To that end, we’ve added a few fruit elements to inject a bit more fun while you imbibe during those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer.

Saskatoon & Lime Whisky Lemonade

The berry and spirits are a dead giveaway that this one’s a true Canuck concoction to have during Canada Day!

• 2 cups fresh or frozen saskatoons
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup pomegranate juice
• 4 oz whisky
• 3 oz lemonade
• 3 oz club soda
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• Sparkling wine (to taste)
• Sprigs of basil and wedges of lime (to garnish)

Add the saskatoons, sugar and pomegranate juice to a medium-sized pot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press the softened berries and syrup through a sieve or a food mill. Place the collected syrup in a pitcher, and place in the fridge to chill. To the chilled pitcher with syrup, add the whisky, lemonade, club soda, lemon juice and lime juice. Stir, and pour into 4 or 5 glasses filled with ice. Top with a splash of sparkling wine, and garnish with a sprig of basil and a wedge of lime.

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Peach Bourbon Smash

Here’s a popular drink from the south, but it’s not necessary to have Georgia on your mind every time you take a sip.

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz ginger-thyme syrup
• 1 1/2 oz peach nectar
• Ginger ale (to taste)
• Slice of peach and sprig of thyme (to garnish)
• For the ginger-thyme syrup
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 sprig fresh thyme

Combine all the syrup ingredients in a small pot, and bring it to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool completely.

To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the bourbon, lemon juice, ginger-lime syrup and peach nectar. Shake vigorously, and strain into a tumbler filled with ice. Top with a splash of ginger ale, and garnish with a slice of peach and a sprig of thyme.

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Kiwi & Blueberry Mojito

Looking for a new take on a classic rum mojito? It’s kiwis to the rescue.

• 2 1/2 oz rum
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 12 mint leaves, torn into pieces
• 2 kiwis, peeled and quartered
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1 tbsp honey
• Club soda, to taste
• 4 kiwi slices (to garnish)
• 2 tbsp blueberries (to garnish)

Place the quartered kiwis, blueberries, mint and white sugar in a cocktail shaker, and muddle them until pulverized. Then, place two tablespoons of the mixture in the bottom of a tall glass,followed by ice cubes, kiwi slices and blueberries.

Next, fill a cocktail shaker half-full of ice, and add the rum, lime juice and honey. Secure the lid, and shake until chilled. Strain the mixture into the prepared glass, and top with club soda to taste.

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