Rochelle and I are, shall we say, fond of cocktails. We’ve been known to drink a few, and even make a few for friends and guests. And, we’re always on the lookout for new ones, especially things that are easy to make and serve.
The mixer for 2005 is definitely Trader Joe’s Organic Strawberry Lemonade, $3.99, located in the refrigerated juice section in Trader Joe’s. It’s great by itself, but it begs to be mixed with your distilled spirit of choice.
We’ve tried it with vodka and tequila. Overall, we like the tequila version — but that’s no surprise, given our well-known fondness for tequila. With vodka we’ve found that the sweetness of the juice renders the drink a bit too sweet for our taste; the additional flavors of tequila cut the sweetness just enough.
I recommend 2 oz. of tequila to 2-3 oz. of Strawberry Lemonade; to my taste, a 50/50 ratio makes a perfect, strong drink. We usually squeeze in a bit of lime, to finish it off. This is especially important if you’re using vodka, the acid in the lime cuts the sweetness of the juice, providing better overall balance.
I think rum would also work well, but I haven’t tried it. I question gin, and think Scotch and bourbon would be right out. (Though Scotch is the alcohol of choice for our cocktail discovery of 2004, the Randy Scotsman: Scotch and ginger ale, roughly 40/60. Sounds horrible, but it’s fabulous.)
And hey. It’s organic. To your health!
Thanks for the tip Michael – sounds really good.
If you can still find some Clementines, I recommend my friend Tim’s Darlin’ Clementine. Tangerines also work well in a pinch.
In other good cocktail news, if you’re a fan of the mojito, Williams-Sonoma has a key lime mojito mix that is surprisingly very, very good. 1 part mix, 1 part soda water, 1 part rum. We tried it out to evaluate the “trail-worthiness” for camping (packing in fresh mint, limes and simple syrup does not strike me as a good idea) and were very pleased with the results.