Minty Cardinal Punch

A cool refreshing beverage for summer time and outdoor picnics, this cocktail is full of mint and juice with the added touch of orange bitters. Leave out the vodka and add more ginger ale for a kid friendly version. 

If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that most Fridays will find us out in our Drascombe Longboat sailing around the channels and little islands offshore Abu Dhabi. We pack a picnic lunch that almost invariably includes sticky wings and snorkers in Thermoses. (Thermi?) In addition to the beer, cider and soft drinks in the cooler, occasionally we bring along a jug of rum punch, essential on Trafalgar Day, or Bloody Marys or Pimm’s. But mint has completely taken over my flowerbeds, so last weekend, I mixed up a batch of this cardinal punch.

There are a thousand recipes for cardinal punch on the interwebs, some calling for red wine, others for cranberry juice but I used this one from Celebrations.com as my jumping off point. I couldn’t find anything cranberry but drink in my nearby supermarket so I ended up substituting fresh, unsweetened pomegranate juice instead, for a very refreshing cocktail to sip on the beach.

Ingredients
Lots of mint - put more or less as your supply moves you
1 lemon
1 orange
2 cups or 480ml pomegranate or cranberry juice (not drink!)
1 cup or 240ml orange juice
1 oz or 30ml fresh lemon juice
2 cups or 480ml vodka
2 cups or 480ml ginger ale
Orange bitters
Ice

Method
Give your mint a good wash and spin to dry then pick the leaves off of the thick stems. It's so dusty here in Dubai that this step is essential.

Cut the lemon and orange into thin slices.

Mix your juices together in a big jug with the vodka.  Add the mint, some ice and the orange and lemon slices.

Finally, add in the ginger ale, a few generous shakes of the orange bitters and stir.

If you are transporting the drink to a picnic spot, pack the sliced citrus slices in an airtight container and put all the other ingredients into a clean bottle, except the ice, and pack some plastic cups. Mine fit into one 1.5 liter water bottle plus a little 330ml water bottle. Not sure why the orange bitters were still in the picture because I had already shaken quite a bit of that good stuff into the drink.

Keep the bottle in a cooler with ice and serve the drink glass by glass, adding ice and a slice each of orange and lemon then pouring in the punch. Make sure each glass gets some mint as well.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley for hosting this week’s Sunday Supper where we are having a huge virtual picnic!

Check out all the great picnic fare!

Appetizers:

• Caprese Skewers by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Crisp Cucumber Salsa with Southwest Style Chips by Momma's Meals
• French Onion Dip, with Greek Yogurt by Casa de Crews
• Mediterranean Spiced Hummus by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Pepperoni Pinwheels by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Watermelon Salad by annaDishes

Beverages:

• Blackberry Lemonade by The Redhead Baker
• Blueberry Mojito Mocktails by NeighborFood
• Grandma's Stuff by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Minty Cardinal Punch by Food Lust People Love
• Pineapple Ginger Lemonade Spiked with Turmeric by Sue's Nutrition Buzz
• Sangria Punch by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry Pineapple Lemonade by Noshing With The Nolands

Main Dishes:

• Avocado Sriracha Egg Salad by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Barbecue Ranch Quinoa Chicken Salad by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Boneless Chicken Wings by Nosh My Way
• Burger Ice Cream by Brunch with Joy
• Chicken Salad Sliders by Life Tastes Good
• Spanish tortilla by Caroline's Cooking

Sides:

• Broccoli & Tomato Pasta Salad by Flour On My Face
• Buffalo Macaroni Salad by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Couscous Veggie Salad with Pesto by Cooking Chat
• Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Granola Salad by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Greek Style Asparagus Salad by Curious Cuisiniere
• No Mayo Slaw with Poppyseed Dressing by Palatable Pastime
• Spiralized Beet and Goat Cheese Salad by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Sweet and Tangy Brussels Coleslaw with Fennel, Chopped Apples and Golden Raisins by Simply Healthy Family

Soups and Salads:

• Barley and Rice Salad by Family Foodie
• Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Dried Cranberries by Food Done Light
• Layered Mason Jar Pasta Salad for Two by The Weekend Gourmet
• Smoked Turkey Salad by Our Good Life
• Spinach Salad with Apples & Pecans in an Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette by Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Desserts:

• Bacon-Bulleit Brownies by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Fudgey Coca Cola Cake by Recipes Food and Cooking
• Earth Day Cupcakes by Savory Experiments
• Gluten Free Cookie Bars by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Lemon Lime Pound Cake by Vintage Kitchen
• Lemon Yuzu Cookies by NinjaBaker.com
• Mini Lemon Chess Pies by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• No-Bake Cookie Butter Chex Mix Bars by Wallflour Girl
• Peanut Butter Bars by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Peanut Butter Carob Bars by Pies and Plots
• Sourdough Chunk Cookies by What Smells So Good?

Our favorite picnic spot on a little island we call HMS Log. That's Abu Dhabi city in the background.

La Marquita Cocktail #NorthAmericanWhiskeyGuide #Giveaway

Twin ruby liquids, fresh cranberry juice and sweet rhubarb syrup combine with Tennessee whiskey to make a delicious cocktail that is perfect for the holidays or, indeed, any time of the year. 

I could tell embarrassing stories on myself of underage bourbon drinking back in the Dark Ages that may or may not have involved Big Gulp Coca-Colas from 7-11 but suffice to say that bourbon was my drink of choice for many years. I have since expanded my repertoire considerably, but our bar at home still always has Jack Daniel's as it’s my husband’s favorite cocktail time beverage: no Coke, just ice and water. And the quantities are more sensible. We don’t often use it for mixed cocktails though so I was delighted to see a bourbon drink in the list of recipes I could publish from the recently released, North American Whiskey Guide from Behind the Bar.

Clearly we have not branched out enough in our exploration of whiskeys! According to authors, Chad Berkey and Jeremy LeBlanc, there are more than 900 whiskeys from which to choose. And that’s just those made in North American – that is to say, the United States and Canada. I discovered that Jack Daniel’s is not just bourbon, but a subcategory of same called Tennessee whiskey because of the unique process of filtering the bourbon through sugar maple charcoal before it is put in barrels to age. No wonder it has a sweetish quality – which is what makes it so drinkable and so popular.

If you are looking for a gift for the whiskey lover in your life, look no farther. This book is the ONE. Full of recommendations from top bartenders who have blind taste-tested more whiskey than I even knew existed, to give you a short list of 250 well worth drinking. Just the reviews make me want to buy a bottle or three. For instance, the Cabin Still Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is described by one of the bartenders thus: “Candy corn and kettle corn. It's like Halloween and the Town Fair had a whiskey baby.” Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Or the Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey: “The nose on this is beautiful. Vanilla, spice (cloves, I think) and maybe a hint of orange blossom. There's some burn to it but you'll still get the vanilla and spice. This is a good one.” I’ve never tried rye whiskey but now I’d really like to, especially the Sazerac. Make sure to scroll on down to the bottom and enter the giveaway for your copy of this great book, courtesy of Page Street Publishing.

The North American Whiskey Guide also gives you loads of information on origin, age, proof and price so you can make an informed decision before buying or ordering but my favorite part of the book (aside from 30 cocktail recipes, of course!) is the North American Whiskey Drinkers’ Bucket List detailing 20 whiskeys that every serious whiskey drinker should try, many of them quite rare and hard to find. Challenge accepted! I’m printing off the list, as suggested, to take along on my travels.

On to the promised bourbon cocktail
The description of the Marquita says that the pomegranate arils will take on a smoky flavor after sitting a while in the cocktail. I had my doubts but they really did! The beautiful rose-colored drink itself is delicious and those smoky sweet arils at the end were a treat. The step-by-step for the rhubarb syrup can be found here,  except make sure to add in the appropriate amounts of sugar, rhubarb and spices as outlined in the ingredients list below.

Recipe printed with permission of Page Street Publishing

Ingredients 

For the cocktail:
Ice
1 1/2 oz or 45ml whiskey - We like to use Gentlemen Jack for this recipe. (I didn't have any so I used the normal Jack Daniel's.)
1/2 oz or 15ml red cranberry juice
1 teaspoon homemade rhubarb syrup*
2 teaspoons pomegranate seeds

*For the syrup:
2–3 small stalks rhubarb, chopped
1 cup or 190g cane sugar
2 cups or 470 ml water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 vanilla bean pod

Syrup Instructions
Combine ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes, then let cool completely. Strain ingredients. Syrup will keep well covered in fridge for 2 weeks.

Cocktail Instructions
In a shaker, combine a scoop of ice and whiskey.

Pour in the juice and syrup.

Shake vigorously for a count of 15 seconds, strain and pour into a cocktail glass.

In your glass, add seeds and stir for about 10 revolutions. Cheers and enjoy! Merry Christmas everyone!

A good vigorous stir! 

Win your own copy! 
The rules: If you’d like to win a copy of The North American Whiskey Guide from Behind the Bar, please leave a blog comment telling me what your favorite whiskey for sipping or for cocktails is, then click on the Rafflecopter widget for other opportunities to enter. Not leaving a comment will disqualify your other entries. Please be aware that the publisher will only ship to US and Canadian addresses. The winner will be randomly picked by Rafflecopter and will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours, another winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of The North American Whiskey Guide from Behind the Bar to review but no other compensation was offered or accepted. Links to the book are Amazon affiliate links.

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Lemon Pomegranate Punch

Pomegranate juice, sparkling lemonade and vodka make a refreshing cocktail during the hot summer months, with the bonus of reputed antioxidants in the pomegranate and vitamin C from the lemonade.

It didn't take me long to decide what to share with you today, because 1. It's my new favorite drink and 2. What better way to celebrate summer than with a cocktail! This one's got VACATION written all over it.

Ingredients
1.5 oz 45ml vodka
3 oz or 90ml pomegranate juice
3 oz or 90ml (or to the top of your glass) Pellegrino Limonada or lemon-lime soda

Optional garnish: lemon slices and fresh pomegranate arils

Method
Slice your lemon, remove the seeds and loosen a small handful of arils from your pomegranate.

Fill your tall cocktail glass with ice.

Pour in your vodka.

Add in the pomegranate juice.

This was the first of two jiggers of juice.

Top up with the sparkling lemonade.

Garnish with lemon slices and some fresh pomegranate arils.

Cheers! Here's to a happy, healthy summer for all!

Here are some more summer-friendly recipes you might enjoy!

• Favorite Popcorn Balls by Forty Eighteen  
• Memorial Day Whoopie Pies by The Freshman Cook 
• Red, White and Blue Sangria by Love in the Kitchen 
• Sriracha Coleslaw by It's a Keeper 
• Lemon Pomegranate Punch by Food Lust People Love 
• Peanut Butter Cup S'mores by Little Dairy on the Prairie 
• Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Kebabs by Like Mother, Like Daughter