Bright Season Bright Drinks

 Spring is the season for gatherings and parties. The food is bright and festive. The drinks should be too. Spring cocktails have the flavors of the season in them, including floral notes. For non drinkers = not to worry there are sunny mocktails t have with quiche slices and finger sandwiches.

The most famous Spring cocktail is the mint julep. This will in full swing next month for the Kentucky Derby.Yes it's the most popular sip at any party in and out of Louisville. Yet it;s the perfect drink at engagement  parties and bridal showers.What makes a tasty and memorable julep? It starts with  a simple syrup which you should make ahead of time for other cocktails. This is cooking one cup granulated sugar and one cup cup water to form a clear syrup. (It can also be used as a glaze for pound and Bundt cakes.) Use a good Kentucky bourbon such as Old Masters. Muddle the mint leaves (about a handful ) with the simple syrup using a wooden muddle spoon. Add crushed ice to the glass and then put in the bourbon. THis should cover all the crush ice. You can add more mint for a really refreshing tastes. Another classic is a gin Rickey freshened up with lemon and lavender. This is a zesty mix of gin,. lemon juice honey an seltzer. Sprigs of lavender not only give the glass color but also a floral flavor.

Two drinks that are always at Spring brunches are mimosas and Bellinis. The first is a delightful mix of a good champagne and orange juice. You can use a dry sparkling wine too. The ratio is be half orange juice and the either half a good Prosecco. A Bellini is a cousin of the mimosa except it's peach nectar mixed with a dry sparkling wine.For the more ambitious home mixologist you can make peach nectar. This is cooked peaches, skinned and then pureed. Sugar is added for taste while a drop of lemon juice is added to preserve them.Keep in mind that mimosas and Bellinis can also be turned into mocktails but subbing in the champagne or sparkling dry wine with seltzer. It still has the sweet dizziness but without the kick.lemonade is big in the warmer weather, Think of mixing lemonade with bourbon and cherries for a naughty but fun adult drink.It's a mix of the classic summertime drink with a headier one. Maraschino cherries are added for color and more flavor. Keep in mind that the bourbon can be omitted and a splash of cherry flavored seltzer can be added for a refreshing non alcoholic sip.

Spring is here and with a delightful array of drinks. They can be cocktails or mocktails. either will make a delicious companion to a fun Springtime brunch or party.

Spiked Seltzers For Summer

Seltzer was always seen as the supporting player in cocktails and spritzers.It gave a fizzy kick to mix drinks and wine. Now there's a new kind of seltzer that's a star. It's the hard kind , guaranteed less calories but more of a buzz.

Joshua M. Bernstein  who has written several books about beer and plans tasting tours for  beer connoisseurs wrote about this relatively new offshoot. Hard seltzer is seltzer  with fermented sugar and barley malt to give it the shot of alcohol. It can be tough for manufacturers looking to retain the water's blank canvas. During the fermentation process yeast create aroma and character - perfect for beer  - not so great for fizzy water. One brewery, Platform Beer Company spent six month refining recipes and techniques before settling on the barley malt and  cane sugar that is run through a special filtration process. The company also uses a brewing enzyme to reduce gluten content.It worked. The founder,Paul Benner was surprised at the clarity and how much the final product looks like water. By December , the company debuted its'  sparkling Black Cherry that contained only one hundred calories and  four grams of carbohydrates. Unfortunately the FDA forbids alcohol companies to make health claims about their products. However breweries prominently display the calories and amount of carbs on the cans,

The big question is will hard seltzer make a splash in the drinks world? Most people do like it. It's a polarizing guilty pleasure and some find it more refreshing than craft beers and hard ciders. Still, there will always be skeptics. The creator of HRD WTR, Eddie Leon, has said it's a fun ride like a moped, but you don't want to be caught riding one. Yet hard seltzer could catch on with more people. There's the diet factor although most drinks, including some cocktails like mimosas and gin and tonics are very low in calories. . Another reason is that seltzer can blend with any fruit juice or even macerated fruit such as strawberries. Add a few blueberries or a lime slice to a hard seltzer and it's a fun buzzy sip ,Hard seltzers come in many flavors. One company , White Claw,  has mango, black cherry and natural  lime.Another brand,Truly Spiked and Sparkling has even more flavors , including grapefruit and pomelo pomegranate, and lemon and yuzo. Smirnoff, the vodka people,have dipped their toes in the sparkling waters and offer such diverse flavors as watermelon and raspberry rose.

Hard seltzer is an intriguing idea. Will it be as popular as hard ciders and lemonades? Probably.  People will want a light and fizzy change of pace and hard seltzer will fill that bill.