Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Mint Champagne Shrub Recipe

Hi guys! I'm back in California! I had a great time catching up with family and friends in Michigan, and now I'm playing catch up on work. Tiffany, of In A Pretty Box, is here to share an amazing recipe for you while I settle back in.

"Apparently, shrubs are a type of alcoholic drink with vinegar in it. Before trying this drink, I seriously had no clue they were anything but an oddly pruned plant. My mother-in-law has a giant patch of mint that she just can’t kill (it’s super invasive), so my summers are filled with watermelon mint mojitos and other minty beverages.

I was flipping through a magazine one evening recently, and I came upon this recipe. I immediately sent my husband, the poor guy, to the liquor store to grab a few items so I could try it.

You’ll need:

1 ½ cups of loosely packed fresh mint (about 5-7 sprigs of leaves)
1/3 cup superfine sugar
½ cup elderflower liqueur
1/3 cup Champagne vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 ½ Tablespoons fresh lime juice
Chilled Sparkling Wine

Muddle the mint leaves and sugar in a cocktail shaker to get those flavors going. Don’t skip this part! Add the elderflower liqueur, vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice. Fill the shaker with ice and shake for about 30 seconds or until thoroughly chilled. Strain into an 8 oz glass and top with sparkling wine.

I live in Georgia where the heat can ruin your drink fast, so I let a few chunks of ice into my glass at the end to help keep things nice and cold while I sipped. Yum!
Now how easy is that to make? And the vinegar, citrus juices, and sparkling wine balance each other out nicely. My favorite part is that you can adjust the lip-smacking pucker by adding more or less sparkling wine at the end. I hope you enjoy this recipe—let me know how you like it if you try it—and have a very minty summer!"

P.S. If you live in SoCal, don't forget to enter this week's giveaway to win a family portrait session from the amazingly talented Jen Lauren Grant!

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2 comments:

  1. Oh my, that sounds good for a hot sunny day! I'm growing a mint plant right now, and I crazy love the idea of putting a whole sprig in the glass like that, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Man, this looks AWESOME! As soon as I'm not preggers....I'm making one!

    Carly
    www.lipglossandcrayons.com

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Thanks for the comment! I read them all and reply when I can. Please be sure your blogger account is linked to your e-mail so I can do so! (Tutorial on how to do that here: http://tinyurl.com/c6gh9fk) xo JA