Love Potion for Valentine’s Day
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Going through my recipes looking for ideas for Valentine’s Day I realized one thing. Apparently I make tons and tons of desserts for Valentine’s Day but I never make any drinks! I realize we probably drink wine or champagne but sometimes it’s nice to have a pretty cocktail with a nice meal.
I wanted to make something red or pink for the holiday but I was having a hard time coming up with something. My first thought was to add some type of berry to champagne and call it a day but we already do that sometimes so I wanted something different.
After looking in the pantry and the refrigerator I came up with a game plan. I was going to start with a blackberry simple syrup, figuring it would either be a nice purple color or more of a red after adding other ingredients. I wanted to add sparkling water to the syrup as the base of the drink.
My problem came when I needed to choose a liquor to add to the drink. My first thought was orange liqueur because I love blackberries and oranges together but that didn’t seem very Valentine’s Day-ish. Then I thought maybe vodka would be good because it wouldn’t really add any additional flavor and the blackberry could shine through.
While checking out my mini bottles in the pantry I came across hibiscus vodka. I thought the floral hibiscus would pair nicely with the blackberries and would add a bit of romance to the cocktail. I mean, who doesn’t want flowers on Valentine’s Day so why not drink them?
The cocktail ended up being a beautiful bright pink color and I sugared the rim of the glass with pink sugar. I added some blackberries to the drink and I was finished! I really liked the flavor of the cocktail. It wasn’t very sweet which was nice. The blackberry syrup adds a bit of a tart and sweet flavor and the hibiscus vodka added a floral note. It was actually a nice, light cocktail perfect to serve with dinner.
Love Potion for Valentine's Day
Ingredients
For the blackberry simple syrup:
- 3/4 c. water
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/3 c. blackberries
For the cocktail:
- 1 1/2 oz. hibiscus vodka
- 1 oz. blackberry syrup
- seltzer water
- blackberries
Instructions
- To make the simple syrup place the water, sugar, and blackberries in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- To make the cocktail rim a tall glass with pink sugar (optional).
- Then fill the glass with ice. Add in the vodka and syrup and mix well. Pour in seltzer water, filling to the top. Add a few blackberries to the glass and serve with a straw.
Notes
