On Cocktails
Because we all made it to Friday.
Welcome to the weekly recipe post, which is typically only for paid subscribers but is today bestowed upon everyone in the spirit of giving. This recipe is exactly the vibe you deserve for the day after Thanksgiving: easy, delicious, refined. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I’ll see you back here on Tuesday for #beantalk.
Like all of the recipes I make, this one can be made with countless variations depending on what you have handy and what’s in season. Over the summer, I made it with frozen watermelon puree, and it was divine. As I write this, I’m plotting a way to incorporate leftover cranberry sauce into this drink. Stay tuned.
Here’s the drill:
Freeze either strained fruit puree or fruit juice. I’ve used watermelon, grapefruit, strawberry, and peach. I feel fairly confident that apple cider, orange juice, or cranberry juice would be amazing here too.
Pick a fancy herb garnish. This is a non-negotiable for this recipe.* Pick an herb that accents your fruit flavor—rosemary for grapefruit, thyme for peaches, tarragon for apple cider, etc—and dress up your glass. If we’re being honest, this is more for appearances than actual flavor.
Top with bubbles. Maybe you have some extra sparkling wine hanging around. Maybe you didn’t open that bottle of pet-nat you bought for the big meal. Maybe you’re mixing white wine and some sparkling water! Maybe you overindulged and want to just stick with LaCroix. Whatever you’ve got, pour it over the frozen juice cube and watch as the cube melts and the color changes.
*Jk, nothing is non-negotiable, please feel free to drink herb-less.
Once you have your frozen fruit cubes of choice, add two to a coupe glass—it makes it taste better! Pour chilled sparkling wine over the cubes, then garnish with your herb of choice. In this photo, I paired my frozen watermelon with fresh lavender. Weird, floral, wonderful. Niche? Niche.
Sparkling anything (wine, water, attitude) goes well with salt. My preferred salt application? Potato chips. The cheap kind. No flavor, just sodium.
The most important part of this recipe is that you take a deep breath and five minutes to yourself while you enjoy it. Personally, I might even skip the frozen fruit and just drink straight bubbles. You do you. Happy holidays, people.
As always, I’m so thankful for this readership. Here’s hoping you take time off to relax this week. You deserve it! See you Tuesday for On Beans!