4 Cocktails to Help You Celebrate Earth Day

Raise a glass to Mother Earth

By Seattle Mag April 17, 2014

earthdaycocktails

!–paging_filter–pEarth Day is April 22–less than a week away! I certainly hope that you’re celebrating the earth all year long in lots of ways. But it’s nice to do a little emextra/em reveling in honor of the big round ball on which we reside. And in my mind the best way to do that extra celebrating is to have some friends over on Earth Day and have a few cocktails with ingredients that are earth-friendly.nbsp;/p
pstrongGreen Garden/strongbrThis drink comes from Paul Abercrombie’s excellent book a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Shaken-Stirred-Highballs-Cocktails/dp/B005…” target=”_blank”emOrganic, Shaken and Stirred/em/a, which is bubbling over with “green” recipes and tips and suggestions. I suggest using a href=”http://www.cruztequila.com” target=”_blank”Cruz tequila/a here, which is a 100 percent estate grown blue agave tequila, handcrafted in small batches with each bottle hand blown using only eco-friendly recycled glass and metal./p
pem1-1/2 ounce Cruz blanco tequilabr1/2 ounce cucumber-infused organic simple syrup (see below note)br1/4 ounce freshly squeezed organic lime juicebr1 ounce organic Moscato d’AstibrSeveral edible organic flowers (for garnish)/em/p
p1. Combine the tequila, simple syrup, and lime juice in an ice cube-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously./p
p2. Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass or Champagne saucer. Add the Moscato d’ Asti and garnish with the flowers./p
pstrongA Note: /strongTo make the cucumber simple syrup: juice 1 English cucumber (leave the skin on for flavor and color). Place the juice in a small glass bowl with an equal volume of organic simple syrup and 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed organic lime juice, and stir to combine. The syrup will keep, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month./p
pstrongChurchill Downs/strongbrThis is also from emOrganic, Shaken and Stirred/em, and not only serves you well on Earth Day, but also on the rapidly approaching Derby Day (though I’d never suggest not having Mint Juleps, it’s nice to have another option). I suggest Bainbridge Distillery’s organic a href=”http://www.bainbridgedistillers.com/#!products.html” target=”_blank”Battle Point Whiskey/a, made from Washington wheat and containing a nice sweetness./p
pem10 to 15 organic grapes (green, red, or both)br1 ounce Bainbridge Battle Point Whiskeybr1/4 ounce freshly squeezed organic lemon juicebrSplash of organic apple juice/em/p
p1. In an Old-Fashioned glass, muddle the grapes gently until mashed./p
p2. Add the bourbon, lemon juice, and apple juice. Fill the glass with ice cubes, and stir./p
pstrongHarvey Wallbanger/strongbrYou may think that an organically minded cocktail needs to be a more modern creation. But sometimes it’s fun to update a classic like this drink, created as legend says in 1952 for a surfer. To sip it in an Earth Day style, make the drink with Idaho-made American Harvest organic vodka, a super smooth and silky vodka, made from organic winter wheat, which marries well with the Galliano here. Also, American Harvest bottles are 100 percent recyclable and decorated with organic inks and water-soluble varnishes./p
pemIce cubesbr2 ounces a href=”http://americanharvestspirit.com/” target=”_blank”American Harvest organic vodka/abr5 ounces freshly squeezed orange juicebr1/2 ounce Galliano/em/p
p1. Fill a highball glass three- quarters full with ice cubes. Add the vodka and the orange juice, and stir briefly./p
p2. Float the Galliano on top of the vodka-juice combo./p
pstrongAlquimista/strongbrThis recipe from a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Bliss-Violet-Fizz-Cocktail/dp/1558326650/ta…” target=”_blank”emGinger Bliss and the Violet Fizz/em/a uses a very singular ingredient: a href=”http://veevlife.com” target=”_blank”VeeV Acai /aspirit. VeeV Açaí is the first açaí-based liqueur, with açaí being not only a super fruit (and so, according to most, super healthy) but also the National fruit of Brazil. It’s also the first carbon neutral spirit, and the company donatesa href=”http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/” target=”_blank” 1 percent /aof all sales to rainforest preservation and environmental initiatives/p
pemIce cubesbr2 ounces VeeV Acai spiritbr1 ounce organic pear simple syrup (see note)br1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juicebr4 or 5 pomegranate seeds, for garnish/em/p
p1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the VeeV, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Shake well./p
p2. Place the pomegranate seeds into a cocktail glass, and strain the mixture into it./p
pstrongA Note: /strongTo make the pear simple syrup, add 2 cups peeled chopped organic pear to this a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/cocktail-mixers-you-should-make-not-buy-and-ho…” target=”_blank”simple syrup recipe/a. Be sure to strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer (twice, if needed) to remove the pear pieces before bottling./p

 

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