If you actually know me and didn't already know the following I apologize for not sharing. We're expecting our second child in December. (Wide eyes emoji) I'm excited and pretty nervous as come next April I'll likely be home during the work week with a two year old and a three month old all by myself. With Jack I didn't become a full-time caretaker until nine months, so it'll be an adjustment to say the least.
Anyway, this post isn't about that. Whether my wife is pregnant or not, she likes when I play bartender and craft her something to drink. Typically it's a cocktail with, you know, some alcohol in it. She loves Mint Juleps and a particular drink called a 'Trafalgar,' a recipe we found in a cocktail book. It's a sweet rum grog topped with a slim layer of dry red wine. Since I can't find an old picture, you'll have to take my word it looks (and tastes) great.
Creating mocktails is significantly more difficult since you can't use any booze, from which most cocktails gain their tasty allure. I enjoy the challenge if we happen to have any ingredients for them. Our mint plant is on its last legs, as is much of our landscaping due to the oppressive heat and almost complete lack of rain the last month plus (leaving for a week and visiting Alaska didn't help). Basically anything I whip up needs carbonation too, so ideally we have some sparkling water or Sprite.
This weekend there was just enough of both and when my wife got a little testy, I offered to make her something. Here's what I came up with.
1. Taking 3 blackberries and 10 mint leaves, place in a lowball/juice glass
2. Muddle, smashing the blackberries and releasing the mint aromas, just not too much
3. Add a handful of ice cubes, 6-8
4. Add a small amount of Cherry/Lemon JoeBoocha, 2-3 oz
5. Top with sparking water, 2-3 oz
6. Stir with metal straw and leave it in there
7. Serve!
The risk I ran was too many flavors, but blackberry, mint, cherry and lemon apparently went great together. She really liked it. Yes, there's a tiny amount of alcohol in kombucha, but a few ounces at a half percent ABV is essentially negligible. The cherry lemon booch (JB011a) was the first time I did two batches simultaneously, requiring use of a smaller half gallon vessel and yielding only three bottles. Let's just say more will be made with cherries.
Very rarely have I used my kombucha in making drinks, but with the success of this one I'll certainly attempt it again. More often than not I muddle some fruit (raspberries also work great) with mint then add ice and carbonation. It's always a hit.
This last bit is totally random, but I keep singing the title of this post to the tune of 'Talking Baseball.' A bunch of versions of the song exist, including the original from 1981, one on the classic 'Homer at the Bat' Simpsons episode and many more. I mostly think of this, which recent Twins fans will remember:
Good luck getting that song out of your head. With that I'll say adieu.
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