Berry refreshing

At any party my beverage of choice is wine - sparkling, white, red...I am an equal opportunity imbiber. Unless you are serving me 2 buck chuck - then I'd prefer water. But the days of the cocktail are back in full force. When I say cocktail I mean cocktail and not martini - those have been in for so long I think they are soon on their way out. More and more often you will see some elaborate cocktail menus at restaurants and lounges and some super fun signature drinks at events.

Recently we were playing around with some yellow signature cocktails - Yellow Watermelon Agua Fresca was our first attempt - not bad but could use some work. Then, James of Ventura Limoncello and I were chatting and he suggested the "Limosa," a wonderful blend of Ventura Limoncello [any Limoncello of course would work but I always have to support my hometown] and Prosecco. Sparkling & citrusy and just a hint of sweetness plus anything in a champagne glass = CELEBRATE. And the yellow color was so fun! Here is a link to this and other recipes that James has on his site. http://www.venturalimoncello.com/vlc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=49

Mojitos and Caprihinas are also at the height of popularity right now. Both rum based and consisting of muddled herbs or fruit. The fun in these is that you don't have to follow any recipe or exact science. What could be better at a backyard BBQ than a build your own Caprihina bar with a variety of juicy berries and other great fruit? Strawberries & Lime are my favorite but you can also use grapes, raspberries, blueberries - whatever! Get creative! The fun I have found with Mojitos is that you don't always have to use mint and you don't always have to use rum. We did a fun blueberry basil Mojito using vodka [plain] -Smirnoff makes a blueberry vodka now which would have really been great! Other distillers have some great flavored vodkas which can be fun to play around with for a mojito alternative as well.

Belvedere Black Raspberry, Three Olives Grape, Hangar One Mandarin are some of the best flavored vodkas that I have found. There are so many others too! What could be a better party pleaser than a vodka bar? 5 or 6 different flavored vodkas and a buffet of mixers, fruits and other liqueurs...

The Three Olives Grape and a bit of club soda - honestly, grape soda, which is my mostfavorite soda! I have heard the Three Olives Bubble, a newer flavor, is pretty amazing too!

Belvedere Black Raspberry makes a fun drink recently had poolside in Vegas. Vodka, St Germain Liqueur, fresh blackberries, lime, simple syrup and a splash of white grape juice. Yum, yum and yummy! If you don't have a great local liquor store [like I have in Ojai Beverage Company] you can get the Belvedere and St Germain on BevMo.

..I may have to do some more "mixologing" in my kitchen soon.

Cheers!