Do you remember your first drink? The whole experience remains a bit fuzzy in my memory, but I’ll shamefully admit that my first run-in with alcohol involved peach schnapps. I won’t admit to the age that I was when this momentous and hazy occasion took place, but I will admit that no one should experience peach schnapps as their first sip of alcohol. I’m really not sure why it even exists in this universe, or why anyone would choose to purchase it with hard earned money, yet alone willingly choose to ingest its foul disgustingly sweet liquid substance. Perhaps that it is why it was shoved in the back of a pantry closet, on the highest shelf, forgotten, dejected, and hidden from the world. I’m pretty sure that bottle of liquid nastiness was purchased sometime in the early 70’s, most likely before I was even born, from the appearance of its faded and raveling label. Clearly its first victim declared truce way before I came into the picture with my curious thirst for booze.
There are some things our parents don’t discuss with us. Sure they preach to us about the evils of underage drinking, and that we should never consider drinking and driving. They fall short however when it comes to providing wisdom on the subject of what alcohol we as young individuals should steer clear of. Perhaps they feel like this is something we need to discover on our own, or maybe they prefer to believe that we will wait until an older age, when responsibility and education will help us to make better choices. Or maybe, just maybe, they feel that by allowing us to try totally disgusting things on our own without prior knowledge of their disgustingness, it will prevent us from partaking of them in abundance in the future. If that’s the case, I can definitely swear that there is no chance of me ever willfully consuming peach schnapps again in my lifetime. Lesson learned. Don’t even get me started on the subject of wine coolers.
Ingredients:
- 2 (6-oz.) Containers of Fresh Blackberries
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- 1 Cup of Fresh Lemon Juice
- Ice
- Vodka
- Tonic Water
Directions:
- Rinse blackberries, and then place them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the granulated sugar, over low heat.
- Smash the berries and sugar together with the back of a slotted spoon, cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and discard any seeds or pulp.
- Combine the blackberry juice with the fresh lemon juice.
- Fill a large glass with ice; add a 1/4-cup vodka, 1/4-cup juice, and then top off the glass with tonic water.
- Stir well before toasting your friends, your cat, or even yourself.
Suggestions:
- Store the juice mixture in a tightly covered glass container in the refrigerator.
- You should be able to get anywhere between 6 to 8 drinks out of this berry mixer.
Improvements:
- Garnish wish fresh mint leaves.
- Replace the vodka with whiskey.
Ingredients:
- 2 (6-oz.) Containers of Fresh Blackberries
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- 1 Cup of Fresh Lemon Juice
- Ice
- Vodka
- Tonic Water
Directions:
- Rinse blackberries, and then place them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the granulated sugar, over low heat.
- Smash the berries and sugar together with the back of a slotted spoon, cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and discard any seeds or pulp.
- Combine the blackberry juice with the fresh lemon juice.
- Fill a large glass with ice; add a 1/4-cup vodka, 1/4-cup juice, and then top off the glass with tonic water.
- Stir well before toasting your friends, your cat, or even yourself.
