The Cocktail Artist

Strawberries are beginning to appear at our local farm markets, so naturally we started to think about creative ways to use them in a cocktail (no resorting to a daiquiri or strawberry margarita!) The rosemary in our garden is doing well, so we thought that nice herbal fragrance would pair well with the strawberry in a variation of the Aperol Spritz. We did a bit of experimenting...... and a few drinks later we were torn between using Aperol and it's more bitter cousin, Campari. it really comes down to personal preference. If you like a sweeter cocktail go with Aperol, but one of us is more partial to the version with Campari so that's what we have here. This is a nice refreshing pre-dinner cocktail - especially as the days get warmer.  It's the kind of thing you should be drinking on the patio (or a piazza in Italy).  So mix up a pitcher of these, put on the Sinatra music and relax - it's summer! Cheers! Strawberry - Rosemary Spritz 1 large or 2 small ri...

Derby Day We have been a bit busy with other duties (work, travel, cleaning the basement....), but now we're putting our priorities back in order (and Chris has done some painting) so we have a new blog post! Yes, the Kentucky Derby was a couple of weekends ago, but a Mint Julep is not just for the first Saturday of May.  This nice cold, slushy drink is perfect all summer - especially if you made the grave error (as we did) of planting mint in the ground (instead of keeping it in contained in a pot) and now it's coming up like Kudzu! So, start by yanking up some mint from the garden (or getting a bunch at the grocery store) and make the mint syrup ahead of time (recipe below). This is a lot easier than muddling the mint leaves for each drink.  We also suggest shaking the ingredients with ice cubes before pouring them over the crushed ice. If the liquid isn't chilled first, it melts the crushed ice too quickly and you end up with a watery drink - which is just sad....