Lake Days are back, and no one is happier about that than Mae! Summer has certainly arrived with a heat wave this past weekend. It's been nice to go to the lake for a short game of fetch and cool off in the very cold water!
I've been enjoying experimenting with the "shrubs" I purchased at the farmer's market. I added them to beer and oh my! that was very tasty. Give it a try! But my absolute favorite new summer drink is made with Bourbon, a shrub and JAM....Sweet Caroline's Jams and Jellies had a facebook post awhile back that I had to follow up on:
"I don't know what to call this drink, but it's all about the smell of the woods in the middle of summer, and the bite of stinging nettles and thorns when picking wild blackberries. 1 shot of bourbon, 1 tablespoon of marionberry lime vanilla jam, a splash of blackberry vanilla cardamom shrub, a healthy dose of woodland bitters by Portland Bitters, and a splash of soda water."
It is delicious!! I was able to find Portland Bitters in Whole Foods....of course it was the WF in Portland. But they had a good variety of Portland Bitters and other brands as well. More experimentation will be needed. Anyway, if you can not get your hands on the shrub, you might try a berry cider in place of the shrub and soda water. (Try the blackberry cider from Atlas!) A nice, rich berry jam will do if you can't get Caroline's. But, if you live anywhere near where their products are available it is well worth the effort to pick up the jams and shrubs. I promise you will not be disappointed! (see more on their facebook page for details on where to find them!)
Hope your summer has gotten off to a good start! Do you have a favorite water spot to cool off in? A good summer drink you'd like to share? Would love to hear about it!
