Hi, hello & welcome back, sweet friends! It goes without saying that every time I sit down at my desk or laptop stand, I am happily reminded of why I started blogging back in 2016 and how much fun I have creating and (over)sharing. Of course, today is no different. Now that we’ve been in our new home base of Charlotte for threeish months and are truly starting to settle in (see the updated office), I am finally feeling like I have time to create. I am also aware of how long it’s been since I’ve been consistent with the blog and social media given all the changes in the last 1.5ish years. Truly, time has flown for better or worse. All that to say, I am feeling super excited about getting back to creating and sharing and treating my little corner of the internet like the special place that it is. So today, in true me fashion, I’m sharing my go-to cocktails for the spring.
Surprisingly, I don’t set out to have a dedicated (or two) cocktails per season but it often just happens. I find myself gravitating towards a few cocktails for 3-6 months then start fresh with new seasonal sips. This Spring, I am loving two very different cocktails: sweet grapefruit fizz and the bees knees 🐝
There’s no “official” name for this cocktail so I’m calling it my sweet grapefruit fizz. This is an easy, bubbly, drink for porch sipping with friends or Saturday mornings in the garden.
Start with three ice cubes then add 1.5 oz of St. Germain, club soda filling 1/3 of the glass and champagne, prosecco or your favorite sparkling water to the rim. For this drink, I used Mc Bride Sisters / Black Girl Magic Wines Sparkling Brut which has become a favorite over the past few years. Then stir to combine ingredients, add a slice of juicy grapefruit to the glass and top with a twig of rosemary. As you sip, the drink will go from summer sweet to perfect savory!
This cocktail is not only easy for you but would be great for entertaining since there’s no shaker required and you can add as little or as much any ingredient to fit your guest. And let’s be honest, this drink looks so pretty in just about any glass.
A bees knees may not be a super new cocktail for anyone but with the warmth of spring in the air, I love the surprise of citrus and smoothness of a sipping cocktail like this with food like summer salads or charcuterie boards.
With .5oz of honey, 1oz of room temperature water & 1.5 oz oz gin, you will stir (not shake) all these ingredient together until the honey is dissolved. Then add .5oz or 1oz of lemon juice and shake all the ingredients together with a full shaker of ice. Finish off by straining the drink over one fresh ice cube and garnish with a lemon on the rim.
Just a few simple ingredients and you have one of my go-tos this season. The room temperature water makes the biggest difference when dissolving the honey and let’s the ice in the shaker make the drink freshly crisp.
And just like that, you have two new spring to summer cocktail recipes for you to sip on at home with the dog or easy crowd pleasers when hosting friends and family. When you make these, you have to let me know what you think either in the comments on or on Instagram. 💜
As always friends, thank YOU so much for reading and for being here. I hope you love these cocktails and have the most amazing start to Spring and the many sunny days ahead. -xoxo, azanique
