What to Drink: Memorial Day Weekend Organic Cocktails
Our latest newsletter kicked off an eco-chic Memorial Day weekend by remembering what the holiday is really all about (you can sign up here if you haven’t yet).
But let’s face it: Many of us are looking forward to cutting loose and enjoying an adult beverage or two with friends and family. It’s an American tradition and the unofficial start of summer.
Be the party’s organic mixologist this weekend and give a go to one of the organic cocktail recipes below (with booze and without). My birthday happens to fall on Memorial Day this year, so suffice it to say I’ll be clinking glasses with these healthy drinks in my hand. Enjoy.
Summer Daydream– Booze
- 1 1/2 oz. Square One or organic vodka
- 3 sweet, fresh watermelon chunks
- 3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 oz. organic simple syrup
- 1/2 oz. Campari
1. Muddle the watermelon in a tall Collins glass until the fruit has turned into a juice.
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients, fill up with large, cold ice and cover with a small shaker top.
3. Shake briefly, remove the shaker, garnish with a piece of Watermelon rind and serve with a straw.
Organic Blackberry Mojito– Booze
- 4 blackberries
- 4 mint sprigs
- 3 lime wedges
- 1 1/2 ounces silver rum
- 1 Lime wedge
- 1 Mint sprig
- Lemon lime soda
1. Muddle blackberries, mint sprigs and lime wedges in a highball glass.
2. Add silver rum.
3. Fill with ice.
4. Top with lemon lime soda.
5. Garnish with lime wedge and mint sprig.
Healthy Fruit Punch – No Booze
- 4 cups frozen strawberries, thawed
- 1 cup fresh pineapple
- 1 cup fresh pitted cherries
- 2 fresh peaches
- 32 oz. real fruit juice (R.W. Knudsen is recommended)
- 4 liters club soda
- stevia to taste
1. Grab a big bowl and a fine colander.
2. Dump whatever fruit you have ready in the blender with about half of the juice. Blend enough that there are still a few chunks but it’s mostly pureed.
3. Empty the blender into the colander over the bowl. Repeat until all of the fruit is processed.
4. Using a wooden spoon stir the fruit mixture until all that’s left in the colander is the pulp from the fruit.
5. Add the remainder of the fruit juice if you haven’t already.
6. The proportions are 2 liters of club soda for half of the fruit concentrate, and then sweeten with stevia to taste. Serve over ice.
Strawberry Basil Sangria – Booze
- ½ lb of fresh strawberries
- 1 apple
- 1 ounce of fresh whole basil leaves
- 1 bottle of Cline Cellar’s Cool Climate Chardonnay
- ½ cup organic sugar
- 1 cup of club soda
- 1 cup of white grape juice
1. Trim and thinly slice the strawberries.
2. Slice and dice the apple into very small bits.
3. Score the basil leaves with a fork. Do this instead of cutting the leaves into strips so your guests don’t choke on basil while trying to enjoy their drink. Simply rub the basil leaves gently with a fork which will release their flavor in the sangria.
4. Layer the fruit, sugar and basil in a large pitcher and let sit for about 10 minutes. The sugar absorbs the juices from the basil and the fruit.
5. Add the club soda first and then the remaining liquids. Stir well and serve.
Ginger Mint Caipirinha– Booze
- 1 lime, quartered
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger syrup
- 1 sprig mint
- 2 ounces cachaça
- 1 quarter-sized slice raw ginger
1. Muddle lime with ginger syrup and mint.
2. Add cachaça, shake and pour over ice.
3. Add a raw ginger wedge for an aromatic garnish.
Pauline’s Ginger Limey– Booze
- 1.5 shots vodka
- 1/4 cup organic limeade
- 1/3 bottle ginger beer
- Fresh lime wedge
Pour ingredients in glass with plenty of ice, mix, garnish with lime wedge.
Pina Colada- No Booze
- 3-4 pieces of freshly cut organic pineapple
- Organic coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon of organic almond extract
- 1/2 cup of ice
- In a blender, add the pineapple, coconut milk, and almond extract, and ice.
- Blend until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Pour into a hurricane glass or a high ball glass.
- Garnish with a pineapple and serve.
Basil Citrus Margarita– Booze
- 3-4 large basil leaves
- 2 slices of lemon
- 2 slices of lime
- 1 shot (1 1/2 ounces) quality silver tequila, such as Patron
- 1/2 ounce triple sec
- A splash of lemon-lime soda
- Ice and club soda to fill glass
- Combine basil and fruit in tall glass. Muddle lightly, releasing the lemon juices. Add more lemon if slices are too dry or thin.
- Add ice cubes and liquor; shake to mix.
- Add splash of lemon-lime soda and add enough club soda to fill glass. Garnish with lemon or basil sprigs.
Image 1: dusk
Image 2: HeathersDish.com
Lindsay E. Brown
Lindsay has spent her career at the intersection of media and social change. In her role at Eco-Chick, Lindsay has established partnerships and campaigns with some of the world’s most-recognized companies committed to sustainability and CSR. She co-created the popular interview series “Heroines for the Planet” that features groundbreaking women who share courage and a deep passion for protecting people and the Earth. Lindsay is the Marketing and Sustainability Manager at Health-Ade Kombucha and previously served as Director of Communications at the social enterprise CBS EcoMedia. There she directed corporate advertising dollars to the nation’s most effective non-profits tackling urgent social issues in local communities and was awarded CBS Corporation’s prestigious Share-the-Vision award. She has written for Whole Living Magazine, Edible, Cottages & Gardens, From The Grapevine, EarthHour.org, Eco-Age.com, and for environmentalists Laura Turner Seydel and Susan Rockefeller. Lindsay holds a BS in Global Business Studies and Marketing from Manhattan College, and received the 2012 Honors Award at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
