Strawberry Season Cocktails
During strawberry season, it’s hard to pass up on the opportunity to pick your very own farm-fresh strawberries. When you live in the Northeast, this is really the best time of year to enjoy them. Strawberry shortcake, strawberry cobbler, strawberry bars, strawberry mousse… There are so many delicious desserts that have strawberry as the shining ingredient. So, why shouldn’t that be true in the cocktail world, as well! They add great flavor to cocktails, and impart a beautiful color.
Here are ten cocktail recipes—daiquiris, highballs and more—that utilize strawberries as a key ingredient:
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB DAIQUIRI
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Rum 44
-1 oz. of fresh lime juice
-1 oz. of Cocktail & Sons Fassionola Syrup
-4 dashes of Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well, then strain into a coupe glass. Add a dehydrated (or fresh) lime wheel as garnish.
STRAWBERRY HIBISCUS DAIQUIRI
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Hibiscus-infused Rum 44
-1 oz. of fresh lime juice
-1 oz. of El Guapo Cajun Grenadine
Directions:
To make the Hibiscus-infused Rum 44, add one gram of hibiscus flowers per ounce of Rum 44 (a full bottle of Rum 44 would need about 25 grams of hibiscus flowers). Let the rum infuse for about one hour before using.
To make the cocktail, add the hibiscus-infused Rum 44, lime juice and El Guapo Cajun Grenadine to a shaker with ice. Shake for about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
STRAWBERRY MINT JULEP
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Bourbon Whiskey
-1 tsp. of Vermont Maple Syrup
-2 lemon wedges
-6 mint leaves
-2 strawberries
-soda water
Directions:
Muddle mint leaves, maple syrup, a strawberry, and lemon wedges. Shake muddled ingredients with bourbon and ice. Pour into a highball glass, and top off with a splash of club soda. Garnish with mint and a strawberry.
BITTER HEART
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Vanilla Rum
-3/4 oz. of Galliano Aperitivo
-3/4 oz. of fresh lime juice
-3/4 oz. of simple syrup
-2 strawberries
Directions:
Muddle strawberries with sugar in a shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients, and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and garnish with a fresh strawberry.
SPRING FLING
Ingredients:
-1 oz. of First Run Rum
-1 oz. of fresh lemon juice
-1 oz. of cinnamon and strawberry infused Aperol
-1 oz. of Amaro Nonino
-3-4 dashes of El Guapo Summer Berries Bitters
-Fever Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit
-lemon twist
Directions:
To make the cinnamon and strawberry infused Aperol, add a cinnamon stick to one bottle of Aperol. Give it a shake, then let it sit for one day. After one day, remove the cinnamon. In a Mason jar, combine the cinnamon infused Aperol with a handful of rinsed strawberries. Shake once daily for one week. Strain out the strawberries using a cheesecloth, then store the cinnamon and strawberry infused Aperol until ready to use.
To make the cocktail, in a shaker, combine one ounce each of the infused Aperol, First Run Rum, fresh lemon juice and Amaro Nonino. Add 4-6 dashes of El Guapo Summer Berries Bitters. Add ice to the shaker, then shake for 15-30 seconds. Double strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top the cocktail with Fever Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit. Add a twist of lemon as garnish.
PERSEPHONE
Ingredients:
-1 oz. of RUM 44
-1 oz. of First Run Rum
-1 oz. of lemon juice
-1 oz. of simple syrup
-1 egg white
-3 dashes Lavender Bitters
-3 strawberries
Directions:
Muddle 2 strawberries in a shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the shaker (without ice). Shake for about 15-20 seconds vigorously. Add ice to the shaker, and shake for another 10 seconds. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with sliced strawberries.
STRAWBERRY SMASH
Ingredients:
-5 ripe and rinsed strawberries, leafy ends removed, chopped
-4 fresh basil leaves
-1.5 oz. of Rum 44
-1 oz. of fresh lemon juice
-1/4 oz. or a barspoon of Runamok Maple Grenadine
-Club soda
Directions:
In a shaker, combine all ingredients except for the club soda. Muddle the ingredients together. Add fresh ice to a shaker, and shake well. Double strain into a stemless glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda, and garnish with a fresh strawberry and basil.
BOURBON STREET
Ingredients:
-1.5 oz. of Straight Bourbon
-1/4 oz. of strawberry simple syrup or 1 sliced strawberry muddled with simple syrup
-3/4 oz. of lemon juice
-2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
-Fever Tree Ginger Beer
Directions:
Shake all ingredients. Strain over ice into a rocks glass. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with a sliced strawberry.
LA LA LOVE YOU
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Vanilla Rum
-1.5 oz. of ChocoLat Delux
-1/2 oz. of cane sugar syrup
-2 strawberries
Directions:
Add strawberries to a shaker, and muddle them with sugar syrup. Add remaining ingredients to the shaker with ice. Fine strain contents into a large coupe glass. Garnish with a strawberry.
RUMBERRY DAIQUIRI
Ingredients:
-2 oz. of Rum 44
-3/4 oz. of fresh lime juice
-3/4 oz. of Three Berry Syrup
Directions:
To make the Three Berry Syrup, combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water in a pan. Place it over high heat, stirring occasionally until all of the sugar has dissolved.
Once you have a uniform syrup, reduce to medium-low heat and add 10 blueberries, 5 raspberries and 2 large strawberries. Muddle the berries against the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes. To remove all of the fruit seeds and skins, pour the syrup through a cheesecloth into a container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
To make the cocktail, combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for 20-30 seconds and strain, straight up, into a coup. Garnish with a slice of strawberry.
Now that you have a list of ten cocktails you can make utilizing strawberries, the only question is, which one will you make first? A good tip when making cocktails with fresh fruit, especially fruit with seeds or pulp, is to double strain when pouring into your glass. Another way to strain out unwanted seeds or pulp is by using a cheesecloth, as noted in the Rumberry Daiquiri recipe above.
While you won’t be able to source farm-fresh strawberries from our Burlington Tasting Room, we do carry a lot of other ingredients noted above, in addition to our spirits. You can stock up on simple syrups, bitters, Grenadine, Fassionola syrup, ginger beer, and even an egg-free foamer option. If you mix up a fresh strawberry cocktail, we’d love to see it, so be sure to tag us on social!
Written and published by Brianne Lucas on June 11, 2024.
