Sangria!

 ½ cup brandy

¼ cup lemon juice

⅓ cup frozen lemonade concentrate

⅓ cup orange juice

1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine

½ cup triple sec

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

1 orange, sliced into rounds

1 lime, sliced into rounds

¼ cup white sugar (Optional)

8 maraschino cherries

2 cups carbonated water (Optional)

In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.

NOTE: I got this recipe from Caroline Langfeld who had made it for Daniel's grad party.  We also served it for Felix's baptism without the cherries.  A bottle of Winking Owl red it just right!

Gin and Tonic Sorbet

310g sugar 
310g water 
8 tbsp gin 
375 ml tonic water 
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 egg white

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and allow it to cool completely.

Add the gin, tonic, the lime juice and the zest. Stir and taste and add more lime juice if you think it needs it. Chill in the fridge.

Then either churn it for 15 minutes or still-freeze it by pouring it into a food-safe plastic box and putting it in the coldest part of your freezer for an hour to an hour and a half until it forms a slush when you beat it.

At this point, beat the egg white with a fork to loosen it and combine it with the sorbet mix. Then either churn for another 10 minutes until it’s slushy, or if using the still-freeze method, repeat the freeze-and-beat step twice more at 30-60 minute intervals.

Pour into a container and freeze.

Sangria

1 bottle red wine (Winking Owl Merlot was perfect for this)
4 oz brandy
3 oz triple sec
2 oranges
2 limes
1 apple
4-6 oz simple syrup, to taste
12 oz or more club soda

Juice one orange and one lime; combine with first three ingredients. Add simple syrup to taste. Slice the remaining fruit thinly and add to pitcher. Chill thoroughly and serve over ice mixed about 2:1 with club soda.

Rhubarb Vodka

Just bookmarking it here so I can find it again.  Delicious!

3 pounds rhubarb, cut up

Mixed with
1 bottle vodka
1/4 cup grand marnier
Simple syrup (6 tablespoons sugar heated to boiling with 1/4 cup water)


Cool the syrup before mixing into the rest of the ingredients. 
Let stand 1-2 weeks in covered container.

Recipe is flexible - it originally called for 1/2 cup of the Grand Marnier, but my source preferred with less.

It's a lovely pink color and, according to reports, is dangerously good when mixed with 7-Up.

Mom's Birthday Cocktail

As per usual, quantities are approximate and to taste (with the lemon juice especially).  Instead of ice cubes, I used frozen berries (a blackberry, raspberry, blueberry blend).

Frozen berries
1.5 oz Orange Curacao (or your orange liqueur of choice)
.5-.75 oz lemon juice
3 oz Coconut mineral water
A few mint leaves, mottled (We used chocolate mint)

Source: Kinda, sorta inspired by this drink.

Ramos Gin Fizz

2 ounces gin
1 ounce cream (we used heavy whipping cream)
1 fresh egg white
3 drops orange flower water (we used 2 measures from the tiny plastic insert in the cap of the bottle)
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
club soda or seltzer water (set aside for topping up the drink)

Combine all ingredients (except the seltzer) in a cocktail shaker over ice. Wrap the shaker in a tea towel and shake vigorously for five minutes (we took short breaks every minute - a two-person tag team would work well). Strain into a tall, narrow glass (such as a Collins glass or a champagne flute) and top up with a splash of seltzer. Garnish with an orange wheel, and serve with a straw - and an iced-tea spoon so you can relish every drop!