Summer Cocktails

So berries are now in season and are cheap.  So I wanted to do a few cocktails that featured fresh berries.  I focused on Strawberries for this.  Yeah I used a juicer to get the strawberry juice, and my juicer of choice is the Breville ikon 5 Speed juicer.  I used speed 2 for the juicing.  You can make the drinks exactly the same using a puree of berries, as long as you don't mind the taste of a little bit of seeds.

The Strawberry Margarita
This drink really showcases the tartness of the strawberries and does go so well with the tequila.  I am not a huge fan of salt rimmed glasses when it comes to margaritias,  I feel as though some times the coarse salt can overwhelm the taste of the drink and make the entire thing feel like you're drinking one big tequila shot.  I counter that in this drink by rimming the glass with a combination of 3 parts demerara sugar to 1 part kosher salt.

Ingredients:
Mixture of 3 parts demerara sugar to 1 part kosher salt 
3 oz Tequila Blanco
0.75 oz Triple Sec
0.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
0.5 oz Agave Nectar
3 oz Strawberry Juice (Or 2 oz Strawberry Puree)

Use the demerara sugar mixture and a lime in order to rim the margarita glass.  Combine the remaining ingredients and shake until chilled.  Pour into the Margarita Glass and serve.  A note on ingredients.  For Tequila, my bargain Tequila of Choice is Suaza Hornitos Plaza.  It delivers Patron taste at a Jose Cuervo price.  For the Triple sec, I prefer Cointreau, but will go with Grand Marnier as well.  Lime juice comes from limes not bottles. For agave nectar I prefer a raw agave nectar.  More for health reasons than anything because processed agave nectar is essentially really expensive high fructose corn syrup.   I usually go with this one from Amazon:


Strawberry Gin and Tonic
It was on the flight back to the US when I finally had a Gin and tonic that I thought was good.   The drink  
depends on the quality of the Gin that is used as well as the Tonic water.  For Gin, my value brand is New Amsterdam.  It is incredibly smooth for a great price.  When I'm going ultra premium, I go for Hendricks or Distillery 209.  You can honestly get by with Hendricks in this drink since you can hide a bit of the not ultra premium gin taste with the strawberries.  The Tonic water is really important as well and I like to use Fever-Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water.

Ingredients:
3 Medium or 2 Large Strawberries
3 oz Gin
0.75 oz Elderflower Liquer
Tonic Water
2 Juniper berries and 5 coriander seeds (Toasted for optional garnish)

Muddle the strawberries together in rocks glass.  Add ice and liquor and stir until chilled.  Top with Tonic water and stir until just mixed and garnish with spices.

Shanghai Strawberry
Based on a drink I had at The Roof.  This drink pushes cocktail making to the edge by using a lot of fresh herbs.  It delivers strongly with bold herbal qualities with the tangy exotic lemongrass and strawberries.  It's a tricky drink too since it packs 

Ingredients:
3 oz strawberry juice or puree
1 teaspoon palm sugar
3 Basil Leaves
4 Mint Leaves
1-4 Inch stalk of lemongrass
1/4 oz lemon juice
0.75 oz Ginger Liqueur
3 oz Vodka
0.75 oz Gin

To help dissolve the sugar, I place it into a coffee grinder and let it go until you have like a powdered palm sugar.  Bruise the lemongrass with a knife and take one to two layers of it for the drink.  add all of the ingredients into the shaker and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds after the glass is chilled to release the flavors from the herbs and lemongrass.  You can serve it strained into a chilled martini glass (If you're not a fan of leaves in your drink) or with the ice in a highball glass.  For vodka I like Svedka.  Your ultra premiums, Belvedere, Grey Goose, Ciroc all taste the same and I usaully go whichever is the cheapest from that tier of vodka.

Strawberry Manhattan
I am a huge Manhattan fan.  It is actually one of my favorite drinks to order.  For this I replace the bitters with a bit of strawberry juice.  This drink is simple, strong and tasty.  Not for the casual whiskey drinker.

Ingredients:
3 oz Bourbon
0.25 oz Strawberry juice

Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass.  That simple.  A note on ingredients.  I like to use either Marker's Mark Bourbon or Knob Creek.

The Total Eclipse

Spiced rum is my best friend's favorite liquor.  I absolutely had to use a drink that features a liquor that I really honestly drink only when he comes to town.  It is a hard thing to mix.  The greatest combination I've ever had for it is Kilo and  Sweet Leaf Tea Citrus Green.  This is a layered drink that plays up that spice with the berry flavor.

Ingredients:
Orange Juice
Strawberry Juice
Blackberry Juice
3 oz Spiced Rum
Two Teaspoons Agave nectar

Fill a highball glass with ice and agave nectar.  Add the orange juice a third of the way up the highball glass. Add strawberries to get to slightly over half of the highball glass.  Add the blackberry juice to get 3/4 of the way of the highball glass. Add spiced rum.  Serve and stir before drinking.