Blackberry Lemon Gin Fizz

First of all, happy Cocktail Friday! It’s been quite the week and I’m just glad we made it here. Seriously. Well, technically, we still have to get through the day, but let’s just cross our fingers and push through it. It actually might not be too tough if this is drink on the other end. It finally snowed in Boston last night. So, obviously I decided to make a drink that made me feel like it was summer.

But really, gin is one of my favorite warm-me-up drinks and I feel like this cocktail is absolutely perfect any time of year. Even if you’re not a gin lover, I still vote you should try this. Because it may just convert you. Which is reason enough. And at the very least, it can help you forget all the horrible parts of your week, so you can focus on weekend. My weekend will consist of (hopefully) crossing lots more off the wedding to-do list (we’ve already had a wonderfully productive wedding get stuff done week!) and checking out bridesmaid dresses for Katie’s October wedding (Chels and I are both in it and it’s going to be SOO much fun!). A very wedding weekend… With a Patriots game thrown in, of course (we’ll just ignore the 500 hours of work I need to get done)!

Blackberry Lemon Gin Fizz (makes 2 drinks):
Print this recipe!

• 6 oz. blackberries
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T water
• Ice
• 1 T mint, chopped finely
• 2 T lemon
• 5 oz. gin
• 1/2-3/4 C club soda

Start by putting the blackberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan and turning the heat to medium.

While the berries are warming up, take a fork and mash them up as much as you can. The warmer they get, the easier this will be.

Once you have a nice puree going, push the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. I decided to spoon in some of the remaining puree after I had extracted all the liquid. I LOVE pulp in my drinks and wanted a little something-something extra. If you hate pulp, just take the liquid and leave the rest! Chill the blackberry juice for about 10-15 minutes.

Chop up your mint as finely as you can.

In a shaker filled with ice, add the mint and lemon juice.

Then add the gin and blackberry puree.

Shake it all up and divide between 2 glasses. Since I left some pulp in my puree, I had to take the cover off my shaker and pour the drink in. Which means I also got lots of little mint bits in my drink. Fine with me!

Fill glasses the rest of the way with soda water and top with a lemon twist and some extra blackberries.

Oh man. I really didn’t think there was much that could make a Friday night better (I mean, couch and Dateline? Come’on). But here it is, right?

While this drink may look a whole lot like a summery concoction, I actually felt like it fit perfectly with the falling snow and chilly air. Who says we need to nix the idea of berries in the winter? We’ve been trying to get our grocery shopping done at Market Basket lately (best ever), where blackberries are frequently $1. And where we frequently buy 6 packs of them at a time.

Good luck getting through your Friday work week and happy Cocktail Friday to you! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m just a little excited about the weekend. Let’s make it a good one! 🙂

And if all else fails, at least Monday brings The Bachelor. Yes, this is the way my thought process works.

What will you be sipping on this weekend?

[Sues]

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