Author: corrie.pennington

whiskey

Morgan Mends the Line | A Custom Cocktail with Orange Spice Tea-Infused Whiskey

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Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It’s a custom cocktail created especially for my Instagram friend Morgan.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

A few weeks back, Girl & Tonic hit a milestone– I got 1,000 followers on Instagram. 🎉 As a mom, I’m a pro at celebrating evverrryy milestone. As my follower count inched towards 1K, I was already brainstorming ways to commerorate this occassion. A giveaway was my first thought– that’s kinda the norm on Instagram. Reach X amount of followers, run a giveaway. I wasn’t feeling the traditional route though.

After a lot of different ideas, I did end up settling on a giveaway– a custom cocktail giveaway. To be entered, all someone had to do was comment on the post as many times as you wanted. The winner would receive a custom cocktail named after them and also a printed recipe card. I was shocked by how well-received it was.

I used a random comment picker and an awesome gal named Morgan (@morganreidmiller) won! I was honestly surprised because one of my Instagram friend’s comments equated for 1/5 of all the entries. Probability and statistics, eh? 🤔

Morgan, the inspiration behind the custom cocktail Morgan Mends the Line
Morgan, the inspiration behind Morgan Mends the Line

The idea behind a customized cocktail is to create a recipe that personifies that individual. I’ve been IG friends with Morgan for several months now so I knew some about her already. To get to know her more, I sent her a questionnaire and my Custom Cocktail Word Board. I had SO much fun thinking up a custom cocktail recipe that reflected her. Here are the reasons behind the name and ingredient choices.

Morgan has a few interests that would be so fun to explore through a cocktail, but I decided to focus on her love for fly fishing. The name Morgan Mends the Line is not only a nod to the fly fishing term, but also to Morgan’s personality.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

To “mend the line” in fly fishing means to handle your fishing line and rod in a particular way to combat the currents of the water. This is done to keep the lure, or the “fly”, from drifting too far downstream. If a line is mended poorly, the lure will either move too slowly or too quickly to be perceived as a real fly. No fish will fall for it. Mending the line requires a steady hand and a perceptive eye that knows when to build up the slack and when to adjust.

You see, when I asked Morgan what she was most proud of, she said “my ability to work through tough situations with a level head and objectively”. Ahh. Now I can see why she’s both drawn to fly fishing and why she’s good at it. Fly fishing, and this cocktail, externalize Morgan’s inner strength–remaining at ease under tense situations.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

“Bold” is one of the adjectives that Morgan selected from the Custom Cocktail Word Board. I wanted to add some kind of spicy kick but also needed to keep it in check because “sweet” was a selected adjective as well. Ginger simple syrup is the perfect solution.

Morgan is also a very talented barista. The obvious choice would’ve been to use coffee liqueur in the drink. But two of the words she selected from the word board were “adventurous” and “creative”, so I knew I had to push the envelope a bit. I decided to infuse whiskey (one of her fav liquors) with orange spice tea. It’s got the boldness and the caffeine of coffee but a sweet flavor and aroma that really complements the whiskey. I also tried making it with vodka and it was good, too.

I served it up in a coupe glass because Morgan selected the word “intricate”. Many whiskey drinks are typically served in a lowball or Old Fashioned glass. By serving this one in a coupe glass, it gives the drink a more delicate, gentle persona. Like Morgan.

Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.

There’s the story behind Morgan Mends the Line. Thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway! This definitely won’t be the last custom cocktail giveaway I do.

(Before any of you fly fishermen and fisherwomen out there come for me, I *know* the lure used as a garnish isn’t one used for fly-fishing. I used what I had on hand, okay? 😅 I’ve never fly-fished before but I would really love to. The only reason I was able to write this post is because of what I learned from Matthew Bernhardt’s article on Drift Hook.)

Ingredients for Morgan Mends the Line

How to Make a Morgan Mends the Line

To make the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, pour 5 oz of whiskey into a small jar and add one bag of orange spice tea. Let the whiskey and the tea infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the teabag. Store the extra whiskey in an airtight container. It’ll keep for a long time.

Add ice, the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon (or a fishing lure but not really bc that’s dangerous, y’all).

Morgan Mends the Line

A bold and sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, citrus, and ginger simple syrup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz orange spice tea-infused whiskey*
  • ½ oz tangelo juice (can sub clementine, orange, or cara cara juice)
  • ¼ oz lemon juice
  • ½ oz ginger simple syrup**

Instructions
 

  • Add ice, the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup to a cocktail shaker.
     
  • Shake well.
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with a slice of lemon (or a fishing lure but not really bc that's dangerous).

Notes

*To make the orange spice tea-infused whiskey, pour 5 oz of whiskey into a small jar and add one bag of orange spice tea. Let the whiskey and the tea infuse at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove the teabag. Store the extra whiskey in an airtight container. It’ll keep for a long time. (You can also use vodka if you prefer. It will have a more mild flavor, which some may prefer.)
**Click here for an easy ginger simple syrup recipe.
Keyword ginger, ginger simple syrup, lemon, lemon juice, orange spice tea, simple syrup, tangelo, whiskey
Morgan Mends the Line is a bold yet sweet cocktail made with orange spice tea-infused whiskey, tangelo juice, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup. It blurs the lines between sweet and bold, complex and simple. It's a custom cocktail created for the winner of my 1K followers giveaway.
simple syrup

Ginger Simple Syrup | A 3 Ingredient Syrup That’ll Add a Kick to any Classic Cocktail

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Ginger simple syrup is an easy way to introduce the boldness of ginger to a cocktail without making the drink too spicy. If you're wondering what to use this ginger simple syrup in, you can experiment subbing it in for regular simple syrup in your favorite classics like the Gimlet or a Whiskey Sour. It also makes a zingy substitution for cardamom simple syrup in my Golden Pothos recipe.

Ginger simple syrup is an easy way to introduce the boldness of ginger to a cocktail without making the drink too spicy. The kick is curbed by the sweetness and your tastebuds are left feeling perfectly buzzed.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

If you’re wondering what to use this ginger simple syrup in, you can experiment subbing it in for regular simple syrup in your favorite classics like the Gimlet or a Whiskey Sour. It also makes a zingy substitution for cardamom simple syrup in my Golden Pothos recipe.

This recipe calls for fresh ginger, but you can certainly use ginger paste. (I would not recommend using ginger powder in this recipe.) The general rule of thumb is to use 1 Tablespoon of ginger paste for every inch of fresh ginger that’s used in a recipe. So in this case, you’d use about 2.5 Tablespoons. Feel free to taste as you go to avoid adding too much. You’ll also need to strain the syrup with a fine mesh strainer prior to bottling.

You may know from my other simple syrup recipes that I prefer to make my simple syrups in small batches. That way I can use them up before they go bad. Feel free to double or triple the recipe for a larger quantity.

This ginger simple syrup should last for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients for Ginger Simple Syrup

  • 2 1/2 – 3 inches of fresh ginger
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup water

How to Make Ginger Simple Syrup

Peel 2 1/2 to 3 inches of fresh ginger. Cut in into smaller pieces. Add the ginger pieces, the water, and the sugar to a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer the syrup for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the ginger to sit in the syrup as it cools so it can further infuse. If you boil the syrup too long and at too high of a temperature, it’ll get too thick to pour. Remove the ginger pieces before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. The syrup should last for about 2 weeks.

Ginger Simple Syrup

The easiest way to add a kick of ginger to a cocktail without making it too spicy.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 min
Cook Time 3 mins
Cool Time 20 mins
Total Time 23 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 3 oz

Equipment

  • small saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 2½-3 inches fresh ginger
  • â…“ cup white sugar
  • â…“ cup water

Instructions
 

  • Peel 2 1/2 to 3 inches of fresh ginger. Cut in into smaller pieces.
  • Add the ginger pieces, the water, and the sugar to a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
  • Simmer* the syrup for 2-3 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and allow the ginger to sit in the syrup as it cools so it can further infuse.
  • Remove the ginger pieces before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. The syrup should last for about 2 weeks.

Notes

*If you boil the syrup too long and at too high of a temperature, it’ll get too thick to pour.
Keyword beet simple syrup, ginger ale, ginger simple syrup, sugar
vodka

Summer Sipper | A Fresh Green Tea Cocktail with Cucumber-Infused Vodka

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The Summer Sipper is a green tea cocktail with cucumber-infused vodka, mint, lemon, and tonic water. It's bright, refreshing, and not too tart or too sweet-- perfect for warm afternoons.

This Summer Sipper is the perfect cocktail to cap off the summer. It’s got all the refreshing flavors of the season: mint, citrus, cucumber, and iced green tea.

So many people out in this God-blessed country are celebrating FALL and even HALLOWEEN already. My season-honoring, calendar-following heart just can’t take it. The Autumn Equinox is September 21st. That’s three weeks away. I just can’t do it. Despite the fact that #summer2020 has been the longest summer in existence, I wanna relish these next few weeks.

Plus here in Texas, summer weather lasts well into October November sometimes. It’s hard to get in the cozy recipe mood when going to check my mail gives me immediate face sweat.

I was talking with some friends this morning about how crazy the weather can be here in Texas. Sometimes it’s freezing cold and snowing in April and sometimes wait… What am I doing? Have I devolved into talking about the WEATHER on a cocktail blog? Slap me the next time I do that.

I still have soo many summer-y cocktails I want to post though before the season ends so I need to get a move on. But I’m currently limiting myself to 2 recipe posts per week because running a blog is a lot of work. Creating the recipes, testing them, photographing the drink, writing the blog post, promoting it on social media is a lot of work. I don’t know if people realize it, but it is a lot of work. Have I mentioned how much work it is? Okay, I’ll stop. It is though. Fun work that I enjoy doing but it does prevent me from feeling like I can explore evverryyy cocktail idea that enters my mind.

Today though I’m bringing you a cocktail idea that entered into my Insta friend Casey’s mind. You can see Casey’s original Instagram post here. It really is the perfect way to cap off the end of summer. This is actually the second cocktail of Casey’s that I’ve made. I also mixed up her Mezcal in Maui and loved it! Several of you really enjoyed it, too. If you’re into smoky drinks and tropical vibes, I highly recommend it.

I actually made this drink at my friend’s house, as you may notice from the different setup. Our toddlers are becoming little friends & it’s adorable. We both also really enjoy a good cocktail. She suggested we enjoy “a good summer’s last hurrah cocktail” and the Summer Sipper is definitely that.

We ended up tweaking the recipe a bit (Casey’s calls for club soda but we used tonic water) and we also ran out of room for the rest of the green tea so we adjusted the amount. It turned out soo well! Perfectly bright and refreshing. Not too tart either, despite the fact that there is no sweetener in the drink. I think the earthiness of the green tea really grounded the whole drink. Well done, Casey! Thanks for sharing your cocktail with the Instagram and now blog world!

One interesting note. The recipe also calls for cucumber-infused vodka, which we made. But my friend also bought some *real* cucumber vodka so we could do a side-by-side comparison. Y’all. We both preferred the homemade cucumber-infused vodka! It tasted fresher and smoother— can you believe it? I’d say they both had the same level of cucumberiness (made that up). And while the Effen bottle is absolutely gorgeous, you can’t beat a cheapo bottle of Smirnoff.

The Summer Sipper is a green tea cocktail with cucumber-infused vodka, mint, lemon, and tonic water. It's bright, refreshing, and not too tart or too sweet-- perfect for warm afternoons.

In addition to the fact that the homemade cucumber-infused vodka was smooth as silk, using it in the Summer Sipper recipe made it taste like gin. Which I luurrve so wins all around.

If you want to invest in a bottle of cucumber vodka, go for it. Just know that homemade tastes equally as good (if not better) and is cheaper.

Here’s the recipe:

Homemade Cucumber-Infused Vodka

  • 1 bottle of cheap vodka (750mL)
  • 1 large cucumber

Peel the cucumber. If the cucumber is especially seed-y, try removing a lot of them. The seeds and the peel can add bitterness to the vodka that you might not want. Chop the cucumber into smaller pieces. The more surface area of cucumber that comes into contact with the vodka, the faster it’ll infuse.

Add the vodka and chopped cucumber to a large bottle or huge lidded Tupperware container. (You can also divide it into smaller containers or halve the recipe if you want.)

Allow the vodka to steep 24-48 hours. We actually enjoyed ours at 22 hours and it was great.

Strain the cucumber pieces out and pour the vodka back into its original bottle so that you know it’ll have a tight seal. No need to refrigerate and it will keep for several, several months.

Alright, now we can get to the Summer Sipper recipe. If you make this one, be sure to tag both me (@girlandtonic_) and Casey (@citygalcocktails) on Instagram!

If you like the idea of a green tea cocktail, you can check out my Matcha Simple Syrup– it’s the easiest way to add the lovely earthiness of green tea to any cocktail.

The Summer Sipper is a green tea cocktail with cucumber-infused vodka, mint, lemon, and tonic water. It's bright, refreshing, and not too tart or too sweet-- perfect for warm afternoons.

Ingredients for a Summer Sipper

  • 1 1/2 oz cucumber-infused vodka
  • 2 oz cold green tea, unsweetened
  • 1/2 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 10 mint leaves
  • tonic water (or club soda)
  • cucumber slice, to garnish

How to Make a Summer Sipper – A Green Tea Cocktail with Cucumber-Infused Vodka

Add the mint leaves and the cucumber-infused vodka to a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle the leaves; don’t smash them to smithereens or they’ll turn bitter. Add ice, green tea, and lemon juice. Shake well. Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice. Top off the rest of the glass with tonic water. Garnish with a cucumber slice and additional mint.

Summer Sipper – A Green Tea Cocktail with Cucumber-Infused Vodka

The Summer Sipper is the perfect drink for warm afternoons. It's bright, refreshing, and not too tart or too sweet.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz cucumber-infused vodka*
  • 2 oz cold green tea, unsweetened
  • ½ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 10 mint leaves
  • 1+ oz tonic**

Instructions
 

  • Add the mint leaves and the cucumber-infused vodka to a cocktail shaker.
  • Gently muddle the leaves with a muddler or a wooden spoon.
  • Add ice, green tea, and lemon juice to the cocktail shaker.
  • Shake well. Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the glass with tonic water.
  • Garnish with a cucumber slice and additional mint.

Notes

*To learn how to make your own cucumber-infused vodka, check out the step-by-step process written in the body of this post.
**Casey’s original recipe calls for club soda, but tonic also works well.
Keyword club soda, cucumber, cucumber-infused vodka, green tea, lemon, lemon juice, mint, tonic, vodka

vodka

Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail| A Sublime Cocktail with Lemon Basil & Black Lemon

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This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.
This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it’s made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

I never win anything. Giveaways, cherry pies in cakewalks, knock-off plushies in claw machines, money from lottery tickets, free sandwiches. Nada. Statistically speaking, I’m sure most people in the world would say “me either.”

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I don’t feel like a “lucky” person. I guess I don’t fully *believe* in Luck (maybe It knows). But when I think about my old coworker who’s won TWO cars and tens of thousands of dollars from gambling, I’ve gotta chalk it up to something. I guess it is luck and I just don’t have much of it.

But that changed a few weeks ago. I WON A GIVEAWAY. An Instagram giveaway, at that. I must’ve quadruple-checked the message when I saw it. And before you get all excited and start trying to figure out where I live, I didn’t win anything crazy.

I won a sampler of Sparkling Botanicals sparkling teas. A 12-pack y’all 🙌 I had seen these gorgeous cans sporadically in my Instagram feed and oohed and ahhed at all the flavors. Ooh and ahh is all I did though because these babies are pri-cey. I hopelessly entered the giveaway, as I often do, and went about my life until the fateful DM that ushered in my stroke of luck.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

A couple days later a friend texted me. “I went to the farmers’ market today and got some lemon basil. The guy gave me a one-pound bag– I’ll never be able to eat it by myself. Can I bring you some tomorrow?” Seriously. Get you some friends that support your cocktail creating habits. As soon as I saw the words “lemon basil”, I knew I wanted to use it in combination with the black lemon flavor of Sparkling Botanicals.

Just in case you’re wondering if you read that right, yes- it does say black lemon. I’d never heard of it before but I was intrigued. Turns out, black lemons are actually limes (usually) that have been dried. They’re soaked in a brine solution before being left to dry out in the sun. Black lemon is a common ingredient in Iranian cooking and has a distinguishable taste. If you’re intrigued, too, you can buy a bag of them on Amazon. Supposedly they’re a sublime addition to stews and soups.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

If you can’t purchase Sparkling Botanicals’ black lemon flavor, you can use lemon sparkling water instead. Instead of calling it a Black Lemon and Basil, you can just dub it a Lemon and Basil. It won’t taste the same but it’ll still be good, especially if you’re able to get your hands on some lemon basil.

Lemon basil tastes exactly what it sounds like and it smells straight-up divine. This was my first time ever having it & that’s a crying shame. I put some of these cuttings in a bottle of water to propagate and they’re just about ready to transplant into a pot. Then I can have an endless supply of lemon basil at home. Well, if I keep it alive. If you need some tips on how to grow your own basil at home, check out this great article written by Okra In My Garden.

This Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail is an exotic drink with a clean taste; it's made with fresh lemon basil, black lemon sparkling tea, lemon juice, and simple syrup. This lemon basil & black lemon cocktail is perfect for lemon lovers who want to venture beyond the Lemon Drop.

If you’re looking for other exotic drinks, check out my Golden Pothos cocktail that also calls for cardamom simple syrup and turmeric, and my Rub of the Green that utilizes matcha simple syrup and cardamom bitters.

Have you ever had a black lemon cocktail or used lemon basil in a cocktail? Let me know in a comment below!

Ingredients for a Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz vodka, or gin
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 4-6 lemon basil leaves
  • 1/2 oz cardamom simple syrup
  • 3+ oz black lemon sparkling water

How to Make a Black Lemon and Basil Cocktail

Add the liquor, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, cardamom simple syrup, and lemon basil leaves to a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle the basil, making sure to only bruise the leaves and not obliterate them. Add ice and shake well for about 20 seconds. Strain into a highball or Collins glass that’s been filled with ice. Top off the rest of the glass with the black lemon sparkling water. Garnish with additional lemon basil leaves.

Black Lemon & Basil Cocktail

This cocktail has bright notes of lemon warmed up by black lemon sparkling water and cardamom syrup. It's refreshing with a subtle complexity that'll make you want to take sip after sip.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½-2 oz vodka, or gin
  • ½ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 4-6 leaves lemon basil
  • ½ oz cardamom simple syrup*
  • 3+ oz black lemon sparkling water

Instructions
 

  • Add the liquor, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, and lemon basil leaves to a cocktail shaker.
  • Gently muddle the basil, making sure to only bruise, not obliterate them.
  • Add ice and shake well for about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a highball or Collins glass that's been filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the glass with the black lemon sparkling water.
  • Garnish with additional lemon basil leaves and a lemon wheel.

Notes

*You can find the easy recipe for cardamom simple syrup here.
Keyword beet simple syrup, black lemon, gin, lemon basil, sparkling water, vodka
This cocktail has bright notes of lemon warmed up by black lemon sparkling water and cardamom syrup. It's refreshing with a subtle complexity that'll make you want to take sip after sip.
vodka

Spiked Cherry Limeade | An Easy 3 Ingredient Cocktail

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This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.

This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

I’ve been meaning to share this cocktail recipe for months now. Since I started up this blog, actually. It’s been a go-to of mine for over a year now. It’s definitely more of a summery drink, in my opinion. So I decided I would wait until May to post it. The months ticked by sooo slowly (thanks, pandemic).

But then BOOM summer was here and I got distracted by posting classic summer drinks like Piña Coladas and Mai Tais and Jungle Birds. This spiked cherry limeade recipe faded from memory.

One day I posted a quiz on an Instagram story, asking people what they thought my most popular recipe was. It was (and still is) my Cucumber Basil Refresher but nearly evvverryone clicked “Cherry Limeade Margarita“. Huh. That got my attention. Clearly people are fans of this flavor… OH MY GOSH I NEVER POSTED THE SPIKED CHERRY LIMEADE RECIPE I’VE BEEN WAITING MONTHS TO POST! Buhh what have I been doing with my life?!

Okay, that’s a tad dramatic but really. I was shocked to realized I’d never posted this recipe. So naturally I let several more weeks pass by until I’m finally sitting down to type it out now.

This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.

It’s honestly so easy that it feels a little silly to type out. Once you see it, you’ll think “Wow, why did I never think of that?”

Those are actually the same words that I said when my friend shared this recipe with me. It’s a brilliantly simple idea:

cherry limeade drink mix + liquor + Sprite = spiked cherry limeade

You can use this formula to make any manner of fruity boozy beverage– just change up your drink mix. Cherry limeade is an obvious winner, but I’ve done this with a cucumber melon drink mix, a watermelon drink mix, and several others. The options are almost limitless.

I like using the True Lime brand of drink mixes (you can find their black cherry limeade one here) because they don’t use artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners and their ingredients are also non-GMO. But I definitely have the Walmart brand ones in my pantry, too.

This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.

As for the liquor to use, take your pick of your favorite clear booze. Vodka is always a good choice because it melds nicely with all flavors. Tequila is great, too, especially if you’re gonna use a citrus-flavored drink mix. Rum’s a pretty safe bet. Gin can get tricky because some gins have a strong juniper taste that might not blend smoothly with some drink mix flavors. But you do you.

You can also use sparkling water in place of the Sprite if you’re looking to cut down on sugar and calories. I’ve found that Spindrift has the strongest lime flavor out of all the lime sparkling waters. It’s my fav and would be amazing in a spiked cherry limeade.

So. Go check your pantry for a drink mix. Pair it with your favorite clear liquor. Pour in something bubbly. Now you’ve got yourself an easy 3 ingredient boozy bev.

If you’re looking for another super easy (I’m talkin’ TWO ingredients) cocktail, check out my Blood Orange Tequila Fizz. I also have a whole post with 17 cocktail recipes that call for 4 ingredients or less. It’s one of my most popular blog posts, and for good reason. 17 cocktail recipes that truly anyone can whip up.

This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.

Ingredients for a Spiked Cherry Limeade

  • 1 packet of cherry limeade drink mix powder (I love this one)
  • 1 1/2 – 2 oz preferred clear liquor (I usually opt for vodka)
  • 4+ oz Sprite

How to Make a Spiked Cherry Limeade

Add ice to a highball or Collins glass. Pour in the drink mix powder, your preferred liquor, and Sprite. Stir until the drink mix is dissolved. Garnish with a lime wheel and a fun paper straw.

Spiked Cherry Limeade

A 3 ingredient recipe that's simple, refreshing, and easy to modify.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 packet cherry limeade drink mix powder
  • 1½-2 oz preferred clear liquor (I like vodka & tequila with this)
  • 4+ oz Sprite*

Instructions
 

  • Add ice to a highball or Collins glass.
  • Pour in half the drink mix powder, your preferred liquor, and Sprite.
  • Stir until the drink mix is dissolved.
  • Garnish with a lime wheel and a fun paper straw.

Notes

*You can use unsweetened lime sparkling water if you’re wanting to save calories and watch your sugar intake.
Keyword cherry limeade, gin, rum, Sprite, tequila, vodka
This spiked cherry limeade recipe is almost too easy. If you can stir a drink, you can make this cocktail. You might even have the 3 ingredients on hand already.