Tag: bitters

mocktail

Tonic Rickey | An Effortless Alcohol-Free Cocktail Option You Can Make in 2 Minutes

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This Tonic Rickey mocktail is the perfect drink to make when you don't feel like imbibing but still want to sip on something special. It requires minimal effort, won't leave you hungover tomorrow, and you probably already have the ingredients at home. That's a win-win-win.

This Tonic Rickey mocktail is the perfect drink to make when you don’t feel like imbibing but still want to sip on something special. It requires minimal effort, won’t leave you hungover tomorrow, and you probably already have the ingredients at home. That’s a win-win-win.

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 originally saw this Tonic Rickey mocktail recipe on my friend Camille’s Instagram. I’ve followed Camille long enough to know that anything she posts is gonna be good. You can find her original blog post here.

The Tonic Rickey is Camille’s version of a booze-less Gin Rickey, a classic cocktail made using gin, lime, and club soda or seltzer. It’s very similar to a classic Gin & Tonic so if you’re a fan of one, you’ll probably like the other, too.

A quick FYI in case you’re unaware (as I was at one point in life): tonic water and club soda are not the same. And while you can sometimes get away with using one in place of the other, there is a major taste difference between the two. I broke down the differences between all the clear sparkling liquids out there in my Americano cocktail post, but here’s a brief overview:

  • Club soda = water infused with carbon dioxide and minerals like salt
  • Tonic water = carbonated water with minerals and also quinine, a bitter essence derived from the cinchona tree; it’s got a distinct taste
  • Seltzer = carbonated water that usually does not contain any minerals
  • Sparkling mineral water = typically naturally carbonated and has naturally-present minerals
  • Sparkling water = carbonated water that can be flavored and sometimes sweetened

In my opinion, club soda, seltzer, mineral water, and sparkling water can all be used interchangeably. Tonic stands apart from them.

This Tonic Rickey mocktail is the perfect drink to make when you don't feel like imbibing but still want to sip on something special. It requires minimal effort, won't leave you hungover tomorrow, and you probably already have the ingredients at home. That's a win-win-win.

I really like Camille’s use of both club soda and tonic water. The reason being is that after the countless Gin & Tonic’s I’ve consumed over the years, my tastebuds now equate the taste of tonic with the taste of gin. And since this recipe is alcohol-free, it gives the drink some needed kick and flair.

Perhaps the best thing about this mocktail recipe is that if you typically keep a semi-well-stocked bar, you’ll always have the ingredients on hand. If you’re new to home bartending and what to know that products I recommend keeping on hand at all times, check out my Cocktails 101 article.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you could easily add some extra pizazz to it by adding a flavored simple syrup or a different variety of bitters. I think using lavender simple syrup with cardamom bitters would make for a killer Lavender & Cardamom Tonic Rickey.

If you make this Tonic Rickey mocktail recipe, be sure to tag both me (@girlandtonic_) and Camille (@thecocktailsnob_)!

Ingredients for a Tonic Rickey Mocktail

  • 1/2 oz fresh, fresh, fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup (click here to learn how to make your own)
  • 1 1/2 oz tonic water
  • 1 1/2 oz seltzer or club soda
  • 3 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters

How to Make a Tonic Rickey Mocktail

Fill a Collins or highball glass allllll the way up with ice. Add the freshly-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. Stir with a bar spoon. Pour in the tonic water and club soda, stirring gently to combine. Add the bitters to the top of the glass. You can choose to stir them in or let them settle on their own in the drink. Garnish with a lime wheel or fresh herb.

Tonic Rickey Mocktail

This Tonic Rickey mocktail is the perfect drink to make when you don't feel like imbibing but still want to sip on something special. It requires minimal effort, won't leave you hungover tomorrow, and you probably already have the ingredients at home.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Fill a Collins or highball glass all the way up with ice.
  • Add the freshly-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. Stir with a bar spoon.
  • Pour in the tonic water and club soda, stirring gently to combine.
  • Add the bitters to the top of the glass. You can choose to stir them in or let them settle on their own in the drink.
  • Garnish with a lime wheel or fresh herb.

Notes

*To learn how to make your own simple syrup (it’s SO easy, I promise!), click here. 
Keyword angostura bitters, bitters, club soda, lime, lime juice, mocktail, simple syrup, tonic, tonic rickey
This Tonic Rickey mocktail is the perfect drink to make when you don't feel like imbibing but still want to sip on something special. It requires minimal effort, won't leave you hungover tomorrow, and you probably already have the ingredients at home. That's a win-win-win.
gin

The Stork Club | A Simple 5 Ingredient Prohibition Era Citrus and Gin Cocktail

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The Stork Club is Prohibition-era classic cocktail made with citrus and gin. It's named after the infamous New York nightclub. I modified a couple of ingredients to make it alcohol-free which I included in the notes.

The Stork Club is a citrus and gin Prohibition-era cocktail named after the infamous New York nightclub. I modified a couple of ingredients to fit my current dietary restrictions but my altered version is still a great tribute to this Prohibition classic.

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 keeping a secret. For over 3 months now. But it’s time to spill the beans. I’m pregnant! My growing collection of mocktail recipes has raised a few eyebrows and now you know why. I think it goes without saying that you can expect a few more months worth of them. But don’t worry, I will always be giving you ideas for how to make my booze-free recipes booze-full. And I’ll also be posting many classic and modern craft cocktails, thanks to the new zero-proof spirit alternatives I’ve added to my bar cart.

Today’s cocktail recipe is The Stork Club. Quite apropos for a pregnancy announcement post, eh? I’ve got to thank my IG friend Risa of @risajamesphotography for the brilliant idea. The Stork Club is both a place and a drink. So we’ll talk about both.

The Stork Club is Prohibition-era classic cocktail made with citrus and gin. It's named after the infamous New York nightclub. I modified a couple of ingredients to make it alcohol-free which I included in the notes.

The Stork Club was the epitome of class, fame, and money. It was built by Sherman Billingsley and was open from 1929-1965, with a brief closure and relocation during 1931 after being raided by Prohibition agents. The Stork Club was most known for its many celebrity patrons, such as Ernest Hemingway, Walter Wenchell, the Roosevelt family, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the Kennedy family, Bing Cosby, Judy Garland… I think you get the picture. It was the place to be.

It’s signature drink was probably enjoyed by most of those celebrities. The traditional Stork Club recipe utilized Old Tom Gin, a sweetened gin that’s harder to find these days, and orange juice. Gin was arguably the most popular spirit during the Prohibition era due to the fact that it requires no aging and can be produced rather quickly by bootleggers. However, this fast-tracked spirit, sometimes referred to as bathtub gin, varied widely in quality and taste. Orange juice did a great job of covering these wrongs.

When I was doing some research for this recipe, I was surprised to see that many recipes differed from one another. Some called for more orange juice, some called for less gin. As I mentioned earlier, I used a zero-proof gin alternative for my particular Stork Club recipe and subbed in orange cordial for Cointreau/orange liqueur. You may want to add more orange juice if you prefer sweeter drinks or increase the lime juice if you like a little more tartness.

The Stork Club is Prohibition-era classic cocktail made with citrus and gin. It's named after the infamous New York nightclub. I modified a couple of ingredients to make it alcohol-free which I included in the notes.

If you make The Stork Club, be sure to tag me on Instagram and comment below. Seeing your creations always makes my day!

Ingredients for The Stork Club

  • 1 1/2 oz gin*
  • 1/2 oz orange liqueur**
  • 3/4 oz fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 oz lime juice
  • dash of Angostura bitters

*since I’m preggo, I used a zero-proof gin alternative. There are several out there, but you can check on my Instagram to see which brand I use & love.

**again, pregnancy means I can’t use orange liqueur so I made an orange cordial instead. It makes the drink a tad sweeter than Cointreau or another orange liqueur would so you can use less if you’re going the alcohol-free route with me.

How to Make The Stork Club Cocktail

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist. Or, you know, a Mardi Gras king cake baby if you’re trying to announce to the internet that you’re pregnant.

The Stork Club

The Stork Club is Prohibition-era classic made with citrus and gin. It's named after the infamous New York nightclub. I modified a couple of ingredients to make it alcohol-free which I included in the notes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz gin*
  • ½ oz orange liqueur**
  • ¾ oz freshly-squeezed orange juice
  • ¼ oz fresh lime juice
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters

Instructions
 

Notes

*Since I’m pregnant, I used a zero-proof gin alternative. There are several out there, but you can check on my Instagram to see which brand I use & love.
**Again, pregnancy means I can’t use orange liqueur so I made an orange cordial instead. It makes the drink a tad sweeter than Cointreau or another orange liqueur would so you can use less if you’re going the alcohol-free route with me.
Keyword angostura bitters, blood orange juice, gin, lime juice, orange liqueur, stork club cocktail
rum

Rum Old Fashioned | A 4 Ingredient Classic Cocktail Made with Decadent Demerara Sugar

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This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It’s a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

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! 

The Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail and it’s probably surprising that I haven’t posted the recipe here on Girl & Tonic yet. It’s one of those recipes that I have a hard time sitting down to write out because I have so many other recipe ideas swirling around in my head. I’m sure I’ll write it out one day. But for today, we’re gonna be talking about it’s warm & friendly cousin: the Rum Old Fashioned.

As with any cocktail that is spirit-forward, the quality of your rum here will make or break the drink. Normally, I’m all for penny-pinching. I don’t think you have to buy top-shelf alcohol to make a great cocktail. But save your lower-end rums for drinks that use ingredients with stronger flavor profiles, like a Jungle Bird, a Sea Monster, or a Dark & Stormy.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

For this Rum Old Fashioned, you’re gonna want to use that nice bottle of golden, aged rum you’ve had stashed away for a while. Or maybe this will be the perfect excuse for you to splurge a little on a good-quality rum at the liquor store. I personally love having a range of spirits on hand for everyday drinks or special occasions.

Now, a traditional Old Fashioned calls for a sugar cube. You can definitely use a sugar cube in a Rum Old Fashioned. However, since we’re going the rum route, it feels too natural to use Demerara sugar. You can make it into a Demerara simple syrup like I did or you can use a teaspoon of it.

If you make the Demerara syrup, you’ll be able to use it in a lot of other cocktails like the classic Mai Tai or the aforementioned Jungle Bird. It’s also incredible in coffee. Demerara sugar has got a great toffee taste to it. You can sub in turbinado sugar, too.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

Sometimes it’s tempting to skip the garnish on a cocktail. I’m guilty of it myself. But don’t skip the orange peel in this one. It adds just the right amount of orange essence without overpowering the drink.

It’s also tempting to forego adding bitters to a cocktail, After all, so many recipes just call for 1-3 dashes or drops of them. They make a big difference in any drink, but especially in this one. My friend refers to bitters as “seasoning for cocktails” and she’s right. You *can* skip bitters in a recipe… but it’s like going without seasoning on a chicken breast or french fries. You could… but why?

Plus, a bottle of bitters is inexpensive will last you for years and years. They’re a worthy investment for any home bartender. You can also experiment with other flavors of bitters such as orange bitters, cardamom bitters (I love!), and chocolate bitters. You could even make a Rum Old Fashioned with a couple dashes of chocolate bitters. Mm. Now that sounds nice.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

This is also a cocktail that’s made without a cocktail shaker. Traditionally, cocktails that are spirit-forward are mixed and chilled by stirring them in a mixing glass and then straining them into your glass of choice. Here is a really pretty cocktail mixing glass I’ve had my eye on for a while. You can always just use the cup portion of your cocktail shaker. Or just make the drink right in the glass. I won’t tell anyone.

So, what do you prefer: a Rum Old Fashioned or the classic whiskey Old Fashioned? I’d love to hear your preference in the comments!

Ingredients for a Rum Old Fashioned

  • 1 1/2 oz aged rum (good quality)
  • 1/4 oz Demerara syrup or sugar
  • 3-4 dashes of aromatic bitters
  • swatch of orange peel

How to Make a Rum Old Fashioned

Add the rum, Demerara sugar or syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice. Stir well to combine and chill. Strain it over a large ice cube in a lowball glass. Twist the orange peel over the drink in order to release the oils. Place the orange peel in the drink. Enjoy.

Rum Old Fashioned

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • mixing glass

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz aged rum
  • ¼ oz Demerara syrup*
  • 3-4 dashes aromatic bitters
  • 1 orange peel

Instructions
 

  • Add the rum, Demerara sugar or syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
  • Stir well to combine and chill.
  • Strain it over a large ice cube in a lowball glass.
  • Twist the orange peel over the drink in order to release the oils. Place the orange peel in the drink. Enjoy.

Notes

*Here’s a super simple recipe for Demerara syrup. Seriously. It’s 2 ingredients and one of them is water.
Keyword aged rum, angostura bitters, bitters, demerara sugar, demerara syrup, orange blossom water, orange peel, rum, rum old fashioned, sugar
The Rum Old Fashioned - Pin for Pinterest - A Classic Cocktail That's Perfect for Fall
brandy

Japanese Cocktail | A Classic Cocktail That’s Been Around For 160 Years

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Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

The Japanese Cocktail is a famous classic that has been around since the 1800s. The original recipe, written down in Jerry Thomas’ book How To Mix Drinks in 1862, lists cognac, orgeat, and bitters as the 3 ingredients. Later renditions have added lime juice or water but there’s a reason the original recipe has stood the test of time.

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!

Despite being named the Japanese Cocktail, this drink’s ingredients lean more French than anything else. Thomas, the original creator of the Japanese Cocktail, was supposedly inspired by the first Japanese delegation to the United States who were staying at a hotel near his bar in 1860.

Known as one of the original kings of cocktails, Jerry Thomas enjoyed playing with ingredients behind the bar. The Japanese Cocktail is Thomas’ riff on an Old Fashioned. The cognac* used in place of whiskey adds a fruity flavor, while the orgeat lends a nutty, fuller mouthfeel than the traditional sugar cube. Both recipes include bitters, a small but powerful ingredient that has an uncanny ability to blend flavors seamlessly. The end result is a simple yet indulgent libation.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

You might be able to tell that I used homemade orgeat in this recipe because the color of my cocktail is a lot more opaque than it typically is. You definitely don’t have to make your own, though. Small Hands makes a great orgeat and thanks to Amazon, you can have it at your doorstep in a couple days. If you do want to try making it yourself, the recipe post I linked to has a from-scratch version and a cheater’s version.

Thomas originally served his Japanese Cocktail in a lowball glass with an ice cube to help his drink further resemble an Old Fashioned. These days, it’s customary to serve it “up” in a coupe glass.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

If you want to know how to make a Japanese Cocktail the traditional way, you can see the original recipe down below. As I mentioned earlier, there are a few different renditions that have surfaced in recent years. You can add 1/2 ounce of chilled water to drink to dilute it a bit (since it’s pretty strong) or you can add 1/2 ounce of lime juice to the drink to brighten it up. I’ve yet to try it with lime juice or water but I plan on doing so soon since I need to use up my orgeat pretty soon. Let me know how you end up making this one.

*Quick note about cognac: I’ve discussed in another brandy cocktail post that cognac and brandy are one and the same. Similar to France’s claim on the word “chardonnay”, cognac can only be called cognac if it hails from the Cognac region of France. Otherwise, it’s brandy.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

Ingredients for a Japanese Cocktail

How To Make A Japanese Cocktail

Add all three ingredients to a cocktail shaker or cocktail glass filled with ice. Stir to incorporate the ingredients and to chill the ingredients (cocktail recipes without citrus are never shaken). Strain into a coupe glass. Express the lemon peel over the top of the glass before and placing it in the glass.

Japanese Cocktail

The Japanese Cocktail is a 3-ingredient classic cocktail that's been around since the 1800s.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz cognac or brandy
  • ½ oz orgeat*
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 lemon peel, to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add all three ingredients to a cocktail shaker or cocktail glass filled with ice.
  • Stir to incorporate the ingredients and to chill the ingredients (cocktail recipes without citrus are never shaken).
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Express the lemon peel over the top of the glass before placing it into the glass.

Notes

*Here are two recipes for homemade orgeat or you can buy some on Amazon here.
Keyword angostura bitters, brandy, orgeat

Looking for another recipe to use orgeat in? Check out the Mai Tai. The Mai Tai is perhaps the most iconic cocktail that uses orgeat as an ingredient.

vodka

Desert Elixir | An Earthy & Refreshing Coconut Water Cocktail for Death Valley Nails

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The Desert Elixir is an earthy and refreshing coconut water cocktail created in collaboration by Girl & Tonic for Death Valley Nails. Drink it tart or make it sweet by adding a pinch or two of sugar.

I get excited about every cocktail recipe I post but this coconut water cocktail is extra special to me. The Desert Elixir is a cocktail I created in collaboration with Death Valley Nails. When they reached out to me a few weeks back and asked if I would be interested in working with them, I actually squealed with delight. And maybe stomped my feet a few times. And probably jumped, too.

Death Valley Nails is my FAVORITE nail polish brand ever. Eh-var. I mean, before I tried DVN, I never felt particularly loyal to a brand of nail polish. If I liked the color, I bought it. Cool.

But y’all… y’all. This company will change the way you ~feel~ about nail polish. Besides the fact that their polish is the highest-quality nail polish I’ve ever used (I’ll rant about that later), it’s ten-free (!), cruelty-free, nontoxic, mixed by hand, and most is vegan. They just launched an amazing new line called Dust to Dust and some of those polishes utilize unused cattle bones from a farm. While these products are not vegan, they bring great worth and honor to the parts of an animal that are typically discarded after processing.

Alright, now for my rant. Saddle up. I am definitely not the kind of girl that goes to a salon for a manicure. However, I love to have my nails painted. But do you know the worst part about painting your nails? WHEN THEY CHIP TWO DAYS LATER. I’ve bought a lot of nail polish over the years, always hopeful that this will be the brand that lasts more than 36 hours. I’ve bought OPI, Essie, and other expensive options. I kept them because I assumed they were the best out there on the market.

Enter DVN. My friend Jenn actually started the company a little over a year ago. I’ve known her for years and she’s an artist and a creative through and through. She’s also incredibly kind and genuine. [Fun side note: The first time I ever had a Manhattan was with her at a bar in downtown Houston called Poison Girl.] When I heard that she had started a nail polish company, I was really interested. I bought my first bottle almost a year ago but truthfully, I was mostly doing it to be supportive of a friend. I already have low expectations for nail polish and seeing that it was 10-free and nontoxic had me skeptical.

I try to be eco-conscious and naturally-minded when it comes to products, but oftentimes natural and environmentally-friendly beauty products are sub-par. They just can’t perform as well as their chemical-laden competition. But Death Valley Nails has changed that narrative.

They. don’t. chip. Nope. They don’t. I’ll never forget the first time I wore it– i went 13 days before I got my first chip. WITHOUT a topcoat. Uh-huh. I finally took it off around 15 or 16 days but only because my nails were growing out. Otherwise, I would’ve been happy to leave it on even longer. I’ll also note that I’m rough on my nails. I use them as built-in Swiss army knives and I don’t wear gloves when I garden or do dishes. And they stay in pristine condition for well over a week every. time.

AND the polish stays glossy. The topcoat is incredible, but the polishes stay glossy on their own, too. It also dries and sets much faster than my other polishes. I mean, what kind of sorcery is this stuff? I’m truly amazed and will tell the world about DVN until forever.

Here are my current color crushes:

Gator’s Tongue

Burnt Sienna (wearing this now!)

High Plains

Traveller

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Vegasville

Ouzle– a tri-thermal that changes color!

Death Valley Nails also makes candles. They come in vessels that are handcrafted using cement and natural pigments and can be used long after the candle is gone. How awesome is that? Zero-waste and more bang for your buck. The candles are also made with 100% soy wax. I’ve purchased many polishes from DVN but I haven’t bought a candle yet. I reeeally want to buy one! The Orange Blossom + Honey and the Cardamom + Cedar are particularly calling my name. You pick your vessel first and then your scent. You can browse the scent options here.

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to make a Death Valley purchase, we can talk about the collab. When you get your polish (or candle) in the mail, you’ll also get one of these beautiful postcards designed by Houston-based artist Sarah Beth Baca:

The idea was to make it easier for us to connect to one another in these strange and socially-isolated times. I love the idea of sending this Desert Elixir recipe to a friend so you can both share a drink together. We plan on having one postcard for each season.

When Death Valley Nails asked me to create a cocktail for this summer, I knew it had to be one that would appeal to the masses (not too sweet) and would be easy to make (ingredients can be found at all grocery stores). I also wanted to make sure it was versatile and could be made with a variety of liquors– not everyone keeps a well-stocked liquor cabinet!

So, here is the Desert Elixir, the refreshing and earthy coconut water cocktail. I hope it keeps you and a friend cool this summer. ❤︎

The Desert Elixir is an earthy and refreshing coconut water cocktail created in collaboration by Girl & Tonic for Death Valley Nails. Drink it tart or make it sweet by adding a pinch or two of sugar.

Ingredients for the Desert Elixir

  • 2 oz vodka or gin or rum
  • 3/4 oz freshly-squeezed lime juice
  • 6-8 mint leaves
  • 1/8 teaspoon sugar or 1/4 oz simple syrup– optional
  • 1+ oz sparkling coconut water (if you can find it with lime, get it!)
  • 1-2 dashes of Angostura bitters- optional

How to Make the Desert Elixir

Add the mint leaves and the vodka to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the leaves until they’re bruised. Add in ice, the lime juice, and the bitters. Shake well, about 30 seconds. This will further infuse the mint. Strain into a lowball glass that’s filled with ice. Top off the rest of the glass with the sparkling coconut water.

The Desert Elixir is an earthy and refreshing coconut water cocktail created in collaboration by Girl & Tonic for Death Valley Nails. Drink it tart or make it sweet by adding a pinch or two of sugar.

Desert Elixir

The Desert Elixir is a refreshing coconut water cocktail made in collaboration with Death Valley Nails and Sarah Beth Baca.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz vodka or gin or rum
  • 3/4 oz lime juice
  • 6-8 mint leaves
  • 1+ oz sparkling coconut water
  • 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)
  • ⅛ teaspoon sugar (or 1/4 oz simple syrup) (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Add the mint leaves, the vodka, and the sugar* to a cocktail shaker.
  • Muddle the leaves until they're bruised.
  • Add in ice, the lime juice, and the bitters.
  • Shake well, about 30 seconds.
  • Strain into a lowball glass that's filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the glass with the sparkling coconut water.
  • Garnish with a sprig of mint and a lime slice.

Notes

*Coconut water is slightly sweet to begin with. If you prefer sweet cocktails over tart ones, add 1/8 teaspoon of sugar (or 1/4 oz of simple syrup).
If you can find sparkling coconut water with lime, it takes this cocktail up a notch!
Keyword Desert Elixir, lime, mint, sparkling coconut water

Love the mint in this Desert Elixir? Check out the Campari To-Kill-Ya and the South Side.