With new “juiceries” popping up in every community, it is evident that the cold-pressed juice trend is stronger than ever. Consumers don’t blink an eye at a $12 drink of greenery or a $5 shot of olena. The benefits are many and the flavors that fresh local fruits and vegetables bring to the table are unbeatable.
I am no stranger to fresh juice cocktails, but I have become more experimental in my flavor combinations and the use of less-familiar fruits. In cocktails it is all about balancing the earthiness of the juice with the other components. Just as in any dish, equilibrium is key.
If you don’t have a juice extractor to make the combinations these drinks call for, a juice shop may be able to help. Whole Foods Market, for example, will customize a blend or will juice the produce you purchase for a $3 fee.
All of the freshness without the mess or cleanup.
Afternoon Delight
We enjoy watermelon and honeydew juice on a regular basis, so why wouldn’t cantaloupe make sense? It grows year ‘round, adds a beautiful floral note to drinks and tastes delicious. This cocktail replaces cane sugar with honey, which is of lower glycemic content. It also uses Cappelletti Vino Aperitivo Americano Rosso, a fun, wine-based amaro from the Alto Adige region of Italy. This liqueur is similar to Aperol with a touch of roundness from vanilla.
- 8 to 10 mint leaves
- 3/4 ounce honey syrup (5 parts honey in 1 part hot water)
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 3/4 ounce cantaloupe juice
- 1/2 ounce Cappelletti Vino Aperitivo Americano Rosso
- 1-1/2 ounces reposado tequila (like Fortaleza or Don Julio)
Press mint into honey and lime juice. Add cantaloupe juice and liquors with ice. Shake and strain over ice into bucket glass.
Garnish: Melon slices with mint sprig
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Crane Kick
The classic combination of cucumber and shiso is common in sushi or tsukemono, the two veggies sharing an affinity for one another. In cocktails the green, minty quality of shiso and the refreshing cucumber are truly complementary. A touch of yuzu makes for a layered citrus component as well.
This drink also uses a new liqueur that I am in love with, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, an Italian liqueur based on a lost recipe for an aperitivo from the Torino region. The liqueur adds a touch of citrus with floral notes, and a slight bitterness.
- 1/2 ounce cucumber-shiso juice (10-to-1 mix cucumbers to shiso)
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice
- 1/2 ounce rich simple syrup (2 parts sugar dissolved in 1 part water)
- 1 teaspoon yuzu juice
- 1/2 ounce Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
- 1/2 ounce (like Suntory Roku, Plymouth or Aviation)
- Club soda
Combine ingredients in highball glass. Fill with ice and top with club soda; stir.
Garnish: Thin cucumber slices floating in glass and a pair of shiso leaves
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Just Beet It
Beets have always been among my favorite ingredients. The depth and earthiness, along with the stunning color, are unrivaled. This cocktail is a play on a Pimms Cup, the official cocktail of Wimbledon (what the julep is to the Kentucky Derby).
This version is more intense, layered with honey and smoke from the mezcal, offset by the spiciness of ginger and acidity of lime. The incredibly delicious Pimm’s No. 1 then adds sweetness with complexity. The gin-based liqueur brims with botanicals, creating a super-balanced cocktail that turns mezcal into a refreshing drink.
- 1/2 ounce beet-ginger juice (10 parts beets to 1 part ginger)
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 ounce honey syrup (5 parts honey dissolved in 1 part hot water)
- 1 ounce Pimm’s No. 1
- 1 ounce mezcal (like Ilegal or El Silencio)
- Club soda
Combine juices, syrup and liquors in highball glass. Fill with ice and top with club soda; stir.
Garnish: Thin golden and red beet slices, mint sprig
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Cold-Pressed Mule
The Moscow Mule is nothing groundbreaking, but if you are looking for a way to enjoy the spicy, tart qualities of the mule without all the sugar that comes with ginger beer, making your own ginger syrup is the way to go. Juicing ginger keeps it super spicy and fresh, with all of that ginger bite that true mule lovers crave, and you can control the amount of sweetener used.
Ginger juice is one that might be better purchased from a juicery, as the fibrous ginger will wear out a home extractor. Make sure you use a high-quality club soda with strong carbonation, so it shows through in the cocktail.
- 3/4 ounce fresh ginger honey syrup (2 parts honey, 1 part cold-pressed ginger juice)
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- 2 ounces vodka (like Suntory Haku or Grey Goose)
- High-quality club soda (like Fever-Tree)
Combine juices and vodka in highball glass. Fill with ice and top with club soda; stir.
Garnish: Thin lime wheel and ginger slices on bar pick
Nutritional information unavailable.
Chandra Lucariello is director of mixology for Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits of Hawaii. Ingredient note: The liquors and liqueurs used in these recipes are widely available from Oahu liquor stores and some supermarkets.