Sad? Bored? Overworked? Having an existential crisis? Just fix yourself a delicious cocktail, and you will forget about it in no time. Beat the heat with fresh cocktails and mocktails, infused with ripe fruits, to make your summer a bit cooler. Make your own fruity cocktails and mocktails, and have a lit weekend at home.
Related: Spice up your weekend: Fun whisky cocktails with a desi twist
1. Vodka Strawberry Lemonade
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Ingredients:
500 gms strawberries
3/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups of water
1 cup of vodka
5-10 mint leaves
Ice cubes
Method:
Add the strawberries and mint leaves to a grinder, and mix well. You can also use a blender to make a fine puree. Then add the puree (strained or not strained) to a pitcher along with the lemon juice, sugar, water, and vodka.
Mix well till the sugar dissolves, and top with some slices of lemon and strawberries. Add ice, and serve chilled.
2. Peach Bellini
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Ingredients:
500 gms frozen peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 bottle Prosecco or any other sparkling white wine
1 cup peach nectar/juice
1 peach peeled, pitted and sliced for garnish
Method:
Put the frozen peaches into a grinder with the Prosecco or any other sparkling white wine, and mix well. You can also use a blender to get a slushie-like consistency. Pour it in champagne flutes or mason jars, and add some peach juice to it.
Top it with peach slices and mint (optional), and serve right away.
3. Mango and Orange Punch
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Related: Doorstep delivery in Delhi: 9 vendors which will deliver fruits and fresh produce to your home
Ingredients:
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup of orange juice
2 cups soda or sparkling water
Ice cubes
Sugar, to taste
Method:
Put the sliced mango with orange juice, ice cubes, and sparkling water into a grinder, or use a blender to mix everything well.
Add sugar and mix well. Pour in mason jars, and serve right away!
4. Apple and Elderflower with Gin
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Ingredients:
1 litre apple juice
250 ml Gin
200 ml elderflower syrup
1 apple, peeled and sliced
Ice cubes
Method:
Take a jar, add apple juice, elderflower syrup, and gin, and mix well. Add ice cubes, stir, and top it off with some apple slices.
Serve right away.
5. Sparkling Cherry Lemonade
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Ingredients:
250 ml sparkling water or soda
A handful of cherries, de-seeded
2/3 cup cherry juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
4-5 lemon slices
Method:
Mix sparkling water or soda with cherry juice, lemon juice, and sugar. Blend it, and keep in the freezer to chill.
Serve with crushed ice, and top it with cherries and lemon slices.
6. Cucumber Squash
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Ingredients:
1 whole cucumber
4-5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 can of sprite
100 gms mint leaves
4-5 tsp sugar syrup
Black salt, to taste
Ice cubes
Method:
Blend together cucumber, lemon juice, sugar syrup, mint leaves, ice cubes, and black salt. Once everything is blended and comes to a smooth consistency, add sprite, and mix well.
Serve chilled, and garnish with thin cucumber or lemon slices.
7. Apple Fizz
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Ingredients:
1 bottle of apple juice (chilled)
1/4th cup finely chopped apples (peeled or unpeeled)
1 bottle of soda
A handful of chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp honey
Method:
Mix apple juice, soda, and honey together in a jar. Crush the mint leaves and add them directly to the glasses. Pour the mixture into the glasses, and add the finely chopped apples and give it a final stir.
Serve immediately.
8. Apple, Pear and White Wine Vodka
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Ingredients:
2 green apples, roughly chopped
1 ripe pear, roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 bottle white wine
12 shots of vodka
2 tbsp sugar syrup
A handful of basil leaves
5-6 lemon slices for garnish
Method:
Add the apples, pear, lemon juice, white wine, and sugar syrup in a grinder and blend them well. Then add vodka and give it a nice stir.
Get the glasses ready with lemon slices in them and pour the mixture into each. Top with basil leaves and serve chilled.
9. Fresh Fruit Mock Sangria
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Ingredients:
1 lemon, sliced thinly with peel
1/2 lime, sliced thinly with peel
1 orange, sliced thinly with peel
5-6 strawberries, chopped
1 apple, sliced thinly with peel
1/2 pineapple, sliced thinly
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cups of sparkling water or soda
2 cups of cranberry juice
1 cup of grape juice (optional)
Method:
Add all the fruits to a jar, and pour cranberry and grape juice on top. Keep the jar in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to let the flavour of the fruits seep into the juice.
Once chilled, add sparkling water or soda, and serve immediately.
10. Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
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Ingredients:
500 gms strawberries
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
100 ml white rum
Ice cubes
2-3 lemon slices for garnish
1-2 strawberries, thinly sliced for garnish
Method:
Blend the strawberries to make a fine puree. Then strain the puree through a sieve to remove maximum seeds. Next, add rum, lemon juice, and ice cubes, and blend again till you get a nice consistency.
Pour in glasses and top it with lemon and strawberry slices, and serve immediately.
Summers can be quite harsh, and it is important to look after yourself, whether it’s by fixing yourself a cocktail or looking after your skin. Here are some products you can try to get the perfect summer glow.
