We rarely have soda on hand but nearly always (how’s that for dichotomy?) have a bottle of juice for emergency cocktail needs.  We have our priorities.

It was a relatively warm Saturday, I was in the mood for wine but wanted a little something extra and I thought of sangria.  Thinking I was foiled by no club or fizzy anything, I stumbled upon the organic apple juice in the cupboard.

With a slosh of this and a dash of that, Sangria Cha Cha Cha was born.  Of course I didn’t measure anything so amounts below are approximations.  Most citrus and berries will do and the end result is pretty as a picture – and strong as an ox.  The pitcher and glass look really good next to a pineapple if you happen to have one on hand.

1 bottle of red wine
Gin – 1/3 c
Cointreau – 1 c
Brandy – 1/3 c
Apple Juice – 2 c
1 orange sliced
1 orange juiced
1 lime (1/2 sliced, 1/2 juiced)
1 lemon (1/2 sliced, 1/2 juiced)
Extra wedges for garnish

Toss everything into a pitcher, chill for at least 3-4 hours and pour over ice.

Have rhubarb but sick of crisp and jam? Enjoy cocktails? Consider whipping up a batch of rhubarb simple syrup and make yourself a brilliant summer drink.  Careful though, you can’t taste the liquor so they can be a tad dangerous.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup
2 c chopped rhubarb
1 c sugar
1 c water

Combine ingredients in small saucepan, stir and cook of med-low heat for approximately 10 min before turning to low for another 20.  Turn off heat and allow mixture to sit until cool.  Strain liquid into a glass jar.

Mix the martinis to your liking with a splash of lime.  I filled my shaker with ice, added around 3/4 c syrup, filled her to just below the rim with vodka, squeezed in half a lime and garnished with the lime wedges you see in the poor quality photo above.

Here is my friend Wendy enjoying one on our deck.

A libation that’s bound to bring on merriment.  Be careful with this stuff kids.  You won’t even taste the alcohol.  Adults only.

4 cups chilled cranberry juice
2 cups chilled orange juice
2 cups vodka
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix in a large pitcher and serve over ice.

I wanted to do something special for a party we recently hosted and I read something about Infused Vodka. Okay, I cannot tell a lie.  I read it in O and they referenced the website Infused-vodka.com which gives an excellent tutorial.

Infused Vodka = Pollee’s new cocktail BFF.

I bought a couple spigot jars at Target (although large Ball or Mason jars would work like a charm) and set out to make lemon and blueberry infused vodkas.

I did some reconnaissance and found that one needn’t buy top shelf vodka.  SKYY was the resounding mid-price winner according to several sites.  My infused vodka rested for 2 weeks at room temperature away from light.  It was delightful and many a drink recipe was created that night.  More on those recipes later.

Blueberry Infused Vodka
5 bags frozen blueberries
2 1.75 L SKYY
Nick each berry, pour the vodka over the fruit and allow it to sit.  Nicking each berry allows the fusion to take hold and turns the vodka a rich, purple color.

Lemon Infused Vodka
15-20 lemons
2 1.75 L SKYY
Slice lemons
Pour vodka over the sliced lemons and let it rest.