LUMA

It is HOT here in NYC and anything that will cool us off is welcome! This week’s New York magazine features four recipes for summer cocktails from local restaurants, including this recipe for Elder Berry Smash from Little Italy’s Kenmare created by their “mixologist” Charlotte Voisey. Ms. Voisey says “there is something about the combination of berries, elderflower, and Champagne that screams summer to me. This has a great balanced taste.”

Recipe:

2 dozen blackberries (about 1 cup)
9 oz. St. Germain elderberry liqueur
Lime juice from 3 whole limes
8 oz. champagne
6 sprigs of mint

Instructions: Add blackberries to a pitcher, and crush with a muddler or immersion blender. Add St. Germain and lime juice, followed by crushed ice. Top with Champagne, garnish with mint sprigs. Stir just before pouring and serve in fluted glasses. Serves 6.

LUMA Note: A muddler is something bartenders use to mix drinks like mojitos and is similar to a pestle. (Could a mortar and pestle be used in a pinch? I don’t see why not.) An immersion blender is a hand or stick blender used to puree food in the container in which it is being prepared.

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I strive to eat and live as consciously healthy as possible without being overly rigid (I’ve done that!). This drink is visually appealing — the blackberries and elderberry add the rich color — and it just sounds yum. The ingredients are fairly healthy other than the alcohol (depending how you view that) and the sugar in the elderberry liqueur. You can learn to make your own; instructions here.

Enjoy!