Blueberry Mint Lemonade

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Blueberry Mint Lemonade

Rachel Artus | August 11, 2020

• prep time: 10 minutes
• cold storage: 2-3 days
• total time: 10 minutes
• servings: 1-2

Ingredients:

Juice from 1 large lemon
1/3 cup blueberries, plus a few for garnishing
2 fresh mint sprigs
Ice for shaking/stirring
2-3 Tablespoons white sugar or 2-3 teaspoons organic blue agave
Filtered water or seltzer water to taste

Garnish:
Fresh mint sprig
Frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. For quick sipping, shake or vigorously stir with ice in a large pitcher, cocktail shaker, or 40oz Hydrapeak bottle (if you’re like me and don’t have either.)
   
   
2. After shaking, pour the mixture over fresh ice and add water or seltzer as needed. Creating a more concentrated mix will allow your guests to add their preferred booze and then dilute it to their desired taste.
   
   
3. If you have time before your friends come over, stir or shake this mixture with a few ice cubes and stick it in the refrigerator for a few hours. To serve, pour the concentrated mixture over fresh ice and dilute with seltzer, filtered water, and/or liquor of your choosing. I’d recommend gin or vodka—but after 5 o’clock, anything goes!
   
   
4. Garnish with fresh mint and frozen blueberries.

Throwing it way back to a childhood classic here, but with a sweet and delicious twist. I love a good high-end lemonade, especially when I can make it at home for friends and family. Plus, if you find those vodka lemonades at the bar a little toooo sweet, this recipe will do the job because you can add as much or as little sweetener as you’d like.

So, you can make this recipe a few different ways. If you make it step-by-step according to the recipe above, you’ll create a concentrated mix. I prefer this method because I have one or two friends (wink wink) that would love to mix this with a little booze and seltzer water. This made-to-oder method is best for mixed drinks because using a stronger base and then adding water or seltzer (plus some booze) to it will prevent any loss of that delicious fruity flavor.

However, you can totally make a big batch of this to place in the middle of the picnic table for friends and family to pour from by adding 3-4 cups of water. And this summer cooler will go quick, so I’d recommend double or tripling this recipe for groups of 3 or more.

I like to make this and store it a few hours ahead of time because the longer this mix sits, the more flavorful and colorful it gets. Also, frozen blueberries will create a darker pink hue than if you made this with fresh blueberries. So, if you’re a crowd pleaser, go for the frozen fruit and ‘wow’ your guests with an all-natural sunset in a cup.

Looking to change this recipe up? Try switching blueberries for blackberries and exchange the mint for fresh basil. You may need to play with your sweetener a bit with these substitutions, but I promise this drink will be the star of the party.