Cool off this summer with a Blackberry n Lemon infused Cooler in a Ginger Syrup… Flavorful, Refreshing & Light, Perfect to keep the heat at bay…!
It’s Hot…really hot in St. Louis. Summer is at its peak, rocking the 100s! Every now and then you hear about heat advisories n heat waves in the news. At this temperature if you plan to do a barbeque or an outdoor summer party, you might want to really think about a good refreshment, something which both kids and adults enjoy equally! And if it’s made with berries, I’m sure it’s going to be a winner…
I love to make fresh fruit drinks, especially with berries. The bright colors are so eye catching and appeasing that you know something way cool is coming up! During my early school days in India, the only colorful drinks we had were either soft drinks or squash, both made artificially. Our go-to refreshments were Coconut Water, Lime Soda, and Kulukki Sherbet. Coconut being abundant in my home town, we had no dearth of coconut water which is an evergreen and the healthiest drink of them all. After drinking all the water from the coconut, we used to hand it back to the seller and have him cut it open to then savor the ooey gooey tender flesh. In fact, he used to make a natural spoon out of the husk for us to eat it without dirtying our hands!
Lime soda was preferred more during the summers; lime squeezed into a chilled soda with some salt and sugar. There is no natural energy booster better than a fresh lime soda; one drink and you are all pumped up to get onto your next task of the day.
Talking about Kulukki Sherbet, that was a drink found only in certain towns during those days but now has gained a lot of ground. Kulukki means ‘shaken’ in Malayalam, and the drink was named so after how it was made. It’s a mix of lime juice, sugar syrup, soda, basil seeds, and a few other spices, all shaken vigorously until well mixed and frothy… n that was my Favorite! I remember those days when my brother used to take me to the beach in the evenings and on our way back home we used to stop at the juice stalls in awe to see the art of making these sherbets. The stalls were so crowded in the evenings with people back from a tired sunny day’s work, all looking for some refreshments. The server used to shake the sherbet for minutes and I used to wonder how they kept on doing it all day without feeling tired? But every drop of that drink was worth their effort…!
Anyways let’s get back to my drink of the day… have you tried making ginger syrup? This was the first time I tried one and it was simple, it’s just sugar syrup with ginger infused. So here I have for you today, a light fruit drink with blackberries and YES, it’s non-alcoholic. To prepare this drink, simply muddle blackberries with lemon and mint leaves, stir in the ginger syrup and top with soda. It’s Light, Refreshing and soo Delicious, Cheers!
Enjoy…!
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- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 inch ginger (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 10-12 blackberries
- 8-10 fresh mint leaves (plus for garnish)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup ginger syrup
- Ice cubes
- ½ cup water
- Club soda/carbonated water
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To make the ginger syrup, combine water, ginger and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring it to boil. Allow it to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the flame and keep the syrup aside to cool.
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Muddle blackberries with mint leaves until properly mashed together. Add the ginger syrup to the mix and squeeze the juice of a lemon, stir well. Strain and pour to the serving glasses with ice cubes.
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Top with club soda. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and blackberries.
Not gonna lie, I will probably add gin to this, but a beautiful drink!
I’m sure that’s gonna be a hit. Thank You Ben…!!