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Inspired by this motto today...   Pic from Chihuly gardens in Seattle, Washington.
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Bourbon Peach Lemonade

Bourbon Peach Lemonade

If this does not taste like summer in a glass, I do not know what does.

Just finished up a job at beautiful, exhausting, thrilling, draining Wolf Trap Opera.   One night, my costume designer and I went in search of a good meal.  Large format chains are thick on the ground in Tyson's Corner (where we are housed), but a good local restaurant is much harder to find.  We ended up a regional chain called Coastal Flats, and I discovered this drink (also a Kale Caesar that was to die for... also it is fun to say "Kale Caesar!" and do a Roman salute).

Anyway, I've been noodling around, trying to work out the secret.  Turns out... there isn't much a of secret.  When you are dealing with bourbon, peaches, and lemonade, it is hard to make a bad drink.  hahha.

Bourbon Peach Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

(Makes about 4 drinks)

• 2/3 cup Bourbon
• 1 quite large peach (or a couple of mediums, maybe 1.25cups)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Lemonade
• Make it from scratch.  Amazing recipe here. 
• OR if you are in a rush, store-bought "Simply Lemonade" is not too shabby. 

INSTRUCTIONS

EARLY

1. Slice up your peach, quite thin.  Put in a bowl with a lid. 
2. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Mix around.
3. Pour bourbon over it all. 
4. Put the lid on the bowl and shake it all up to mix well. 
5. Let sit for a couple of hours.  You want the peaches to put out a lot of juice AND get all bourbon-y delicious.   Occasionally shake up the bowl to move things around a bit. 

AT COCKTAIL TIME

1. Carefully open up that bowl, and put the bourbon peaches in your blender. 
2. Blend to your desired level of pulp.  I generally make mine pretty smooth, but I'm not bothered by a few bits of peach. 
3. In an Old-Fashioned glass (or a Mason jar!)  pour about 1/2 cup of the peach blend, then add about 1/2 cup of lemonade.   
4. Add ice and enjoy!! 

Spiced Boozy Cherries will light up your life

Prep the cherries

Every summer I see gorgeous fruits at the farmer's markets (and grocery!) and hear tales of my mom putting up jars and jars of gorgeous blackberry, peach and plum jams, and feel nothing but jealous. Without the proper equipment, and possibly too lazy to actually do the full "make jelly" routine, I still yearn to participate... and this year, I finally did it, with Boozy Cherries. 

Spiced Boozy Cherries

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of cherries, rinsed and pitted, stems removed 
• 2 cups of brown sugar 
• 2 cups of bourbon 
• 2 cinnamon sticks 
• 2 star anise 
• Some peppercorns 
• Some cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, sterilize your jars. You can do this by either running them through a very hot dishwasher setting OR submerging them in boiling water for 10mins or so. 
2. In a medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, bourbon and spices. 
3. Bring to a bubbling simmer and let simmer over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. 
4. Put your pitted cherries into the clean sterilized jars, leaving a bit of headroom at the top. 
5. Pour the bourbon syrup over the cherries and let macerate for 5 - 10 minutes or so. Make sure the cherries are completely submerged in the liquid. 
6. Seal the jars. 
• You can put them in the refrigerator (if you think they will be used up in the next month or so) 
• OR process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (if you'd like to keep the shelf-stable for several months)
7. Enjoy!

Spiced Boozy Cherries

Here is a great article on the hot water bath technique. 

And some general canning tips from The Kitchn. 

The perfect drink to make use of these cherries:  The Old Fashioned.

Check me out near Christmas time for a delicious holiday twist on the classic Old Fashioned!