Arizona Sunset is a fun and fruity, non-alcoholic drink, perfect for warmer weather – it’s reminiscent of Arizona’s awesomely beautiful sunsets! Since there is no alcohol, it’s great for adults and kids!






This drink is an ode to the gorgeous weather we've been having here in Arizona. Arizona in February is warm, sunny, and beautiful. And you just can't beat an Arizona sunset, which is what this drink is named for!

I love to drink Arizona Sunsets because they're easy to make, absolutely delicious, and non-alcoholic. The orange juice makes it perfect for brunches, bridal showers, and any other morning event. And since it's non-alcoholic, it's also great for baby showers, any event with children, or just any time you want to fancy up your dinner table!



PREPARATION


1. Put a splash of grenadine at the bottom of your cup.
2. Add ice to your cup.

3. Mix orange juice and lemon-lime soda together in a separate container. I personally like a little more soda than orange juice to make it taste nice and bubbly, but you can experiment to find your preference. The purest form of this drink has a 50/50 orange juice to soda ratio.

4. Pour the juice mixture from step 3 into the top of the drink. I like to pour it slowly on the side of the glass, or onto an ice cube, so the layers don't mix together too much.

5. Garnish and enjoy immediately! Take pictures when it's separated and gorgeous, then stir with a straw to enjoy all the flavors at once.



INGREDIENTS

Orange juice
Lemon-lime soda
Ice
Grenadine (red syrup found in the cocktail & wine aisle of your grocery store)
Optional: maraschino cherries, fresh raspberries, or orange slices for garnish




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These refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails are perfect for designated drivers this summer. You may not even miss the booze. Follow the recipes below an enjoy, these are my top 10 






Pink Grapefruit Cooler


Grapefruit juice, refreshing and tart, is making a come-back in cocktails today, so here is one with the sweeter succulence and rosy hue of the pink variety


INGREDIENTS

80ml juice from a ripe pink grapefruit
Juice of half a lemon
40ml sugar syrup (made with equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar is dissolved then cooled)
Cold sparkling or soda water
2 x mint sprigs
Crushed ice
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METHOD

Pour the sugar syrup into a tumbler and add one mint sprig, stirring and bruising it lightly. Add the citrus juices and stir, then top right up with crushed ice and the sparkling or soda water. Garnish with the second mint sprig.







Bitter Tonic


Anything slightly bitter is deeply fashionable this summer. Do try this simple, chic drink with different types of bitters - Fee Brothers’ Cranberry Bitters, for example, are in M&S. Note that a dash of bitters will add a tiny amount of alcohol.


INGREDIENTS

2-3 dashes bitters, according to taste (Angostura is readily available, or try The Bitter Truth’s Tonic Bitters)
200ml chilled premium tonic water (such as Fever-Tree)
Lemon or lime slices
Ice cubes
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METHOD

Add a few ice cubes to a tumbler then splash over the bitters. Squeeze one slice of fruit over this, then top up with tonic water and add another slice to garnish.







Shirley Temple


The classic ‘mocktail’, which today is often given a fresh lift, as here, with a squeeze of citrus juice (lime is best). Drink with a brightly coloured straw.


INGREDIENTS

15ml grenadine syrup
15ml freshly squeezed lime juice
200ml chilled ginger ale
Maraschino cocktail cherry and thin lime slice, to decorate
Ice cubes


METHOD

Place a few ice cubes in a tumbler, add the grenadine and lime juice then top up with ginger ale, and garnish with the cocktail cherry and lime slice.








Lavender Lemonade


The aroma of the steeped lavender heads is wonderful, but do be sure to use lavender which hasn’t been sprayed with any chemicals. It’s best made with flowers that have started to dry out naturally in high summer. Makes about 75cl of pink-tinged liquid.


INGREDIENTS

10g lavender heads
250ml boiling water
75g sugar
600ml cold water (sparkling if you prefer)
Juice of 3 small or 2 large ripe lemons, strained
Ice cubes


METHOD

Put the flower heads in a small pan and pour over the boiling water. Heat up again and simmer gently for two minutes. Take off the heat and leave to steep for ten minutes. Strain off the flowers, add sugar to the liquid and stir to dissolve it. Add the cold water. Add the lemon juice and stir (the mix turns pink here), then serve in tall slim tumblers with a few ice cubes in them.







St Kitts


Adapted from a recipe in Diffordsguide Cocktails. This tastes really tropical and is deeply refreshing - one for a hot day:


INGREDIENTS

75ml pineapple juice
25ml freshly squeezed lime juice
15ml grenadine syrup
Cold ginger ale to top up
Lime slice
Loads of ice cubes


METHOD

Shake the juices and grenadine in a cocktail shaker over ice, and strain into an ice-filled glass. Top up with ginger ale, the right amount to your taste, stir and garnish with a lime slice.






Ginger & Elderflower Summer Cup


This is the non-alcoholic cocktail I drink most in the summer, and it is delicate enough to go well with lighter food - salads, fish, seafood - too. I make it quite dilute but do up the amount of juice and cordial for stronger flavours, obviously.


INGREDIENTS

25ml elderflower cordial
Small piece - about 2cms square - peeled root ginger
20ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
150ml cold sparkling water
Mint sprig and lemon slice
Crushed ice


METHOD

Grate the ginger finely, adding all the bits and any gingery juices into a small bowl with the cordial and lemon juice. Mix well and leave to infuse for a few minutes. Strain into a tumbler, then add crushed ice and top up with sparkling water. Garnish with the mint and a thin lemon slice.







Firepit Steamer


Here’s a hot, spicy but fresh-tasting drink to wrap your chilly hands around on those late summer nights by the fire…


INGREDIENTS

100ml cranberry juice
100ml red grape juice
Half a star anise
Half a cinnamon stick, plus one to serve
2 cloves
Slice of peeled fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon brown sugar


METHOD

Simply put all the ingredients except the extra cinnamon stick in a pan and warm up very gently, stirring, and keep hot (not boiling) for several minutes until the spices infuse. Strain into a thick glass tumbler or mug and serve with the cinnamon stick for stirring to release the steam. Drink while hot.







Cherry Sparkle


Make your own red cherry juice with a tang of lime then top up with sparkling water - could anything be more summery? Makes 700ml, to serve 3-4.


INGREDIENTS

225g fresh, ripe red cherries
600ml freshly boiled water
Half a lime
50g caster sugar
Chilled sparkling water, to taste
Ice cubes


METHOD

Destalk the cherries, wash them, halve them and take out their stones. Put the fruit in a big bowl and bruise slightly with the back of a spoon. Pour the hot water over them and stir. Peel the lime zest off in thin strips and juice the lime, adding both zest and juice to the bowl, with the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, cover and leave for two hours. Strain off the liquid, divide it between 3 or 4 tumblers and top up with ice and a little cold sparkling water.






Lime & Lemon Grass Spritzer


Taken from Kay Plunkett-Hogge’s brilliant book ‘Make Mine a Martini’ (Mitchell Beazley, 2014), this is easy, scented, mouthwatering…


INGREDIENTS

Half a lemon grass stalk, outer leaves removed, core sliced, plus an extra stalk to garnish
30ml fresh lime juice
15ml sugar syrup (make sugar syrup from equal quantities warm water and sugar)
Chilled soda water, to top up
Ice cubes


METHOD

Place the lemon grass in a glass tumbler and ‘muddle’ to release its oils. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the lime juice and the sugar syrup. Top up with soda water, stir briefly and garnish with the remaining lemon grass stalk.







Pussy Foot

A famous Prohibition-era mocktail. There are plenty of variations out there, but all deliver a lip-smacking cocktail of citrus juices. Here’s my favourite version (note it contains raw egg).


INGREDIENTS

50ml orange juice
30ml lemon juice
30ml lime juice
15ml grenadine syrup
10ml sugar syrup
1 egg yolk
Cold sparkling water (optional)
Orange slice


METHOD

Pour all the juices and syrups into a cocktail shaker with ice, and add the yolk. Shake well then strain into a large tumbler half filled with ice cubes. Top up with fizzy water if preferred. Garnish with an orange slice.



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Minty Peach Lemonade is a tasty, refreshing drink combining classic homemade lemonade, mint simple syrup, and fresh peach puree…sure to become a new summertime favorite. This minty peach lemonade is quick and easy to make,  will come handy on a hot summer day!







I am so excited about today’s recipe, y’all…I don’t know why peach lemonade never occurred to me before. Strawberry lemonade? Sure. Peach tea? Of course. But to take my favorite summer fruit and combine it with my favorite summer drink? Brilliant.







There’s just something so delicious and so refreshing about adding mint to drinks, don’t you think? Whether it’s tea or punch or a cocktail, a little bit of mint packs a whole lot of flavor. My favorite way to use mint in beverages is to make a mint simple syrup with it. Unlike muddling your mint, making a simple syrup eliminates the concern of sucking up a fragment of a mint leaf through your straw. And I don’t know about you, but when I’m kicked back in my wooden rocking chair on my expansive front porch sipping on a tall glass of icy lemonade, the last thing I want to worry about is gagging on a mint leaf.







PREPARATION


Prepare mint simple syrup by combining 3/4 cup water and sugar in a small pot. Set pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar dissolves and then remove from heat. Add mint and allow to steep until syrup has cooled. Strain and discard mint leaves. You should end up with a little over a cup of simple syrup.

While syrup is cooling, wash peaches, remove pits, and cut in chunks. Puree peach chunks in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour in peach puree, pushing it through using the back of a spoon. Discard skins/solids. You should end up with about 1 cup of peach puree.

In a pitcher, mix together 1 cup mint simple syrup, peach puree, fresh lemon juice, and remaining 2 cups water (reserve any leftover simple syrup for another use). Refrigerate lemonade until chilled and/or serve over ice.


Notes

Feel free to adjust this recipe to your taste, adding more water, lemon juice or simple syrup.

This recipe can easily be halved or multiplied. Basically, you just need to use 1 part simple syrup, 1 part peach puree, 1 part lemon juice, and 2 parts water.



INGREDIENTS


2 3/4 cup water, divided
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed mint leaves
4 medium peaches
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice









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