hibiscus

Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma

August 31, 2019 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Popping in here real quick to bring you the perfect cocktail for your holiday weekend! I’ve been juicing watermelon a lot and drinking it after my runs and making simple drinks with it in the evenings. Had to put a twist on one of my favorite cocktails and share this Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma with you. Can’t thank my friends over at Exotica Tequila enough for letting me come up with delicious things with one of my favorite spirits!

I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend already. Where has the time gone? I was just getting into the swing of summer and now POOF it’s gone. Just like that. There’s nothing more satisfying and refreshing than watermelon juice on a hot day. I’m sure going to miss seeing this fruits presence in the produce aisles. So I had to squeeze it into one lady recipe before I say goodbye to it for a few long, hard and cold months.

Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma, serves 1

2 oz. Exotico Tequila

1 oz. watermelon juice

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. hibiscus syrup*

Grapefruit soda

Salt, for rim

*Hibiscus syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

Combine sugar, water and hibiscus flowers in a small saucepan. Simmer until all sugar has dissolved and the syrup is a very dark red/pink, about 10 minutes.

First, juice your limes and watermelon. I used my slow juicer to juice the watermelon but if you don’t have one, you can also blend is and strain the juice.

Then prepare your glass by rimming it with salt. Add all tequila, watermelon juice, lime juice and hibiscus syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice and strain into your salt rim glass. Top with your favorite grapefruit soda and lastly garnish with a slice of watermelon.

Couldn’t think of a better way to send summer off than with a Paloma. This Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma is refreshing, sweet and citrusy. Hibiscus adds so much depth and floral flavors with a hint of tartness. Salt adds a savory element that compliments the watermelon and hibiscus perfectly.

I can’t wait to make and enjoy a few more of these this weekend. I hope you decide to make this Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma as well. If you do please comment below and tell me how you’re enjoying your holiday weekend. Cheers to another summer! xo

Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito

May 5, 2019 by Natalie 2 Comments

It doesn’t have to be a special day for me to indulge in a good margarita and some al pastor tacos. In fact, that’s pretty much my daily life. I was still so excited to team up with my friends at Bai to bring you this Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito for Cinco de Mayo.

A mezcalito is a margarita made with mezcal and perhaps my favorite way to enjoy this spirit other than sipping on it neat. I’ve touched on mezcal on the blog before but just in case you’re reading about it for the first time it is a spirit distilled from agave. A lot of people like to refer to mezcal as the “sister of tequila” but the truth is tequila is a type of mezcal, much like scotch and bourbon are types of whiskey. Mezcal is made from more than 30 varieties of agave. The most commonly used are tobalá, tobaziche, tepeztate, arroqueño and espadin. It is produced in nine different areas of Mexico including Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Puebla and Oaxaca.

Mezcal is made from the harvested core of the agave plant, otherwise known as the piña. It is cooked inside earthen pits that are lined with lava rocks and filled with wood and charcoal before being distilled in clay pots. This is the source of where mezcal gets its earthy and smoky flavor profile. The smokiness of mezcal seemed like a perfect match for the earthy nature of watermelon and using Bai Kula Watermelon made this mezcalito turn out delicious.

Frozen Watermelon Habanero Hibiscus Mezcalito, makes one serving

1 1/2 oz. Mezcal (I used Banhez Espadin)

1/2 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1 oz. Bai Kula Watermelon

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. hibiscus habanero syrup

4 pieces fresh watermelon, cubed

watermelon slice, for garnish

smoked salt, for rimming

Hibiscus Habanero Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

3 habanero peppers, cut lengthwise

First, make your syrup. Add sugar, water, dried hibiscus flowers, and habanero peppers to a saucepan and let simmer over low-medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out the hibiscus flowers and peppers. Let completely cool and store in a bottle or jar in the refrigerator.

Next, rim your glassware with smoked salt by running a lime around the rim and then dipping it into the salt. To make your cocktail add Bai Kula Watermelon, fresh lime juice, hibiscus habanero syrup, Cointreau, mezcal, and cubed watermelon to your blender pitcher with 6-8 oz. of ice. Blend on high or smoothie setting if you have one, and then pour into your glassware. Garnish with a slice of watermelon. Drink umbrella optional but always encouraged. If you’re not in the mood for something frozen you can easily muddle the fresh watermelon and shake the drink and serve over ice instead.

If you’re thinking, these are a lot of flavors to combine, I promise it is not. I wanted to add a spicy element to this mezcalito but I also love watermelon and hibiscus together. Watermelon is earthy and sweet, while hibiscus is rich and floral, and habanero adds a delightful spice. The mezcal adds a hint of smoke and finishing the drink with salt adds a savory element.

I hope whatever you’re doing today that you’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo right. That is: with a margarita (or mezcalito) in hand accompanied by chips, guacamole, and your favorite taco. You know what I’ll be doing. Cheers to Cinco de Mayo! xo

Hibiscus Margarita

March 5, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

It was really hard to get back into the swing of things last week. Do you ever feel like you need a vacation after you take a vacation? I decided to keep the vacation vibes going by recreating one of my favorite drinks that I had while in Palm Springs at The Saguaro — a Hibiscus Margarita. If I see the word hibiscus on a cocktail description the drink is as good as sold. I love the floral, sweet, and tart flavor of hibiscus and who can object to the hue it adds to drinks? No one! Also, we’re talking about margaritas here which are very high up on my list of things I love drinking. Who am I kidding? I would have drunk any margarita but the fact that it was pink and delicious is obviously a huge plus.

Hibiscus Margarita, serves 1

1 1/2 oz. Blanco Tequila

1/2 oz. Cointreau

3/4 oz. lime juice

3/4 oz. hibiscus syrup*

1/4 oz. agave

salt for rimming glasses

*I used the same recipe for the hibiscus syrup that I made for my hibiscus sour on A Beautiful Mess. Mix 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers, 1 cup water, and 1 cup sugar. Add ingredients to a small/medium size saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain mixture. Syrup should keep for 1-2 weeks in a refrigerator.

First, salt your serving vessels. I served these down on the rocks, so I used double rocks glasses. You could also serve them up if you’d prefer that more. When it’s hot go ahead and throw this recipe in a blender. I crushed a few dried hibiscus flowers and mixed it in with the salt. I really like the texture it gives to the rim of the glass but it also adds some flavor too.

Add all your ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. Finally, strain into your salted rimmed glasses over ice and garnish with a lime wheel.

The best part about this cocktail is the color. Oh, my gosh, PINK! It’s sort of healthy too, right? We did use dried flowers in it. This Hibiscus Margarita is what dreams are made of which is why I consumed so many of them poolside. They also go great in the company of tacos and I’m guilty of enjoying quite a few of them in that circumstance too. Hi everyone! My name is Natalie and I love tacos, margs, and hot pink. You already knew that though!

I tweaked a standard margarita recipe (1 1/2 oz. tequila, 3/4 oz. lime, 1 oz. Cointreau) when developing this Hibiscus Margarita recipe. In addition to the hibiscus syrup, I added agave because I felt like it needed to be a touch sweeter. The hibiscus is more tart than sweet, so if you like very tart you can try it without the agave. Overall this Hibiscus Margarita is tart, perfectly sweet, floral, refreshing, and so delicious. Make them for friends this Summer alongside tacos and guacamole and I promise they will love you forever. Tequila has that effect on people! Happy Margarita Monday everyone! 😉

Hibiscus Gin-Gin Mule

August 14, 2017 by Natalie 2 Comments

With all the recipe developing for menus and blog posts, my refrigerator becomes a graveyard for fruit, herbs and miscellaneous syrups. I try my best to eat and repurpose most of it for cooking, smoothie bowls, or other recipes throughout the week but sometimes there’s a little waste. I’m implementing a new rule that if I make it, I have to use it! I made syrups for posts on A Beautiful Mess and Palm Springs Style last week and was wondering what my next cocktail would be on my own blog. Fresh ginger and hibiscus, does that work? You bet it does!

One of the first cocktails that came to mind was one that I learned when I worked behind the bar at Flatiron Lounge, the Gin-Gin Mule. It was created by Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club in 2000 and was a milestone drink of the 21st-century cocktail renaissance. It has inspired countless spin-offs and heavily influenced the use of fresh ginger and homemade ingredients in cocktails. It’s a drink that I still find myself making for people at Dutch Kills when they request a bartenders choice, “I’ll have something with gin that’s refreshing”, I pretty much immediately make a Gin-Gin Mule.

This cocktail is essentially a fusion of two classics, the Mojito (rum, lime, sugar, mint) and a Gin Buck (gin, lime, fresh ginger, soda). I’ve replaced the call for simple syrup in this recipe with hibiscus syrup. You can find out how to make ginger syrup here and my hibiscus syrup here.

Hibiscus Gin-Gin Mule, serves 1

2 oz. Gin

1 oz. Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Hibiscus Syrup

1/2 oz. Ginger Syrup

Mint

Club Soda

Add lime juice, hibiscus syrup, ginger syrup, and mint to your shaker and muddle. Lightly tapping the mint is sufficient. When muddling a good rule to follow in the words of Sasha Petraske is “bruise don’t abuse”. Add gin, ice, and then shake. Strain into a highball glass over ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and ginger candy.

I’ve always loved this cocktail but the hibiscus syrup adds a tart, fruity, and floral element that makes this drink even more perfect for summer (if that’s even possible). The sweet floral element of the hibiscus blends perfectly with the spiciness of the ginger and freshness of the mint. More than 10 years later and this cocktail is so good it still influences how I develop cocktails. Some of the most delicious drinks are so perfect just because they’re simple. Less IS more. What’s your favorite modern classic? Do you ever put your own spin on it? Tell me about it in the comments below.