Grilled Cocktails, Any One???

There are the meats, the vegetables, the breads,  seafood and even breakfast food ….. These are all things you’re looking forward to grilling this summer, right? You can pretty much grill your whole breakfast, lunch and  dinner, imparting a smoky, summery note to everything you eat out on your patio. But you can even elevate your grilling and kick it up one more notch……

What I am talking about here is that you can grilling your drinks!!!!!!!

Well, not  exactly your whole drink–that would be messy and put out the great fire you got going on the grill….. The point is that your grill is just as important as your drink shaker and your strainer when it comes to summer cocktails. Grilling fruit that you muddle into your cocktails–like pineapple, peaches, lemons, and plums–imparts a smoky flavor that you can only get over an open flame. And another thing: the heat caramelizes the fruit, so you get both smoke and sweet for some seriously mind-blowing drinks to go along with a great meal, all straight from the grill.

So here are  awesome  grilled cocktails recipes—-Salud!

The Lawnseat

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces bourbon (W.L. Weller Bourbon)
• 2 ounces Rothman and Winter Apricot Liqueur
• 1 ounce Simple Syrup
• 4  Fresh mint sprigs 

Directions:  

• Prepare grill for high heat. Grill lemon slices until lightly charred, about 30 seconds per side. Let cool.
• Muddle grilled lemon in a large pitcher. Add bourbon, apricot liqueur, and Simple Syrup and fill pitcher with ice. Stir until outside of pitcher is frosty, about 1 minute. Divide among 4 rocks glasses filled with ice. Garnish each with a mint sprig.

The Smoking Peach

Recipe by Kevin Diedrich
Jasper s Corner Tap Kitchen, San Francisco, California

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces Dry Sack Sherry
• 4 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces Grilled Peach–Infused Bourbon (click here for recipe)
• 2 ounces honey
• 4 peach slices for serving

 

Directions:

• Combine Sherry, lemon juice, Grilled Peach–Infused Bourbon, and honey in a large pitcher filled with ice. Stir until outside of pitcher is frosty, about 1 minute. Divide among 4 Old Fashioned glasses filled with ice. Garnish each with a peach slice.

The Piñata

Recipe by Vincent Lee
Lucy Bar at Bardessono Hotel in Yountville, California

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves plus 4 more leaves for garnish
• 8 ounces Zacapa dark rum 
• 2 ounces Simple Syrup 1/2 pineapple, sliced

Directions:

• Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Grill pineapple slices until juices start to caramelize and pineapple is lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Cut 1 slice into quarters and set aside. Coarsely chop remaining pineapple.

• Muddle chopped pineapple, lemon juice, and 1 cup basil in a large pitcher. Add rum and Simple Syrup and stir to combine. Strain into 4 Old Fashioned glasses filled with crushed ice. Garnish each with a basil leaf and reserved pineapple.