Stone fruits – all those voluptuous peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries and apricots! Their season is fleeting, and right NOW, so make the most of them while you can. A stone fruit cocktail feels decadent and indulgent, so it’s in the very nature of late summer that nothing should be too difficult or time-consuming. Here are recipes for three simple cocktails that use stone fruit. We could get a lot more complicated, but would you make any of these recipes if they have six ingredients each? I wouldn’t either. It just takes a whir of the blender or a spritz of fizzy water to enjoy these icy concoctions.
Cherry Margarita
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted fresh cherries
- 4 ounces tequila
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons triple sec
- juice of two limes
- 2 cups ice
Directions
- Put cherries, tequila, triple sec and sugar into a blender. Squeeze in the lime juice and add ice. Pulse until smooth. Pour into a coupe glass and enjoy!
Bellinski
My older daughter was recently in Russia and sent back a photo of a Bellinski, the Russian version of a Bellini. Instead of peach puree with champagne, they use champagne, sea buckthorn juice and vodka (because it’s Russia, so of course they add vodka.) Sea buckthorn is a citrus-y berry grown in the Himalayas and is said to have many beneficial health properties. It’s easy to order online, but expensive, so think of it as the Russian oligarch’s version of a Bellini.
Serves: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 ounces chilled champagne
- 1 ounce vodka, preferably from a bottle that has been in the freezer for several hours
- 2 ounces chilled sea buckthorn juice
Directions
- Combine champagne, sea buckthorn and vodka in a fluted glass and serve immediately
Purple Plum Spritzer
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 purple plums, with two slices set aside for garnish
- 4 ounces gin
- 8 ounces club soda
- 1 packet stevia (if plums are not perfectly ripe)
Directions
- Cut up plums and puree in a blender.
- Add gin and mix.
- Pour club soda into a tall, ice-filled glass until it is half full.
- Finish filling glass with plum-and-gin puree. Garnish with a slice of juicy plum and serve.
