summertime peach and blackberry cocktail recipe

One of my favorite spots to spend a summer afternoon is in my parent’s pool. Nothing compares to lying on a raft in their pool while listening to the birds squawk in the sunny air above me as they fly between the power lines and trees. When it gets too hot, I roll off the raft into the water.

Normally, I have a hard time being still. I’m a die-hard multi-tasker and by multi-tasker, I mean I do a minimum of two things at once. Yet for some reason it’s not as hard to quiet my mind and body when I’m near a body of water, especially this particular body of water that I know so well and that’s in a space that holds so many good memories. My parent’s backyard… the site of hundreds of planned and impromptu BBQ’s and pool parties and the place where my family and friends have gathered to eat and drink and talk and play games together for so many years. It’s one of my dearest places to spend time with people as well as be alone.

When I’m alone in this place, relaxing comes a little bit easier. The sounds of the birds, the breeze through the leaves, the faint hum of the nearby freeway and occasional voices of neighbors and their children talking or laughing are somehow meditative when I’m floating in my parent’s pool. All the subtle sounds of suburbia meld together into white noise that lulls me into being present in that very moment, something that doesn’t come naturally to me.

Now that I live a few hundred miles from this lovely spot, it’s not as easy to sneak in an afternoon swim there. Luckily our Patchwork Shows bring me south for at least part of the early summer. The rarity of those precious days when I get to set sail on a raft in that beloved body of water makes me appreciate every second there even more. Sometimes my dad joins me and we float around having long talks about life and creativity and business. I love my time alone in the pool but I love those dear moments with my dad.

My dad and I share an affinity for good food and cocktails and we like to invent new drink recipes for our pool time. On a recent trip south I told him about my desire to create a peachy summer cocktail and this is what we came up with. This cocktail is the perfect drink to usher in those sweet summer months. I strongly suggest drinking it near the body of water of your choice but it’s just as good on a porch, stoop or patio. My go-to serving preference is shaken in a martini glass, but if I have guests, I’ll make a pitcher and pour them over ice. Pick your favorite summer spot, mix up a batch of peach blackberry cocktails, lean back in a comfy chair or a raft and let the loveliness of summer come to you.

-nicole s.

what to get:

For the peach syrup:
Four peaches
Two cups of water
One cup of sugar
Sieve
Pot
Bowl

For the cocktail:
Two shots of vodka
One bottle of joia pomegranate natural soda
One lemon
Soda water
Shot glass
Two martini glasses
Shaker

what to do:

For the peach syrup:
1. Cut the peaches and add all of them including the pits to the pot with the water and sugar, then stir. Bring to a soft boil then simmer for one hour.
2. Strain the peach syrup into a bowl using the sieve. Then chill in the fridge. If you’re in a rush, put the syrup in a Ziploc bag and chill in a bowl of ice water.
For the cocktail:
1. Add ice, two shots of vodka, one shot of peach syrup and the juice of one lemon to the shaker. Shake like crazy.
2. Pour the contents of the shaker into the martini glasses.
3. Top with soda water and a splash of Joia pomegranate soda. Enjoy!