Jersey Fresh Cocktails

Food-wise, I have to say, this past weekend was a good one in our house. And it started, brilliantly, with some excellent cocktails A. and I whipped up on Friday evening to toast the start of the three-day weekend.

I came home from the farm last week with some lovely blackberries, which A. is addicted to. As it turns out, if you like your cocktails tart rather than sweet, a blackberry is a great fruit for it. A. had already made one prototype of a blackberry martini by the time I got home from the grocery store and Asian market, laden with goodies (including the superb clams that became our dinner). His first attempt, while good, was a work in progress. I suggested adding a hint of lime, which I thought would pair nicely with the blackberry flavor. Incidentally, we also had an insane number of limes we had to use up. So, we juiced one, mixed it up, and tried again. Not bad, but now a little too tart, even for me. A little simple syrup set that right, and we had an excellent cocktail.

As he headed out to grill up dinner, leaving me with little more to do in the kitchen than sip my yummy  new drink, A. asked me to mix him a cocktail and to "surprise him". Never one to disappoint, I dove into the fridge and came out with a pint of blueberries from the Asian market and some seltzer water. There were mint leaves soaking in a small jar on the kitchen counter (another contribution from the farm) and some white rum on hand, so I thought I'd give a blueberry mojito a try. A. tried it and pronounced it a success. Both drinks have now joined the Earl Grey MarTEAni in our drinks recipe file.

Blackberry-Lime Martini
5-6 large, ripe blackberries
1 1/2-2 oz vodka
juice of 1/2 lime
1-2 T simple syrup (depending on how tart you want this)

Smash blackberries with a muddler or mortar and pestle. Add smashed berries, vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, and ice cubes to a cocktail shaker.

Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a martini glass.

Blueberry Mojito
1/4 cup ripe blueberries
1 1/2-2 oz white rum
1 tsp sugar
6-10 mint leaves
Seltzer water
Ice cubes

Place blueberries, sugar, mint leaves in a highball glass and muddle until the leaves are broken down, the blueberries are juiced, and everything's mixed together (we found that the end of a wooden rolling pin works great for this).  Add ice cubes and rum. Top with seltzer and mix everything together briefly.

Garnish with a mint leaf and enjoy!