Sometimes the best recipes come from mistakes or improvisation. This happened yesterday when I created this Elderflower cocktail. After cooking all afternoon (including the delicious Eggplant Parmesan I posted yesterday), I was exhausted from being on my feet all day and decided I needed to sit down and unwind.

I had planned to do an Elderflower cocktail at some point this week, so I had already purchased this pür•likör blossom from a local liquor store. Previously, I had only tried St. Germain, but the guy at the liquor store actually recommended this one instead, and it was about 25% cheaper, so I was sold.

Here’s where the improvising came in. As I was getting ready to put everything in the shaker, I realized I was out of ice cubes (aka I forgot to fill my ice trays with water last time I used them). I actually considered asking one of my neighbors for ice, but I thought that might be kind of weird and there was no way I was walking to the gas station at this point in the day. So I looked in my freezer and found FROZEN BERRIES! Score! They served the purpose for quickly chilling the alcohol, and they added this beautiful magenta color to the drink, as well as a bit of flavor.

If you like drinks on the sweeter side, start by rimming a martini glass with sugar. (Really, I just wanted an excuse to use this cocktail rimmer from Williams-Sonoma.)

Here are the tasting notes for this elderflower liqueur: “Beautiful golden amber color. Rich elderflower, fruit salad and sautéed
lychee aromas with a silky fruity sweet medium-to-full body and a spicy
poached peach and buttercream frosting finish with a hint of alpine
herbs and flowers. Wonderful style and dimension.” Well if that doesn’t make you want to try it, I don’t know what will.

Use frozen berries as ice to make a magenta-colored fall
treat.

Ingredients

2 parts
vodka

Instructions

Mix 2 parts vodka, 2-3 parts fresh grapefruit juice, and 1
part Elderflower liqueur in a shaker filled with 1/4 c. of frozen berries (and
some ice if you have it. :)) Shake vigorously and strain into prepared martini
glass. Top with a floater of sparkling wine and enjoy!

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