Frosé Cocktails (and saying goodbye to summer)
Say it aint so…summer is over.
We’ve been trying to soak up every last ounce of sunshine over here since the calendar flipped to September.
I always get a little blue around this time of year. While most people are getting amped for pumpkin spice lattes and sweater weather, I can’t help but think about the cold winter on its way. It’s all downhill from here folks. Gah, I’m so depressing!
I get this feeling at the end of every summer that I didn’t really do everything I’d hoped to. Here in Omaha, we spend 9 months out of the year freezing, so it’s SO important to make the most of the short summer season. But it always seems there’s never enough pool days or evenings by the fire pit, no matter how hard you try.
[irp]In all my grumbling and un-appreciativeness, my sister quickly reminded me that we actually did have a pretty amazing summer. We packed in lots of new cities and adventures, from Chicago to Napa to San Francisco. Evelyn celebrated her 1st birthday, which seems like ages ago now. I even ticked a few local spots off my summer bucket list, like hitting the trails in the Fontenelle Forest and glamping at Slattery Vintage Estates. Needless to say, I’m still working on slowing down and appreciating what we have in our lives, especially when its so hard to not want more time in the sun!
So here’s a toast to summer, with a twist on my very favorite summer drink of all, rosé!
I really don’t know why it took it me all summer to make these tasty cocktails. Frosé (or frozen rosé) is surprisingly easy to make and this version from Bon Appetit requires only 4 simple ingredients! You can make it ahead of time (up to a week in advance), so there’s literally no excuse not to whip yourself up a batch right now. Hurry, before it’s too late…drink one of these on the patio for summer’s sake!
- 750 ml Bottle of Rosé
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 ounces strawberries hulled and quartered
- 2 1/2 ounces fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup crushed ice
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Pour your rosé into large ice cube trays or a 9x13 pan. Freeze until almost solid, at least 6 hours. (it won't completely solidify due to the alcohol, so don't worry, you can easily pop them out of the ice cube trays or scrape it out of the pan)
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When your rosé is just about ready, bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add strawberries, remove from heat, and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to infuse with strawberry flavor (I gave it a couple stirs to help).
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Strain the syrup through a mesh strainer into a bowl (do not press on the strawberries...you don't want any solids going through the strainer). Cover and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
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Pop your rosé cubes (or scrape rosé from the pan) into a blender. Add lemon juice, 3 1/2 ounces of the strawberry syrup, and 1 cup of crushed ice. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a freezer safe container to thicken the frosé back up, at least 30 minutes.
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When ready to serve, blend the mixture again until it is nice and slushy. Divide among 4 glasses and enjoy!
Cheers to summer! Until next year!
