Frosé

In 2016, a New York restaurant called Bar Primi created the perfect summer cocktail. Frozen, crowd-pleasing, and attractively bright pink, it was destined to reach heights of popularity that most drinks can't even approach. Two years later, it's on the menu of just about every bar with a patio and is as synonymous with white female millennials as avocado toast, pumpkin spice lattes, and Lululemon yoga pants. I'm talking, of course, about Frosé.

A portmanteau of "frozen rosé," Frosé is an evolutionary offshoot of the growing rosé trend of the last few years. It's basically a wine slushie, usually made with lemon juice and strawberries. Its meteoric rise to summertime domination was greatly aided by Instagram, which is filled with photos of this undeniably pretty beverage.

I was always a bit conflicted about Frosé. On the one hand, it looks pretty tasty and refreshing, and don't even get me started on how photogenic it is. On the other hand, it's not exactly what one would call a craft cocktail, and it's become so popular that it almost seems uncool to like it. But a couple of months ago I found myself at a place with a pretty lackluster cocktail list, and Frosé was the only thing on the menu that caught my eye. It seemed like a good occasion to give it a try. And you know what?  It's as frosty and delicious as it looks. And with the temperature in Boston consistently topping 90 degrees for the last week, I honestly couldn't think of anything I'd rather be drinking today.

Making Frosé does require a bit of extra time and effort, but all in all it's much easier than I thought it would be. The first step is to freeze a bottle of rosé. You should not do this in the glass bottle itself - transfer the wine to a ziplock bag, baking pan, or ice cube tray. Once it's frozen, you blend it with some lemon juice and strawberry syrup. You can serve it right away or re-freeze it and blend it again like I did for a more solid consistency. Since it melts quickly in the heat, it seemed like a good idea to give it as much of a head start as possible.

I stuck to a basic recipe here, but it would be easy to dress this up into something even more exciting. I think elderflower liqueur would be an amazing addition. Or maybe Aperol for some bitterness. You can make it more boozy by adding some vodka or another spirit, or play around with other fruits besides strawberries - raspberry would be incredible.

So I am a Frosé convert. And if that makes me basic, then buy me some Uggs and sign me up for a barre class, because I am making loads of this for my next summer party.

Frosé

1 bottle (750 ml) rosé wine
1/2 cup strawberry syrup*
1/4 cup lemon juice

*To make strawberry syrup, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 cup of sliced strawberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture becomes pinkish and strawberries soften slightly (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain and let cool.

Pour wine into ice cube trays or a 13 x 9 inch pan and put it in the freezer until it is frozen. Because of the alcohol content, it will remain softer than regular ice. Meanwhile, make strawberry syrup. When syrup is cool and wine is frozen, combine wine, syrup, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust lemon and syrup accordingly - the wine you use can effect how much of both you need. At this point the mixture will be soft and slushy and can be consumed immediately, but for best results pour the mixture back into the pan or into a gallon Ziploc bag and freeze again (it will be too soft for ice cube trays). Return to the blender and blend immediately before serving.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

Mocktail: Strawberry Balsamic Lemonade

This week's big baby-related activity was stroller shopping. We went to a little boutique baby store in Brookline because we heard they had a good selection of the brands we were interested in. We'd walked about three steps into the store when we were pounced upon by an eager employee looking to help us. As an introvert and cheapskate, I generally prefer to shop by myself rather than having someone hover over me, but since this was a whole new world for us, we reluctantly told this smiling woman - Pattie - what we were looking for.

All I can say is, thank God for Pattie. Strollers and carseats are complicated. There is no way my husband and I would have been able to figure out which strollers were compatible with which carseats, which ones came with toddler seats, which ones needed adapters, etc. You would think that between the two of us, a PhD and an MD, we would be able to at least figure out how to fold a stroller frame, but we were still fumbling with most of them after the third time Pattie showed us how to do it. And let's not even get into carseat installation. There's never been a time in pregnancy when I was more in need of a drink.

Alas, the hard stuff is still eleven weeks away, but at least I can make a refreshing mocktail to banish a bit of the summer heat and unwind post-stroller shopping. I've been seeing far too many beautiful strawberries around not to have them end up in a glass somehow. This is a pretty simple recipe, but it's quite tasty and the color is stunning. Muddled strawberry and basil brighten up an average cup of lemonade, and a syrup made with balsamic vinegar gives it a beautiful depth and tang. It's a wonderful summer drink.

As for the stroller saga, it's not over yet... this weekend we're headed to Babies 'R' Us to look some more. Pray for me.

Strawberry Balsamic Lemonade

2 strawberries, sliced
6 basil leaves
1 oz. balsamic syrup*
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
5 oz. club soda

Combine strawberries, basil, and balsamic syrup in the bottom of a shaker or mixing glass and muddle to bruise the basil and release the juices of the strawberries. Add the lemon juice and a few ice cubes and stir briefly to chill and dilute. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a fanned strawberry and some basil leaves.

*For balsamic syrup, combine equal parts water, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely before using. Also good on salads!

Strawberry Balsamic Smash

Why is everyone trying to rush into fall? Food bloggers are already putting up apple and squash recipes. Clothing stores are packed with sweaters and jackets. People are drinking pumpkin ales. It's not even September, guys!

Don't get me wrong; autumn is my favorite season. I'm really looking forward to the cool weather and fall colors and my hair not frizzing up within five seconds of leaving the house. But there's an appropriate time for these things, and it's at least a few weeks away. I still haven't done all the summery things I want to do. Fall is just going to have to hold off a bit. And the best way to make that happen is with a few more summery cocktails.

A smash is an entire category of cocktails that I talked about a bit when I made the Whiskey Smash. It's technically a type of julep (as in the Mint Julep). While the interpretations of both drinks have changed over time, the one thing that seems constant is the relative attitudes towards the two cocktails. People can be awfully fussy about their Mint Juleps, and this was even more true 100 years ago. In contrast, the smash is a simpler, throw-in-whatever sort of cocktail. Today they often include citrus juice, which juleps generally lack. They can be made with any spirit from brandy to whiskey - in fact, I've got a Mezcal Smash recipe I can't wait to try. So while the julep is a cocktail you want to get carefully right, the smash is a cocktail you want to have fun with.

I thought this combination of strawberries and balsamic vinegar sounded like great fun, and it was. This particular smash is made with gin. The balsamic adds a very subtle hint of rich flavor to the cocktail. The result is summery and refreshing. If you make the smash correctly - with lots of crushed ice mounded up on top - it also makes a beautiful presentation.

History: The Strawberry Balsamic Smash was invented by Damon Boelte of Prime Meats in Brooklyn, NY.

Strawberry Balsamic Smash

2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 lime wedges
2 slices cucumber
1 strawberry, hulled

Combine all ingredients but gin in the bottom of a shaker or mixing glass and muddle to release their juices. Add gin and stir. Double-strain into a rocks glass. It won't look like much, but the ice will make up the rest. Fill the glass halfway with crushed ice and stir. Mound more crushed ice on top. Garnish with a halved strawberry, a cucumber slice, and/or a sprig of mint.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

Bottle Buy: Pimm's No. 1

Pimm's No. 1 is a very British liqueur. I think I first learned of it from a friend who spent time in London, and everyone I've met since who has been there fondly considers Pimm's a cultural mainstay of the UK. By the time I visited myself, it wasn't all that surprising to see it on menus, because these days it's not hard to find a Pimm's Cup in American bars.

Pimm's is a gin-based liqueur infused with botanicals and spices, and it has a long history. Its inventor was James Tee Pimm, a theologist-turned-shellfish-monger who opened an oyster bar in London in 1823. He quickly became a successful restauranteur. He invented Pimm's as a health tonic and/or a cocktail to accompany his oysters - I've heard both. It was a huge success, and Pimm began bottling and selling it all over the British Empire. He expanded from there, creating the No. 2 Cup (a Scotch base), the No. 3 Cup (a brandy base), and so on up all the way to No. 6 (vodka). Only No. 1 survives, though Pimm's has released versions of the others as special seasonal bottles.

Pimm's will admittedly not be the most versatile thing on your bar, but it's a fun ingredient to experiment with. It does pop up in craft cocktail recipes every now and then. It's the main ingredient in one of my favorite cocktails, the Battle of Trafalgar, which I'll share the recipe for soon.

Pimm's No. 1

Price: $25

Alcohol content: 25%

Popular cocktails: Pimm's Cup

The Pimm's Cup is the quintissential Pimm's cocktail, and there are many variations.  In England, it's made with sparkling lemonade, which is not very common in the United States, so here it's often made with ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. Often those are the only two ingredients, and it may be garnished with just a single cucumber wheel. But the true British version includes cucumber and a variety of fresh fruits. The Pimm's website recommends mint, orange, strawberries, and cucumber. I usually like to follow the most original and authentic recipe, but when I saw this one on Bon Appetit I couldn't pass it up. If nothing else, it was an excuse to use not one, not two, but three of the herbs from my patio garden, and ginger beer seems like a fine alternative for sparkling lemonade. If you're lacking one or two ingredients, it's ok - it is an awful lot of stuff - but the scent of the herbs as you take each sip is what elevates the flavor of this cocktail. It's an amazingly refreshing summer drink, and a particularly good cocktail for guests before a barbecue or dinner outdoors.

History: So far, I can't really separate the origin of the Pimm's Cup cocktail from the origin of Pimm's itself. Did James Tee Pimm serve his liqueur with sparkling lemonade and fruit? Or did that come about later on? I'll keep trying to figure it out. But the liqueur itself is inextricably associated with this one cocktail. Even the names are difficult to tell apart.

The Pimm's Cup is the iconic drink for summer sporting events in England, including Wimbledon and the Henley Royal Regatta. It has also, somewhat surprisingly, become associated with New Orleans, and particularly the Napoleon House bar. Sometime in the 1940's, its proprietor decided that the Pimm's Cup would be an excellent cocktail to serve in the southern heat. And he was right.

Pimm's Cup

3 1/2 inch slices cucumber
3 oz. Pimm's No. 1
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. simple syrup
3-4 oz. ginger beer
1 sprig mint
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 lemon slice
1 cucumber spear
2 strawberries, halved

Muddle cucumbers in a shaker. Add Pimm's, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Fill shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a Pilsner glass filled with ice. Fill glass with ginger beer and stir gently. Push lemon, strawberries, cucumber, and herbs into glass. Cheers.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.