Gripping the handlebars of my bicycle with sweaty palms, I looked over my shoulders to see my little sister pedaling away, quickly gaining speed on me. I hunched over and pedaled with all of my nine-year-old might, heading into the hazy, mid-August sunshine, with the whipping sound of my bike streamers snapping through the warm air. Over the bumpy, tree-shaded trails, through the drainage ditch, and back home across our lawn, we raced home, slamming our bikes to the ground, collapsing onto the grass in laughter.

Sweet, summertime memories like this one make me smile. Wherever we lived, my sister and I, along with our neighborhood friends, would always find a way to build a tree house or a makeshift clubhouse on an empty, hidden lot. We’d carve out bike trails, construct drawbridges, and make trap doors. Every unwanted scrap had the potential to become a part of the world we were constructing. We’d require passwords and hold secret meetings. We’d even make club newsletters, pieced together with tape, typewritten words, and magazine clippings, duplicated on my dad’s copy machine.

I’m dating myself right now, but I feel so lucky to have been a child of the ‘80s.

In my last post, I mentioned that Steve and I have been completely smitten {okay, obsessed} with Stranger Things, a current Netflix original series. One night while Steve was working, I hunkered down under my covers and watched the first episode there by myself, just to give it a go, and I ended up letting the second one cue up. I felt guilty that I’d started a series without him, so I texted him and let him know that we had to start the series once he got home. I happily watched those first two episodes over again with him, giving him the side-eye a few times just to see if he was just as transfixed as I was.

In a minute, I’ll share a cocktail with you that I affectionately named, “The Upside Down”, after the parallel universe described in the show, but first, I’d like to send out a big, burst of THANKS to all of you, who have regularly read this blog over the years and to those of you discovering it now. I recently found out that holly & flora is one of six finalists for Saveur Magazine’s 2016 Blog Awards in the category for Best Drinks Blog.

Craziness!!

I’m humbled, deeply grateful, and definitely in good company with the other talented nominees. Last Monday, Steve and I popped an incredibly special bottle we’d been saving, some Krug Champagne we’d been given for our engagement, and we made a day of working in and playing around the garden with the cats.

A huge thanks to all of YOU, who nominated this site and have found inspiration here over the last four years, as holly & flora evolved into a cocktail-driven space, inspired by my love of gardening and cooking, my passion for well-made drinks, and my profession as a sommelier. My heart is beyond overflowing for being able to share with you the story of my garden through the drinks that I make. If you have a moment to visit Saveur’s voting site, give holly & flora a vote. Look for the peaches about two-thirds down the page. You can even vote once a day, if you’re feeling benevolent and ambitious! 😉

And now for those frozen, peachy cocktails…

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This has been the summer of frozen drinks here at the house. I think they’ve popped up everywhere, in fact. Although I’m dying to make Ashley’s Rosé Slushies, I have managed to whip up a Frozen Negroni over at the Kitchn and make some Frozen Pineapple, Banana + Coconut Daiquiris, when I visited my family in Florida a few weeks ago. I don’t plan on retiring my blender anytime soon.

My fascination with Stranger Things definitely influenced the name of this cocktail; however, the name also represents a blending of the two hemispheres. I’ve been researching Colorado’s high-altitude, desert-like wine regions, and doing so has led me to study similar grape-growing areas, like parts of New Zealand and Argentina. Argentina’s wine-making region, in particular, sits at almost the exact altitude as Colorado’s, both with similar climates.

So, here is a merging of produce and products from two very similar regions, both above and below the equator, hence the reference to the parallel universe. You’ve got peaches and a blackberry liqueur crafted in Colorado and a wine and gin, each unique to Argentina.

Nerd. Alert.

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the upside down | a white wine slushy with peaches, mate gin + blackberry liqueur

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• 6 ounces dry, aromatic white wine {I used Alamos Torrontés}
• 4 ounces sliced fresh or frozen peaches {I went with our local Palisades}
• 2 ounces gin {I used Principe de los Apostoles Mate Gin}
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1/2 ounce ginger liqueur, optional {I used New Deal}
• 10 ounces ice, preferably crushed
• drizzle of blackberry liqueur {I used Leopold Bros. Rocky Mountain Blackberry}
• sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish

1. If you have the time, chill your spirits, fruits, and juices beforehand, so that your cocktail blends easier and doesn’t melt so quickly.
2. In a blender, combine the white wine, peaches, gin, lemon juice, and, optionally, ginger liqueur. Blend until incorporated, starting on the lowest setting, increasing the speed to the highest setting.
3. Turn off the blender and add the crushed ice, once again starting on the lowest setting, increasing the speed to the highest setting. Add more ice, if you’d like a thicker consistency, tasting for balance and adjusting with either more fruit or lime juice.
4. Pour the cocktail into chilled glasses and garnish with a drizzle of blackberry liqueur and a sprig of fresh thyme. Smack the thyme before placing it in the glass, so that you release its aromatic oils.

• This recipe yields two to three cocktails, depending upon the size of your cocktail glasses.
• Opt for crushed ice, if you can! You’ll get a better blended cocktail. You can smash up your own with a Lewis bag and mallet. Some Sonics actually sell their crushed ice!
• If you aren’t a fan of gin, simply leave it out, or if you want that extra buzz, just substitute plain or citrus-infused vodka {I’d opt for St. George California Citrus, if you can find it}.
• If you can’t source Leopold Bros. Rocky Mountain Blackberry, Chambord would work just fine here, as well.

Our friend, Clayton, brought us back a bottle of Principe de los Apostoles gin from his trip to Argentina last year. We only recently cracked it, but it already might be our new favorite find. It’s actually infused with yerba mate and boasts aromas of pink grapefruit, peppermint, and eucalyptus. I recommend sipping some on the rocks with soda before making this cocktail. Even tonic is a distraction from its flavor profile.

If you’re a gin-lover, you’ve got to source and experience this unique gin for yourself.

 

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Alamos, Torrontés, Salta, Argentina, 2015

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• on the eyes  –  brilliant, very pale straw.
• on the nose  –  honeysuckle, candied Meyer lemon, honeydew melon, fresh herbs.
• on the palate  –  crisp and tart with mouth-watering acidity and notes that confirm the nose: lime pith, under-ripened stone-fruit, melon, and a hint of salinity.
• on the table  –  pairs perfectly with a bowl of salty chips and guac, empanadas, or herb-grilled fish.
• on the shelf  –  around $13.

Cheers to celebrations, happy memories, and to doing our bests to stop and savor every moment we’re given. It takes a concerted effort for me to consciously soak up what’s going on in my own backyard, by temporarily setting down the digital distraction that is my iPhone. I find that I’m able to fully encode and richly experience what’s happening around me, if I allow myself phone-free moments. Even entire afternoons. I’d rather remember the sun’s angle, how good that slice of watermelon tastes, or the bees flitting around the bobbing sunflowers.

And if you haven’t started Stranger Things yet, do it and tell me what you think!

XO,

Jayme

 

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