I first fell in love with Eau Claire Distillery (an Alberta-based company) a couple of years ago when I tasted their gin at a wine festival. It was so smooth–a bit fruity and undoubtedly delicious. Definitely different than other gins on liquor shelves.
Next I discovered their EquineOX Prickly Pear Vodka, which is next level. Technically, I don’t think it’s an actual vodka. I’ve heard it referred to as a vodka alternative, whatever that is, but I’m not an expert by any means, so I’ve been treating it like a vodka.
If you’re one of those people who can sip booze on the rocks this would be a great one to try. The smell alone is enough to tempt you to try it (sweet and fruity). I had Holly give it a go, but apparently she’s not a fan of strait vodka at 11 am 😂, it didn’t go down so well. I can’t do it either; I need my hard liquor in a cocktail, so Holly (Chandeliers and Champagne) and I set out craft the perfect summer drink using my new bottle of EquineOx.
Since the flavour is pretty unique we started out perusing their list of suggested cocktails on their website (kudos to Eau Claire by the way, I love when distilleries do this) and decided to make a riff of their Blueberry Ginger Mojito. It took a couple rounds of trial and error to get the proportions and ingredients right (lychee and Triple Sec definitely didn’t work) but I am confident in saying that we mixed up the perfect summer drink!
Also, can we talk about what a pretty colour the muddled blueberries make this drink! The longer you let the mixture steep before straining it the darker the pink hue will get.
Prickly Pear Vodka Soda
Yields 1 cocktail
You’ll need:
- 1.5 oz prickly pear vodka (our preference is Eau Claire EquineOx)
- 0.5 oz ginger simple syrup (recipe below)
- 5 mint leaves
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- Juice of half a lime
- Club soda
- Ice
- Cucumber to garnish
- Lavender to garnish
Directions:
Add vodka, ginger simple syrup, mint, blueberries and lime juice to a tall glass and muddle with a muddling stick or the back of a spoon.
Line the side of a second glass with a thin slice of cucumber. Fill glass with ice and strain the first mixture into the glass. Top the drink up with Club Soda (roughly 1/3 of a can). Garnish and serve.
Ginger Simple Syrup
You’ll need:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger
Directions:
Boil till sugar dissolves, then cover and steep for 30 minutes. Strain and refrigerate in an air tight container. This should keep in the fridge for about a month.
Hope you enjoy this delicious summer cocktail, be sure to follow along on Instagram (@alexandtribe, @chandeliers.and.champagne) to see what else we come up with over the course of the summer and tag us in you pics if you recreate any of our cocktails.
Cheers!
Alex & Holly
