blueberry & mint chiller

I somehow have three pounds of blueberries in my refrigerator… a symptom of gross miscommunication shopping at our local Trader Joe’s.

Last evening I decided I need to make some sort of delicious summer-time cocktail to get through these warm evenings fraught with 80% humidity and 100% exasperation. (A tad dramatic as Boston is not suffering nearly as much as the Mid-Atlantic.)

I digress.

Like any of my handy-man projects I always approach such endeavors as an opportunity to add a new tool to my arsenal… in this case a new mortar and pestle. Why have I never owned one of these? I opted for a marble medium-sized M&P which only ran me $16 at Kitchenwitch in Jamaica Plain.

And, naturally, I needed a spirit.

I am loving all of these local and small-batch craft distilleries popping up everywhere. I picked up a bottle of Deep Eddy Vodka hailing from Austin, Texas. I like the label design with exception to the spot varnish on the crest. I kind of agree that the (damn, experiencing presque vu) thing holding the type is a little over-weighted. Nit-picking aside, I definitely get Austin from this.

From Deep Eddy’s website:

Deep Eddy Vodka is handmade in Austin, Texas in a tiny distillery by Clayton Christopher (creator of Sweet Leaf Tea Beverages) and Chad Auler (creator of Savvy Vodka) – two guys serious about creating a superior beverage. Using only local, natural ingredients, experiences and years of tinkering, they set out to raise the bar.

This is what you’ll need for this recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups vodka (preferably unflavored)
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint
• 1 cup of blueberries
• juice from three limes
• 2-3 tablespoons of agave nectar, or to taste
• soda water
• ice
• mint sprig for garnish

I juice my citrus using a classic glass juicer. The one I have collects the seeds… simple and effective design.

I don’t own a juicer, but it’s clear that I need one. To juice the blueberries I forced the blueberries through a wire strainer using a muddler. This basically created a syrup without the skins (you don’t want your guest to look toothless should a blueberry skin decide to attach to a front tooth). A juicer would’ve made this a lot easier… but, it worked.

Using my new mortar and pestle I ground the mint into a green paste.

I combined the mint, vodka, lime juice and blueberry nectar into a glass pitcher.

When I was ready to serve I poured in half of the mixture over ice in a low-ball glass, filled the rest of the glass with soda water and then garnished with a sprig of mint.

Perfect for a balmy summer evening!

Stay thirsty my friends.