[1] Framboise and raspberry club soda with fresh raspberries.

[2] Lemonade and limoncello with fresh lemon and mint (both photos © RawPixel.com | Pexels).

We were trying to clear out a pantry closet filled with alcohol, which included bottles and bottles of things we rarely use.

 
So what do do with half-filled bottles of scotch, unopened bottles of bourbon, and a dozen bottles of never-used liqueurs?

Give them away. Nobody we offered them to turned them down, even when there were just two inches left in the bottle.

But we did hold back a few bottles of liqueur to try out today’s tip: liqueur spritzers.

We had a mix-your-own cocktail party where the ingredients were:

 
We provided rocks glasses, even though these normally would be tall drinks. But in order to see if you like what you’ve mixed, smaller is better.
 
 
THE RESULTS

A good time was had by all.

 
And a party bonus: Everyone went home with one or more bottles of liqueurs and spirits.

Do you have bottles that are sitting around, gathering dust?

Now you have a plan, perfect for idling on the patio or around the pool.

Over the weekend, we made batches of these cocktail recipes from bartender Wells Adams of Bachelor in Paradise.

Wells partnered with Tropicana to craft two juicy cocktails: Tropicana’s Tequila Sunset and Wells’ Watermelon Spritz.

Both of our pitchers were emptied within an hour!

You can turn either cocktail into a mocktail by substituting ginger ale for the alcohol.
 
 
RECIPE #1: TROPICANA TEQUILA SUNSET

This cocktail is a riff on the Tequila Sunrise, a cocktail made of tequila, orange juice and grenadine and served unmixed in a tall glass. Unmixed, the gradations of orange and red resemble a sunrise.

The original was created in the 1930s at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in the 1930s. It contained tequila, creme de cassis, lime juice and soda water. The recipe was revised and popularized in Sausalito in the early 1970s [source].

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the juice and tequila in a Collins glass over ice. Stir well to combine.

2. TOP with grenadine and garnish with a fresh orange wedge.
 
 
RECIPE #2: WELLS’ WATERMELON SPRITZ WITH CUCUMBERS

Cucumbers and watermelons are first cousins. Both are from the binomial order Cucurbitales and family Cucurbitaceae, differing only at the genus level: Cucumis for cucumber (the common cucumber genus/species is C. sativus) and Citrullus for watermelon (C. lanatus).

That’s why you can eat the white portion of watermelon rind—it tastes just like cucumber—or turn it into pickled watermelon rind, a.k.a. watermelon pickles.

Kirby cucumbers, specified in this recipe, were once a particular species. Now, kirby has become a generic term for any small cucumber.

[1] A riff on the classic Tequila Sunrise, this recipe uses Pineapple Mango juice instead of orange juice (both photos © Tropicana).

[2] Watermelon Spritz. “Spritz” means that carbonated water (club soda, seltzer, etc.) has been added.

Kirby skins are not skins, which mean that the skin can be eaten. It also enables the cucumbers to be pickled, skin on.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. ADD the cucumber wheels to a Collins glass. Add the vodka and the ice.

2. ADD the club soda and top with the watermelon drink. Garnish with the cucumber wheel.

[1] Strawberry gazpacho has vegetables, onion and herbs, like a basic vegetable gazpacho (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] The markets are filled with fresh strawberries, ready to enjoy plain or in recipes like this (photo © Good Eggs).

Our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog added strawberries to a classic gazpacho recipe to fight “an oppressive heatwave.”

It’s a soup course, or a main course with a salad or sandwich on the side.

“Balancing sweetness with savory undertones, the subtle bite of vinegar, and fresh verdant pop of basil, it’s a delicious study in contrasts,” says Hannah.

“Don’t let the fruity feature scare you off! It’s not a vegetable-forward smoothie, but you may still want to drink it straight from the blender.”

We’ll add a smiley icon to that: 🙂

Here’s her quick-and-easy recipe. Prep time is 10 minutes, plus an hour or more to chill.
 
 
RECIPE: SAVORY STRAWBERRY GAZPACHO

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the strawberries and vegetables, along with the basil, salt, crushed red pepper and vinegar, in a blender. Blend on high speed until thoroughly puréed.

3. ADJUST the seasonings to taste, if needed. Garnish bowls with pistachios, strawberries, cucumber, and/or basil, if desired. Also consider a dollop vanilla yogurt or plain Greek yogurt.
 
 
CHECK OUT THE
HISTORY OF STRAWBERRIES