June was a blur, I know I’ve mentioned that before, but I can’t believe it’s July already–it doesn’t look like the weather around here believes it either, unfortunately. The weather looks anything but summery the next couple of days. Work-wise, the next month should be a little breather from the craziness of the last few months before the remaining craziness starts for the second half of the year. Oh, and I have a lovely bright pink stripe in my hair now, too, and that makes me smile every time I look in the mirror. Seriously, every time. 

I buy so many berries during the summer. And, with so many berries, I have to come up with ways to use them before they become a gooey, moldy meal for the fruit flies. I did manage to freeze some this year; more to the point, I managed to put berries in the freezer AND transfer them to a plastic bag after they were frozen. Woohoo, small bit of success!

But, I didn’t freeze them all, I used some in a cocktail experiment that resulted in a drink that matches my pink stripe. My little experiment ended up with two versions of the The Swoop. I tested a couple of ideas to start–both had berries, bourbon, Letterpress limoncello, and Scrappy’s bitters; one had Jägermeister and the other had amaretto. The Jägermeister version was the clear winner for both me and Skip. Then, we both thought it would be fun to add carbonation. We poured the drink in the Perlini, and created a super carbonated cocktail that looked a lot like Lambrusco when we poured it in the coupe glass. Unfortunately, the carbonation really masked the tang from the berries and made the cocktail taste more strawberry soda; it was a bit strange, honestly, and not what I was going for. Then, we made another version where we poured the drink over a lot of ice and topped with Seattle Cider Company‘s citrus cider. Success!

So, ladies and gents, for your drinking pleasure: The Swoop (two versions, served up or served on ice with hard cider).

The Swoop

Version 1
Served up, in a chilled coupe glass.

2 oz. Bourbon
1/2 oz. Limoncello
1/2 oz. Jägermeister
1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
2-3 dashes Aromatic Bitters
10-12 Berries (black berries, tayberries, blueberries, etc.)
Lemon peel, berries for garnish

Details
* Put the berries in a cocktail shaker; muddle with the limoncello, juice, and simple syrup.
* Add the bourbon, Jägermeister, and bitters to the shaker.
* Fill with ice; shake vigorously for 1 minute.
* Strain into a chilled coupe cocktail glass and garnish.

Version 2
Served on ice, topped with hard cider.
* Instead of straining in to a chilled coupe, strain in to a collins glass filled with ice.
* Top with a hard cider. Add a straw and enjoy!