It’s that time of year when you have a great excuse to come up with fun cocktails centered in the red, white and blue arena. We’ve had a lot of celebrations themed around the 4th of July, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to come up with something new! I stuck with one of my favorite summer fruits, added one of my favorite fresh herbs (because fresh herbs in cocktails is SO in), tossed in my favorite hard liquor and came up with cocktail perfection! This strawberry thyme vodka spritzer is a little bit of sweet, a little bit of tart and a lot of delicious.
Maybe it’s the fact that summer, aka no school, is in full effect. Maybe it’s the fact that my husband has been traveling a LOT. Or maybe it’s that my backyard is still not ready and keeping my three little boys inside is slowly killing me. Whatever it is, cocktail creation has been in full effect over here. So I’m taking this opportunity to post my first “official” cocktail on the blog! I have a few other drinks like my Blueberry Mint Lemonade or my Anti-Inflammatory Juice that are delicious with a little splash of liquor, but they aren’t official cocktails. Cue “Woohoos” and “Oh yeahs” because it’s about to get fancy up in here! Side note, if you don’t have a muddler you can get creative like I did and use the end of an ice cream scooper. See, told you I was fancy 😉
Why should you love this strawberry spritzer?
Let me help you with this. First, it uses FRESH strawberries. No cooking anything down to a syrup. I thought about it, then decided I needed quick and easy and so did you. Throw it all in, muddle the bejeezus out of it, pour and slurp. Easy. Second, I pair these lovely strawberries with thyme. Why thyme? Because fresh herbs are so darn good in cocktails. They add a depth of flavor you just can’t get otherwise. Last, good vodka. I cannot emphasize this enough. I am partial to potato based vodka, my favorite is Chopin. However I also like Titos even though it is corn based.
So let’s get you ready to impress at those festive parties, summer barbecues or just really long kid infiltrated weeks. Grab yourself some fresh berries, make sure those kiddos are taken care of and throw together a few of these babies. You can thank me later! And don’t forget to drink responsibly and never drive after consuming alcohol.
Sophia DeSantis | Veggies Dont Bite
Yields 2 eight ounce drinks over ice
Celebrate summer with this fresh, slightly sweet, slightly tart and fully delicious strawberry thyme vodka spritzer! Leave out the vodka to make it virgin!
Save RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup chopped strawberries (about 7 strawberries), plus 2 whole ones for garnish
- ¼ - ½ cup (2-4 ounces) good quality vodka (more or less depending on preference)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- ¾ cup sparkling water
Instructions
- Place chopped strawberries, vodka, lemon juice, 4 sprigs thyme and sugar in a bowl or cup/jar. Using a muddler (or end of a thick spoon or ice cream scooper if you don’t have one like me), carefully and slowly smash the strawberries and thyme with the vodka, lemon juice and sugar until everything is smashed and the strawberries have juiced.
- Strain the liquid into two cocktail glasses or jars filled with ice. Divide the sparkling water between the two glasses and mix in.
- Add back in some of the smashed strawberries if you want, then garnish with the 2 left over strawberries and sprigs thyme.
Notes
You can always leave out the vodka for a still delicious virgin option!
Tips to prep ahead: Muddle ahead of time and store in a container in the fridge until ready to serve.
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