Delicious Summer Drinks that You Can Grow in Your Garden

Summertime is a time for cold drinks, hot days, and beautiful gardening conditions. We know that at the end of a long day’s work at our plant shop in Bucks County, a lot of us want to go home, sit down, and have something fresh to sip on. While most people have a favorite beer or a go-to cocktail, it can be fun to change things up every once in a while, especially if you’re able to use the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor to enhance your new drink.

Of course, you’re right; you can’t really grow these drinks in your garden, but the ingredients in these beverages can come right from the ground in your backyard. Here are two recipes that you can use home-grown ingredients to make:

 

Pineapple and Mint Mojitos

We’ve all had mojitos. They’re a classic drink, and if you’ve ever gone out to brunch, it’s possible that you’ve seen the people around you sipping on these somehow-appropriate-before-noon alcoholic beverages. Here’s how you make it.

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup of sugar
  • 1 ½ cups of mint leaves (straight from your garden)
  • 3 ½ cups of pineapple cut into bite-size pieces. This could be from your garden too, but it’s most likely from your grocery store.
  • 3 limes, cut into wedges
  • 2 ½ cups of rum
  • Club soda

Prep and Assembly:

  • Boil sugar and 1 cup of water until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1 cup of mint leaves, then remove from the heat.
  • Put 2 cups of pineapple into a blender and purée.
  • Mix the pineapple purée and the water mixture, removing the mint leaves.
  • Set this mixture aside.

For each drink:

  • In a shaker, muddle 3 pieces of pineapple, wedges of lime (to taste), and 3 mint leaves.
  • Combine two and a half ounces of rum and two and a half ounces of the purée in the shaker.
  • Shake.
  • Pour into a glass, and enjoy a drink that you had a hand in growing.

Calamondin and Mint Cocktail

One tree that many gardeners grow in the United States is the calamondin tree. Calamondin juice is often called Filipino Lemonade because of the fruit’s citrus flavor that is similar to that of limes and lemons and its common use in Filipino cooking. Here’s a tasty, summer drink that you can make using your calamondin.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces of rum
  • 1 1/2 ounces of simple syrup
  • 1 ounce of calamondin juice (garden)
  • 5 mint leaves (yes, mint again)

Assembly:

  • Combine all ingredients in a shaker.
  • Strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice.
  • Garnish with a thin slice of calamondin.
  • Enjoy.

Keep Your Drinks As Fresh As Possible

Fresh ingredients in your cocktails make them taste better. In fact, fresh ingredients in any food or drink help them taste better and make them healthier for you too. If you’re interested in starting your own garden and are looking for a wholesale garden center in Bucks County, visit us at Leck’s Greenhouses. For information about our products, browse our site or call 215-664-8648.