Prosecco adds a nice, dry touch and sophistication to this fruit forward Sparkling Raspberry, Vodka, and Honey Cocktail.
It seems like it has been light years since I posted a new cocktail here. The truth is I am a social drinker, I most often make two cocktails for a post and then a neighbor will come over and enjoy one with me. Covid-19 has changed that and I'm simply not much of a solitary drinker...I like that companionship! This Sparkling Raspberry, Vodka, and Honey Cocktail spurred me to follow a more 'normal' tradition.
I miss some of the great mixers that I often enjoy with friends so I invited neighbors over recently for a small gathering in my backyard. Drinks for the adults, ice cream for the kids. We kept our distance as I had set out chairs for each family unit but it was great to have the gang back together. Normally in the course of the summer this type of event happens at my home a lot and I was desperate (no, not an exaggeration at all!) for the camaraderie.
Inspired by NEFT Vodka and a recipe they provided to me using Prosecco, a sparkling wine, I was set to give it a go; photos would be done prior to our backyard event so on that day I could simply relax and have fun with friends I wasn't seeing nearly enough.
Speaking of NEFT; I loved this vodka. It is made from water filtered for fifty years, four ancient grains of rye, and nothing else. The way they craft it is not the expected choice, but they've come out with an original.
Water is drawn from the Rhaetian Alps in Austria where slate and granite are the natural filters. The water is blended with ancient rye in Lower Saxony that has been blowing in the wind for 5,000 years. To bring it all together, NEFT partnered with a distiller who, for five generations, had been handcrafting rare, curated spirits and winning Distillery of the Year - a family with terroir running in their veins.
Created as a sipping vodka, I did ask for their assistance with a recipe so that I could share something with you on these pages. Still, it is a fine choice if you love your vodka cold and straight; all that's required is some time in the freezer for the vodka and a couple of your favorite glasses.
I remember the years when I would make something, get photos and serve the libation or food all on the same day. No more; I'm over the frenzy that timing can cause. This would be easier.
Or so I thought. Now, you may not like to hear stories on pages of food blogs but today...oops, you're getting one. It's a tale of what this can take to get those simple photos taken and published; or maybe it's a matter of what happens when you can't!
First and foremost, raspberries are a royal pain. I love the little red orbs but they are so short lived in the refrigerator. Honestly if I get them one day, I feel like they have to be used by the end of the next day or they show signs of being past their prime, are they related to avocados?
So, THREE different times I got my little packet of berries and had the Prosecco chilled in the fridge and three different times as I was ready to shoot, the gray clouds moved in overhead.
Living in a semi-arid region like Denver, we always welcome rain so I hate to complain but honestly, the piddling rain we got that ruined those shoots was pathetic. I'm complaining doggone it! Yes, I have some artificial lights but I like to use them as a supplement; not as the only light source. Plan foiled again, and again.
So I decided to try something different. I would find some artificial berries to use as a prop for photos. The drink simply had a lemon twist...but some berries on the flat surface would be nice. I found a nice spray, I bought them, waited a week to receive them, did the photo shoot and...just couldn't do it.
They were OK but OK was not cutting it. Why do artificial raspberries have little crystal things trying to mimic the individual sections? Come on...make them with plastic but make them look more real please?!! Besides that I also thought I would experiment with using a sparkling soda instead of Prosecco.
Truth is, the test with the sparkling soda made me realize it would be a great mocktail so that was a bonus, but nothing about the soda created the fizz that Prosecco does so back to the drawing board. I know the saying is that the third time is the charm but for me, seems it was the fifth. The fifth time...no berries scattered anywhere but real Prosecco. That was the final compromise.
I can say unequivocally that I have NEVER had so many starts and stops with one cocktail. The reason I kept at it and refused to punt to something entirely different was simple...this libation is really, really good. I did make a couple of slight modifications from the original recipe but my changes were subjective...I think my dry Prosecco meant it needed a bit more of the honey syrup and I might have thrown in a couple more raspberries than the original recipe required.
But once done...this is one I actually did sit down, by myself, and enjoy...I mean that is what a deck is for right? When I did have my friends over somewhere midway between these trials they also gave me more impetus to keep on task; they loved it too. Whew!
Now after all of this lament; don't think this cocktail is hard. Just don't plan to take photos...and enjoy! 🙂
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