LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2021

Inside scoop from page 25

Frozen assets from page 90

Strawberry Margarita & Pineapple Ice

There’s little that’s new in a juicy Strawberry Margarita, unless you serve it with a gor- geous salted and peppered pineapple ice cube. The musky flavour of pepper works with both the strawberries in the drink and the pineapple juice in the cube. If you have spherical ice moulds, now available pretty much everywhere, you’re halfway there. If not, don’t sweat it—make a tray of 12 or so regular-size pineapple cubes, and serve each drink with two. 1 Combine 3 hulled strawberries and ⁄ tsp (2 mL) sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle until sugar is dissolved. Add ice, 1 ⁄ oz white tequila, 1 oz lime juice and ⁄ oz triple sec. Shake and fine strain into a margarita or rocks glass over a single Salted Pineapple & Pepper Ice (recipe this page). Makes 1 drink G&T WITH MELON POPS Hendrick’s Gin ( LCBO 637504, $52.95) is fla- voured, in part, with cucumber. And melons are cucumber’s relations. So why not garnish a summery G&T with a two-layer melon pop? The honeydew layer is imbued with lime juice, an- other friend to this classic summer drink, while the cantaloupe layer has a touch of honey that amplifies its flavour. If you’re willing to share, the pops (but not the drink) are kid-friendly to boot. 1 Fill a rocks glass with cracked ice. Add 1 ⁄ oz Hendrick’s Gin. Nestle a Melon Pop (recipe follows) into the ice and top with tonic water. MELON POPS To make the pops, you’ll need 8 ice-pop moulds (or paper bathroom cups) and popsicle sticks. 1 In a blender, combine ⁄ roughly chopped seeded peeled honeydew melon, 1 tbsp (15 mL) sugar, 2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice and 1 tbsp (15 mL) water; purée and divide among cups. Freeze for 1 ⁄ hours, then insert picks into centres. 2 Meanwhile, in a blender, combine ⁄ seeded peeled cantaloupe, 1 tbsp (15 mL) honey and 2 tbsp (30 mL) water; purée. Top frozen honey- dew layer with cantaloupe mixture and freeze until set, about 1 hour longer. To release, briefly run cool water over paper cups and squeeze bottoms. Makes 8 pops Makes 1 drink

Rum & Coconut Shaved Ice If tropical flavours are your thing (and why wouldn’t they be?), this snow cone cocktail is your hot-weather nirvana. Making the spicy syrup is as simple as reducing ginger beer. Otherwise, just pour, squeeze a lime and serve. Coconut cream is available in cans at most large grocers. 1 Heap a 6-oz paper cup or rocks glass with shaved ice. Top with 1 ⁄ oz dark rum. Squeeze juice of half a lime overtop and add a bit more ice (ice will have settled). Top with 1 oz Ginger Beer Syrup (recipe follows) and 1 ⁄ oz coconut cream.

KOMBUCHA RUM PUNCH Made ahead and served in a pitcher, refresh- ing rum punch gets a modern makeover with bittersweet Aperol and tart, fizzy kombucha. While the recipe calls for white rum, just about any rum in your liquor cabinet will result in a delicious drink. If you can’t find Rise kombucha, any berry-flavoured kombucha will do nicely in its place. ⁄ cup (175 mL) white rum ⁄ cup (60 mL) Aperol 1 cup (250 mL) pineapple juice ⁄ cup (60 mL) strained fresh lime juice ⁄ cup (60 mL) Simple Syrup (recipe follows) 4 dashes Angostura bitters 2 cups (500 mL) ice cubes, plus more for serving 1 ⁄ cups (375 mL) Rise Hibiscus & Rose Hips kombucha, chilled 3 mint sprigs, plus more for garnish 1 lime, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish Straws, preferably reusable or compostable 1 Pour rum, Aperol, pineapple juice, lime juice, Simple Syrup and bitters into a 48 to 64-oz (1.42 to 1.89-L) glass pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. 2 When ready to serve, add ice to pitcher. Slowly pour in kombucha. Add mint sprigs and sliced lime. Lightly stir. 3 To serve, strain into chilled highball or hurri- cane glasses filled with ice. Garnish with mint and lime slices. Add straws. Makes 4 to 6 drinks SIMPLE SYRUP Bring 1 cup (250 mL) water to a boil and stir in 1 cup (250 mL) sugar until dissolved. Pour into jar and let cool. If storing, cover and refriger- ate for up to 1 month. Makes 1 ⁄ cups (375 mL)

Makes 1 drink

GINGER BEER SYRUP Bring 2 cups (500 mL) ginger beer to a boil in a medium pot. Boil until reduced to ⁄ cup (125 mL). Chill.

Makes ⁄ cup (125 mL)

Salted Pineapple & Pepper Ice Spherical ice moulds come in a variety of forms, sizes and sphere counts per piece. Start by filling all of your moulds with water, then emptying that water into a measuring cup. Take note of how much liquid you need to fill your spheres, then fill that measure with a 1:1 mixture of pineapple juice to water. For each mould you are filling, add a pinch each of salt and a pepper. Fill and freeze overnight.

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SUMMER 2021 FOOD & DRINK