It’s summertime and the sipping’s easy.
Summer is the perfect season to host friends and family. With days getting longer — and hotter — great hosts know to welcome guests with a drink that’s crisp, hydrating and refreshing. Three words that sum up Mountain Valley Spring Water quite nicely.
Whether it’s our award winning, purely sourced, naturally balanced spring water or the fizzy effervescence of Mountain Valley’s (also award winning (clinks glasses)) sparkling and sparkling essence spring waters, we know a thing or two about keeping thirsts quenched and palates cooled, even in the searing heat and tortuous humidity of summer.
Perhaps you’re planning for a pool day, a trip to the beach, a bachelor/bachelorette party, a wedding, a baby shower — whatever the occasion, if you’re a summer host, we at Mountain Valley Spring Water have got your summer mocktails, summer cocktails and low-ABV summer beverages covered. Let’s mix things up …
Summer Hosting: Low-ABV cocktails that define chill
Summer calls for drinks that can be slow-played, beverages you can sip any time of day and, perhaps, all throughout the day. Enter the low-ABV cocktail.
What is a low-ABV cocktail? Think of it like the middle range between a zero-proof mocktail and its boozy, high-test brethren. Low ABV (that’s “alcohol by volume”) cocktails are often made with beer, wine or liqueur instead of hard liquor. This makes them ideal for a day on the boat or at the beach, where you’d like a chill drink but also want to keep your wits about you.
Speaking of chill, it’s what the folks at Fallen Grape do best. Located on California’s Central Coast, Fallen Grape works with farmers and winemakers to bring organic, natural and low-intervention wines from their vines to your glass. Known for its chillable and hugely gluggable red blend and skin contact orange wines, Fallen Grape’s dedication to local bottling, local packaging and local sourcing means we have a lot in common.
One more thing Mountain Valley and Fallen Grape share: delicious roles in these low-ABV cocktail recipes adapted, respectively, from Imbibe and Food & Wine magazines.
Going for Gold
Ingredients
- 1¼ ounce Fallen Grape “Mother” skin contact orange wine
- 1½ ounce Manzanilla sherry
- 1 ounce ginger beer
- ½ ounce tangy pineapple syrup (see below)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Chilled Mountain Valley Sparkling Water
Directions
- Rim a glass with salt, then fill with ice. Add the first 6 ingredients to an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously, then strain into the prepared glass. Top with Mountain Valley Sparkling Water and briefly stir.
- For the tangy pineapple syrup: In a saucepan, combine 15 ounces of pineapple juice, ½ cup of granulated sugar, 2½ ounces of distilled white vinegar, and a small pinch of salt. Heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cool and bottle for use within 2 weeks.
Orange Wine Sangria
Ingredients
- ⅛ cup honey syrup (dissolve ½ cup honey in 1 cup hot water and cool)
- 1 750 milliliter bottle of Fallen Grape “Mother” skin contact orange wine
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1 cup peach juice
- 1 medium peach, diced
- 1 orange, sliced
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 tarragon sprigs
- Mountain Valley Sparkling White Peach (to taste)
Directions
- Toast cardamom pods in a small pan on medium heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Roughly dice the pear and slice the orange. Add to a large pitcher along with honey syrup, brandy, peach juice, and the entire bottle of Fallen Grape wine.
- Add the toasted spices and tarragon sprigs to the pitcher and allow the sangria to chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. To serve, remove the cardamom pods and pour into your glass of choice over ice. Top with Mountain Valley Sparkling White Peach Spring Water and add hunks of fruit as desired.
Summer hosting: Cocktail and mocktail recipes with a Campy twist
If you want your summer cocktail to pack a touch more — or less! — punch, then our friends at Camp Craft Cocktails can help. The beauty of Camp’s cocktail kits is that you can customize them to be as boozy or booze-free as your heart (/liver) desires.
From this Tangerine Spritz to Lavender Lemonade, Brunch Punch to Hibiscus Ginger Lemon, Camp’s easy-to-use kits do the hard work for you, combining whole ingredients to create stunning flavor profiles that will keep your summer guests happily sipping.
Camp Craft Cocktails’ Tangerine Spritz
A juicy combination of dehydrated tangerine, orange and lemon with citrus-infused sugar, this spritz tastes like a day at the beach. Finish it with a splash of Mountain Valley Sparkling Key Lime Twist to make it even breezier.
To infuse: Fill your Tangerine Spritz Camp Kit with vodka, gin, rum or tequila. For a non-alcoholic version, just add water. Refrigerate for three days to infuse. Don’t have three days? Microwave your infusion without the lid. Heat but never boil. Allow to cool, then strain into another container. Makes eight cocktails.
Recipes:
Tangerine Spritz Golden Ratio
Fill a glass with ice and add a strained 2 ounce shot of the Tangerine Spritz infusion. Top with 1 ounce of Mountain Valley Sparkling Key Lime Twist, and 1 ounce of lemon or lime juice. Stir in glass for 20 seconds to mix and chill, then serve.
Tangerine Spritz Mocktail
Fill your Tangerine Spritz Camp Kit with hot water and allow to cool. Add the following to an ice filled glass: 1½ ounces strained shot of Camp and 4 ounces of Mountain Valley Sparkling Key Lime Twist. Garnish with a slice of lemon or lime.
Nothing makes summer hosting simpler than getting Mountain Valley delivered right to your door, learn more here and get to sipping right away!
