Beet Infused Vodka Cocktail

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[FYI: If you follow me on Instagram, you knew an infusion recipe was coming. JOIN THE FUN AND FOLLOW ME NOW BY CLICKING HERE, k thanks!]

Guys. Beets are the most beautiful ingredient. Ever. Don't believe me? Here...

No artificial coloring in that delicious drink. Just sweet, earthy, beet goodness. 

We got the beet, we got the beet, we got the beet. Yeah, we got it.

When Prairie Organic Spirits contacted me to have me develop some vodka infusions, I quickly started brainstorming. What I wanted to create was something that was both unique in its infusion ingredient choice, and colorful and beautiful to photograph, look at, and drink. It didn't take me long to decide on roasted beets as a top contender. 

A lot of people are on the fence about beets, but if you try them roasted, when they are sweet and earthy, you will not be disappointed. In a cocktail, they are wonderful. It's so much more than your typical fruit flavored vodka, because beets - especially roasted beets - have so much more to their flavor profile. 

Sweet? Check. 

Smoky? Check. 

Earthy? Check. 

Fresh? Check.

Now, find me a fruit that can check those boxes!

Beet Infused Vodka

Ingredients for Vodka:

• 8 oz Prairie Organic Spirits Vodka
• 1 large beet
• Glass jar

Directions for Vodka:

1. Trim and scrub the beet, removing the outer layer of skin. Wrap in aluminum foil and roast in an oven for 50 minutes.
2. Let it cool, then cut into 4 pieces and combine with vodka in a glass jar.
3. Cover and keep in a cool, dark place for 3 days, shaking 3-4 times per day (or as many times as you remember - it can't hurt!).
4. Strain with cheesecloth or a regular strainer and make yourself a cocktail!

Beet Infused Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients for Cocktail:

• Ice
• 1.5-2 oz beet infused vodka
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 3-6 oz soda water 
• 3 drops liquid stevia (or 1/2 tsp agave nectar)
• 1 dash angostura bitters

Directions for Cocktail:

1. Fill a shaker with ice, then top with remaining ingredients. Put the top on and slowly turn upside down a few times to mix (do not shake it if you have used soda water, you will end up with a mess!) 
2. Pour into a glass and garnish with a lime wedge

Effen Cucumber Mint Martini

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Let's start today's post with a game. Humor me for a minute as you read a few sentences and try to determine what they've all got in common...

-On a hot summer day, you sit on the edge of the water and let cool water flow over your legs.

-A dream vacation involves dancing and swimming under a waterfall, or hiding behind the water's spray with your significant other.

-You're sitting in a lounge chair, sipping a Corona with lime.

-You return from a long run and down a bottle of Smart Water.

Did you guess it yet? They're all refreshing!

There's something magical about the light, happy, refreshing feeling you get from all of those things. Whether it's something as large scale as a dream vacation, or something as simple as downing a bottle of water, it seems to breathe new life into us. There's nothing wrong with a little rejuvenation, my friends.

Just as I believe that life is better when you embrace spontaneity and random events and urges that come up, I also believe life is better when you continually find ways to revitalize yourself. Put cucumbers over your eyes and take a nap, or make cucumber and mint infused water to treat yourself as you re-hydrate.

Or, of course, make yourself a deliciously refreshing cocktail. Not the kind of cocktail that makes you pucker and cringe as you slowly sip it. Not the kind that's filled with sugar, just to create something that tastes good. Nope, this is a different kind of cocktail. Let's just say the cocktail has... evolved.

Enter the delicious and refreshing taste that we all want at the end of a tough day, or the beginning of an eventful evening.

Effen Cucumber Mint Martini

Ingredients:

• Ice Cubes
• 3 Mint leaves
• 1 slice of Cucumber (1/4 inch thick), cut in half
• 1 lime wedge
• 1.5 oz Effen Cucumber Vodka
• 6-8 oz Seltzer Water (Sparkling Water, Club Soda, or Diet Tonic will also work)

Directions:

1. Add ice cubes to cup
2. Add mint leaves and cucumber wedge. Squeeze lime juice from lime wedge and add.
3. Add Effen Cucumber Vodka and Seltzer Water
4. Stir!

Notes:

• You may notice this is a martini recipe, yet it's not in a martini glass. What's up with that? Unfortunately, I'm far too clumsy to deserve to drink from a real martini glass (seriously, I even have to use stemless wine glasses, I'm just a huge spaz and I get all excited and knock stuff over). That said, feel free to act like a real grown up and use a real martini glass. :)