5 Refreshing Homemade Summertime Drinks

Here in Pennsylvania, we've been having some pretty warm (and humid) days! One particularly warm evening I was sitting on my porch reading through an herbal cookbook. Inside, I found a wonderful recipe for Rose-Merry-Berry Syrup. The syrup could be made into to salad dressings, used in marinades, or added to sparkling water. After reading that recipe, I couldn't get the idea for this blog post out of my mind. I hope today's post will inspire you to get creative with summer's bounty as we explore 5 homemade summer drink options.

1. Garden Tea

I love making this drink because it is so beautiful and it smells amazing! For this particular tea, I used rose petals, Beebalm, Yarrow, Apple Mint, Mountain Mint, and Bachelor's Buttons. Feel free to use whatever you have growing around you. As a reminder, make 100% sure you're using edible and safe plants! This tea can be served hot or cold with your sweetener of choice.

What you'll need:

• 1 quart size mason jar

• 3 cups of water

• Several handfuls of herbs and edible flowers from your garden.

Directions:

• Fill mason jar with herbs and flowers

• Bring water to a boil

• Pour boiling water into the jar and let herbs/flowers steep for 5 minutes

• Add sweetener

• Serve hot or chill and serve over ice

2. Strawberry Vanilla Spritzer

This recipe is full of summertime flavor and fizz. I used strawberries for this recipe but I'm sure you could easily substitute them for blueberries or raspberries. This recipe makes enough for 2 drinks. If you try it let me know what you think!

What you'll need:

• 1/2 cup of strawberries

• 2 Tablespoons of water

• 1 Teaspoon of vanilla

• 2 Tablespoons of sugar or sweetener of your choice

• Sparkling water

• 6-10 ice cubes

Directions:

Add strawberries, vanilla, sugar and water (not sparkling water) to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil until berries are soft and you have a syrupy mixture (about 5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and run it through a fine sieve or piece of cheesecloth to remove any seeds or pulp. Let cool. Once cooled, fill a glass with ice cubes and add sparkling water. Mix in strawberry syrup until you've reached desired sweetness. Garnish with fresh mint and enjoy.

3. Thai Iced Tea

This recipe is quite different from what I would normally drink, but I really enjoyed switching things up and trying something new this week. I got the recipe from Aimeemars.com. You can check out her recipe here. I will say, I am not a huge turmeric fan and ended up cutting the amount she suggests in half. I would consider this drink on the indulgent side, but hey, sometimes we need a little something special, right?

4. Flavored Water

I know this sounds boring, but hear me out on this one! Adding fruit and herbs can make drinking water extra special. The cool thing about flavored water is that most fruits and herbs will work. I think lavender lemon or rosemary raspberry could be really delicious! My favorite combination is orange slices with Lemon Verbena. In the summer months I try to keep a pitcher in our fridge at all times. It's cold, refreshing, and healthy. What more could we ask for?

5. Blueberry Shrub

If you're anything like me, you're probably thinking "Isn't a shrub a bush?" Well, it turns out that a shrub (similar to Haymaker's Punch or Switchel) is an old-fashioned way of preserving fruit in vinegar. Sounds kind of gross, but I had to try it! From what I understand, the vinegar, when combined with sugar, fruit, and time, will become a more subtle flavor and can be added to sparkling water. Unfortunately, my batch wasn't ready in time for this blog post. So, the verdict is still out. But, if you're looking for a traditional and forgotten drink, you may want to whip up a batch of your own!

I hope you've found inspiration in today's blog post! Leave a comment with your favorite summertime drink and be sure to let us know if you've ever tasted a shrub before!

Thanks for reading,

Abby