Hi friends! Looking for a refreshing and flavorful drink to cool off this summer?

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Summer is here!! The unofficial start of summer is this weekend and I have a refreshing sweet 7UP cherry almond sparkler for you to start your celebrations!

Are you excited for summer? Do you have your summer bucket list yet? I am very excited as we didn’t really have a spring. It’s been cold, rainy and miserable but now we are jumping straight into summer and I am planning activities that I would like us to do. I found this list of outdoor activities to do in Upstate NY that I will be closely following. Lots of hiking, state parks, animal parks and zoo for the family. We are also going camping (well, fancy camping) with my in-laws and I am looking forward to all the grilling, summer desserts and s’mores we will be eating. Of course with all this hustle and bustle, I need to prepare for each outing and I love shopping at Walmart for our summer outdoors necessities.

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I am so excited to share this hibiscus sparkler with you today!! As we get closer to summer, refreshing fruity drinks are in high demand and this hibiscus drink hits all the notes for that. Sweet, delicious, refreshing, and vibrant. It’s just what we all need for the upcoming relaxing season.

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I have another recipe for you today that does not involve baking! I’ve been going through a lazy spell ever since I finished my exam a week and half ago. All I do is play and enjoy the new found freedom and the kitchen is the last thing on my mind. It’s okay, I am sure I will be back baking soon.

I made this Strawberry Peach Iced Tea last weekend for a BBQ party I was attending and I had to share it with you guys. It’s so simple, refreshing and bursting with berries and peaches. Perfect summer drink!!

One of the reasons I’ve been unable to get any baking for the blog is this baby!! He is 11 months old and has all the energy in the world to play. He constantly wants to be chased and it is so much fun to just crawl around with him. As I was shooting this recipe, he came over with his dad begging to play peek-a-boo. He makes it hard to get anything done around here.

But back to the task at hand. This Strawberry Peach Iced Tea is crazy good and I want you to try it at some point this summer. At least before those gorgeous peaches go away. Unlike my past iced tea recipes, I made a strawberry peach simple syrup to steep the flavors of both fruits and used this syrup to sweetened my brewed tea. I used loose black tea for this batch pictured but I’ve also made this recipe with loose green tea. It was even better in my opinion but if you like the classic iced tea recipe, stick with black tea. Oh, I’ve also added lemonade in another batch and it was delicious!!! (Can, you tell I’ve been making this all summer?)

I hope you are having a great summer and enjoying the weather! Until next time, make some iced tea with berries and peaches!!

xoxo

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Yield: ~7 cups

Strawberry Peach Iced Tea

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe peaches, thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 black or green tea bags (you can use loose tea too)
• Garnish: peaches, strawberries

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, combine the peaches, strawberries, sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer on low until sugar melts. Cook on low for addition 5-10 minutes to soften the peaches. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain out the fruit and refrigerate the syrup.

Brew your tea but bringing about 8 cups of water to boil and steeping in your tea bags. Transfer tea to a pitcher and refrigerate to cool.

When ready to serve, sweetened the tea with the strawberry peach syrup. Either sweetened the pitcher or individual servings. Serve tea with fresh peaches and strawberries.

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram using #aclassictwist so we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

More Refreshing Summer Drinks:

Strawberry Blueberry Iced Tea Lemonade

Strawberry Basil Sparkler

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade

Strawberry Cucumber Limeade

The post Strawberry Peach Iced Tea appeared first on A Classic Twist.

Every celebration deserves a signature drink. Whether it’s a cocktail or a refreshing, sparkling lemonade. Or in our case today, a sparkling cherry limeade!! Last summer my signature drink for gatherings was this sparkling strawberry cucumber limeade and everyone loved it! But we are taking things up a notch this year with another fruity limeade with a little dash of almond extract to our cherry.

I love adding almond extract to my cakes and pies but I love it in drinks too. Remember when these mango margaritas? We had a secret ingredient in it and we using the same here too. Almond brings out the flavor in a lot of fruits, especially cherries. I used Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Almond Extract in these cherry limeades! I also added a little bit of dark rum I had left over and it was a delicious addition. So if you are making this for an adult gathering, be sure to add a little bit of rum or vodka.

Now, I’m hoping all goes well with my final exam on Wednesday so I can celebrate  with this cherry limeade. It will be perfect to relax with on a hot summer day or to bring along to a picnic at the park.

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Yield: 1 liter

Cherry Limeade

A refreshing sparkling cherry limeade with hints of almond. Perfect for any summer BBQ.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh cherries, pits removed
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup simple syrup, or more to taste
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon Nielsen Massey Pure Almond Extract
• Sparkling water or club soda
• (Optional: a dash of rum or vodka)
• Garnish: lime wedges, fresh mint and cherries

Instructions

In a blender, blend the fresh cherries until smooth. Pass the puree through a fine sieve and collect cherry liquid into a medium bowl.

In a large pitcher, whisk together the cherry juice with the simple syrup, lime juice and almond extract.

When ready to serve, add ice to the pitcher and fill with about a liter of sparkling water or club soda.

Mix well and add sweetener to taste.

Serve with garnishes and enjoy immediately.

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram using #aclassictwist so we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

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The perfect holiday moment in my mind is a lazy Saturday evening, post dinner, where everyone is chatting over beverages. Given it’s usually cold around here, we always have a pot of coffee going.  But I am always looking for something refreshing, festive and girly to keep my holiday spirits up. This year, these cranberry thyme sparklers will be my cocktail of choice and will be available around the clock for any guests.

With a sweet cranberry thyme syrup, these sparklers are made bubbly with 7UP TEN, the 10 calorie 7UP® soda which I found at my local Target (along with 5478 other things I didn’t need but picked up anyway because it is Target). Using 7UP or Canada Dry is a simple way to introduce bubbly into your cocktail and also a splash of lemon or ginger in your drink. I added some fresh lemon zest to the tart cranberry thyme syrup but if you are using Canada Dry, I suggest you use some fresh grated ginger to amp up the cocktail.

For these cranberry thyme sparklers, you can skip the alcohol altogether but adding a little vodka is a great idea. Since they come together so quickly, you can even have the ingredients set up for your guests to make their own. It will be fun for them to mix-and-match the flavors. Just make sure you let people know not to add the bubblies before shaking in a cocktail shaker. Not that I would know what kind of mess that causes (ahem!).

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Yield: 3

Cranberry Thyme Sparkler

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

For Cranberry-Thyme Syrup:

Toggle ingredient group

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup fresh cranberries
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

For Sparklers:

Toggle ingredient group

• 2 ounces Cranberry-Thyme Syrup (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest or grated ginger
• 2 ounces vodka (or more to taste, optional)
• 3 ounces 7UP TEN® or Canada Dry®
• Ice cubes
• Sugared Cranberries and fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

Instructions

To make Cranberry-Thyme Syrup:

1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, bring the sugar, water and cranberries to a boil. Once the cranberries start to pop, stir occasionally and cook for about 2-3 minutes. You don’t want the cranberries to get mushy but at the same time you want their flavor in the syrup. Remove from heat and add in the sprigs of thyme. Let steep until completely cool. Pass syrup through a sieve and collect in a small bowl.

For Sparklers:

1. In cocktail shaker or large pitcher, combine the syrup, lemon zest (or ginger), vodka and ice. Shake well. Divide mixture into serving glasses. Add ice cubes to each glass and top off with 7UP® or Canada Dry®.
2. Stir and adjust taste with syrup. Enjoy!

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram using #aclassictwist so we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

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