Now that the weather starts to get a bit more friendly again, you might like to have a refreshing drink, relax on the balcony or just enjoy being outside. Today I want to publish a nice recipe for such occasions, which in addition comes with a lower degree of alcohol so that you won’t get drunk all too soon.

Anyway, what you might want is a “Cooler”, a classic drink category that has been specially devised for refreshing and cooling purposes. Personally, I really like the Apricot Cooler, especially because of its taste that offers great associations of fresh apricot fruits without being too sweet or even sticky. So, this one is ideally suited for a warm spring day or a mild summer evening.

For the first time I’ve read about the Apricot Cooler in Hugo R. Ensslin’s “Recipes for Mixed Drinks” from 1917, where he presented a recipe with both lemon juice, and lime juice. I absolutely enjoyed the cocktail and it tasted very good, so I’m quite happy with the recipe presented here. The variant also is a somewhat lighter one, because, as noted above, I wanted to create a particularly fresh adaptation, which is not so strong.

Apricot Cooler (adapted from Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1917):

4.5 cl Apricot Brandy (e.g. de Kuyper or Bols)
Juice of half a lemon
Juice of half a lime
2 dashes grenadine (Doing it yourself is worth a while!! You can find a good recipe here.)
Soda water

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients except soda water in a shaker, shake vigorously on crushed ice and strain into a well-chilled glass. Fill with cold soda water and serve.

Glass: Collins or Highball

Garnish: none

Buying Sources: Apricot Brandy can be found in well-stocked supermarkets, specialized liquor stores or on the Internet.