The first official days of summer are upon us! It is time to enjoy the sun and all of its glory while sitting the porches with family, friends and neighbors. Nothing pairs better with these summer moments than a refreshing cocktail.
Our cocktail in this post was inspired by a recipe featured on Smitten Kitchen – The Red and Black. She discovered this strawberry, peppercorn and tequila cocktail at a now-defunct NYC restaurant. This particular drink resonated with her so much that she even created Popsicle version with these flavors. She brilliantly dunked the strawberry-lime-peppercorn Popsicle into a shot of tequila in order to achieve the optimum adult ice-pop vibe.
Inspired by this genius Popsicle hack, Kyle wished to transform the cocktail into a Frosé, the icy Rosé delight that has become quite the adult summer treat sensation over the past few years. This treat, with its semi-frozen, barely-sweet qualities embody the same early-summer imbibing appeal as the Red and Black Cocktail.
Kyle felt this combination of flavors would contribute nicely to a Frosé – strawberries and Rosé do fit well together. The tartness of the lime juice balances out the sweetness, and the peppercorn syrup gives it a bit of a kick to add an unexpected layer of flavor.
Don’t be put off by the presence of black pepper in this slushie treat! The black pepper and strawberry, though a surprising combination, creates an exceptionally delicious drink. The peppercorn syrup just adds a bit of lingering heat without being “spicy” per se. Trust us, the combo in this adult slushie will make you go back for sip after sip. This recipe is quite simple. You make the syrup then puree everything together. The mixture hangs out in the freezer until it achieves maximum slushie perfection.
This recipe yields enough for several cocktails. If you freeze your mixture overnight and find it as a solid block of Frosé, do not fear! Once you scrape it into your serving glasses, the icy mixture will begin to melt down to slushie consistency needed. You could even speed up the process by adding a splash of club soda (or just a bit more Rosé!) to each glass. This frozen treat is spot on for your summer cocktail season. On a steamy summer evening, this treat will be a winner among your guests. Porch life just got a little bit sweeter.
Inspired by Smitten Kitchen via Food & Wine.
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon (7 grams) coarsely ground black pepper
- 12 ounces ripe strawberries, hulled
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
- 1 750-mL bottle Roséwine
- Club soda, to serve (if desired)
- Bring sugar, water and pepper to a boil. Once boiling remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Strain the peppercorn syrup into a blender with the strawberries, lime juice and Rosé. Discard the ground peppercorns and blend the mixture until evenly combined. You can blend everything for a full minute or two to get the mixture thoroughly pureed, or you can pulse it a few times if you’d like some strawberry chunks in your Frosé.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 13-inch dish and freeze for at least 5 to 6 hours, until mixture is slushy. Alternatively, if you have an ice cream maker, you can churn the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Scoop the slushy Frosé mixture into glasses and enjoy! If you leave the mixture in the freezer overnight and it freezes solid, fret not. Use an ice cream scoop to shave the granita-esque mixture into glasses. This will melt into the slushy, Frosé consistency fairly quickly, but you can help the process along by stirring a splash or two of club soda into each glass.
Hannah says
These were amazing! My sister-in-law and I tried them out for out weekly cocktail night, and loved it! We finished off the whole batch ourselves, with some peppercorn salami and crackers. At first, I was nervous about a spicy cocktail, and the sip I had after first blending it did have heat, but it seemed to mellow after freezing. Still, just a touch of the peppery taste was nice, I would have enjoyed it even a touch hotter, so next time I won’t be nervous about that. They were sweet and cool, with a tiny kick. A perfect summer-evening send-off.