Blackberry Tequila Cooler
Photography by Yasu + Junko
Recipe by Maggie Hoffman
Start to Finish: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 8 |
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
16 sprigs fresh mint
2/3 cup blackberries (about 3 1/2 oz.)
1 1/2 cups reposado tequila, chilled
8 dashes of angostura bitters
2 cups fresh lime juice, (from about 16 limes)
About 1 1/2 cups dry sparkling wine, chilled
Preparation
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and 1 cup water over medium, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. Let the simple syrup cool for 2 minutes.
2. Strip the leaves from 8 mint sprigs. (You should have about 1 cup of leaves.) In a blender, puree the mint leaves, simple syrup, and berries; using a fine-mesh strainer, strain into a large pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes. (The syrup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
3. Stir the tequila, bitters, and 1 1/2 cups cold water into the pitcher. (If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.)
4. Stir the lime juice into the pitcher. (If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.)
5. Stir the cocktail. Pour into glasses filled with ice. Top each drink with a splash of sparkling wine. Garnish with the remaining mint sprigs.
