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Cocktail Hour with Elles Icebox: Raspberry Lemonade & Strawberry Daquiri
I’m very excited to introduce BellaNaija readers to the wonderful world of Elles Icebox. You see, Elles Icebox was birthed after I attended an event where there was a lack of innovative and aesthetically presentable cocktails. This got me thinking about providing this service across the country… I had to share the gospel of cocktails. Six years later, this dream has been made a successful reality.
Running a cocktail business definitely has its crazy moments, but my favorite part is the cocktail hour. I usually have a cocktail every day. Yes, I said it. Every evening, I walk through the door, kick my shoes off, mix a quick delicious little cocktail at our living room bar and then kick back and watch some TV.
So, every weekend, I’m going to share quick recipes of cocktails which you can try at home. Delicious, easy to make and they come with NO stress at all.
I’d like to start off with a huge thank you for all the love for our 1st BellaNaija post. We will definitely keep giving you awesome recipes to try out and enjoy. Now, I love lemons and I always have a few in the fridge somewhere.
So I have a lemon inspired cocktail – Raspberry lemonade!
Automatically you wonder where you can find raspberries, but I promise you they are here in Nigeria. Yes, they are more readily available on the Island I’ll confess, but they are here all the same not just on TV.
Raspberries and lemons are both tart fruits, so you need to watch out for that sharp flavor if you don’t put in a good bit of sugar, but hopefully with the recipe guide you should be just fine.
A dozen raspberries
6 lemons
4 large cups of water
Sugar
A small bowl of ice
Lemonade is a very popular cocktail around the world but not so much in Nigeria. Limes seem to be more popular here, maybe because people think lemons are sour. This cocktail is going to change this misconception (I hope!)
Put 2 cups of water and 10 teaspoons of sugar in a pan and stir until the sugar is melted. Leave this to cool.
Take your lemons and squeeze the juice into a jug, then add the cooled sugar syrup into the lemon juice and stir. Taste to see if sweet enough if not add sugar as needed.
Add the raspberries and ice and finally it’s ready to serve.
Please note: I find that the longer the raspberry lemonade is in the fridge, the pinker and prettier it becomes!
Strawberry Daquiri
Strawberries are the best fruit in the world – to me. They contain vitamin C, antioxidants and they help lower cholesterol.
They are not very sweet, but with the right mix they taste fantastic. For this post we are going to do an awesome strawberry Daquiri.
8 Strawberries
1 large lemon
3 spoons of sugar or agave
White rum*
Triple sec*
Ice cubes
* Alcohol is optional in this recipe for those who do not wish not to drink.
Start by squeezing the juice from your lemon. Next, put the 3 teaspoons of sugar and half a glass of water in a pot and heat to create a simple syrup feel free to add in a little bit more sugar as desired.
Add your squeezed lemon juice, strawberries, the simple syrup or agave – alcohol (2 shots of white rum and 1 shot of triple sec) and ice into a blender and blend till smooth in texture.
Pour the blended mixture into a glass and garnish with a strawberry and enjoy.
A simple, enjoyable cocktail.
Let me know how it goes.
Happy Sipping
XOXO
