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Cocktail History
The Strawberry Booster is a blended cocktail that was created by Clare Liardet and was first published in her book Dry: Delicious Handcrafted Cocktails & Other Clever Concoctions. It’s essentially a cocktail-style strawberry smoothie, but instead of using milk, it’s made with a base of lemon juice and ginger syrup paired with a salt, strawberries, mint, and balsamic vinegar and topped with sparkling water. However, our variation adds in vodka and uses both honey and ginger syrup to tone down the spice.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Vodka: This is a spirit made with grains, vegetables or fruits, and alcohol. We used Smirnoff Vodka because it’s high quality and affordable. For a mocktail version of this drink, omit the vodka or try STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s simple recipe.
Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Balsamic Vinegar: This is a dark and intensely flavored vinegar made with grape must.
Strawberries: This a small red fruit that is soft and juicy and has yellow seeds on its skin.
Mint Leaves: This is an herb. We used fresh Mojito mint.
Salt: This is a mineral. We used Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Soda Water: This is a type of water that has been infused with carbon dioxide gas under pressure. We used Topo Chico Sparkling Mineral Water because it’s light, essentially flavorless, and refreshing.
Mint Sprig: This is an herb. We used fresh Mojito mint.
Strawberry Slice: This is a strawberry that has been cut into a slice.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut citrus into slices or wheels. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Blender: This is used to blend up ingredients. We used the Cuisinart SPB-7CH SmartPowder Electronic Bar Blender.
Tasting Notes
The Strawberry Booster begins with strong fruit and mint aromas and features the refreshing taste of strawberry backed by notes of citrus, honey, and a hint of ginger.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Alex was pretty “meh” about this drink because it was so tart and a lot of work, but Kendall enjoyed it quite a bit. She thought the Strawberry Booster was frothy, fruity, and delicious and that it would be the perfect poolside sip on a summer day when she’d prefer to avoid falling asleep in a chair before 2:00pm.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Dry: Delicious Handcrafted Cocktails & Other Clever Concoctions by Clare Liardet.
Add lemon juice, vodka, honey syrup, ginger syrup, balsamic vinegar, strawberries, mint leaves, and sea salt to a blender and pulse until thoroughly mixed and frothy.
Fine strain into a lowball glass filled with cracked ice.
Top with soda water.
Stir for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with mint sprig and strawberry slice.
Ingredients
Directions
Add lemon juice, vodka, honey syrup, ginger syrup, balsamic vinegar, strawberries, mint leaves, and sea salt to a blender and pulse until thoroughly mixed and frothy.
Fine strain into a lowball glass filled with cracked ice.
Top with soda water.
Stir for 3-5 seconds.
Garnish with mint sprig and strawberry slice.
Make It a Mocktail: Omit the vodka or use STRYKK Not V*dka in place of the vodka to try a booze-free version of this drink.
Shop Glassware & Tools
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More Spring Cocktails
If you like this spring-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Blood Orange Sunrise: A vodka cocktail made with pomegranate juice, blood orange juice, lime juice, honey syrup, soda water, and a blood orange twist
Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint
Far East Side: A sake and tequila cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and shiso leaves
Kelly Kapowski: A vodka cocktail made with water, lemon juice, ginger syrup, celery bitters, cucumber slices, arugula, paprika, and a cucumber ribbon
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