Sparkling Peach Mint Lemonade

Last week I was thinking how refreshing nectarine and mint would be together. So I decided to make a nectarine and mint lemonade. That is, until I got to the store and found that nectarines were $3 a pound. Um….I don’t think so.

Luckily, their more juicy, more flavorful(in my opinion) counterparts were a third the price. Peaches are not in season here yet, so I hadn’t considered using them, but these babies were ripe, rosy, and perfect.

So, I took those pretty peaches home with me and made them in to this super refreshing, super flavorful drink.

SPARKLING PEACH MINT LEMONADE

I just can’t seem to get enough of making lemonades. Real lemonade made from fresh lemons just can’t be beat and there are endless combinations to make! I love the cooling properties of mint, so I made a mint simple syrup with fresh mint leaves and a Vitamix. Just make sure that your simple syrup is completely cool before blending with your fresh mint so that it will retain that gorgeous vibrant green color. If the syrup is too warm is will turn it brown.

Want a few more heat busting drink ideas? THIS is SO good, and THIS is freezing!

And if you happen to have Nectarines around, by all means try them in place of the peaches! I am going to next time, given that they are affordable!

If you are not into layering your drinks, this can just be mixed up all together. If you are obsessed(like me, obviously) or even mildly interested, just remember that it’s easiest to put the mint syrup in first, then fill the glass up with ice. When you pour in the peach lemonade base, the ice will slow its fall and help it even more to stay up on top of the syrup.

Sparkling Peach Mint Lemonade

 

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Serves: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• ½ C. Sugar
• ½ C. Water
• ¼ C. Fresh Mint Leaves, packed
• 5 small peaches
• 1 C. Lemon Juice(from about 5-6 lemons)
• 1 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Water
• Club Soda
• Ice
• Mint Leaves, for garnishing
• Lemon slices, for garnishing

Instructions

1. Place the ½ C. sugar and ½ C. water in a small sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring sugar until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely.
3. Place mint in a high speed blender or food processor. Add the cooled simple syrup and blend until the mint is very finely chopped. You may need to scrap the sides down on occasion.
4. If your blender is very powerful, the mint should be entirely pureed. If there are still pieces of mint and you would prefer to not have them in your drink, pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer.
5. Refrigerate the mint syrup.
6. Wash the peaches and remove their pits. Juice them, or, if you do not have a juicer, puree them in a blender and then run the puree through a fine mesh sieve. Refrigerate peach puree.
7. Place the lemon juice, 1 C. sugar, and 1 C. water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to completely dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, pour into a container and refrigerate.
8. When the lemonade base is cool, mix it well with the peach puree.
9. TO ASSEMBLE THE DRINKS:
10. Fill your glass with ¼-1/3" of the mint syrup.
11. Fill the glass with ice.
12. Fill the glass halfway with the peach lemonade base.
13. Fill the glass full with the club soda.
14. Garnish with mint leaves and lemon slices.

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