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3 Brunch Cocktails You Need to Try

  • by Katia Essyad

There aren’t too many instances where day drinking is totally socially acceptable: barbecues, ballgames and chief among them, brunch. There’s something so relaxed and forgiving about this hybrid, weekend meal — even if you’re a get-stuff-done kind of person Monday through Friday, brunch gives you permission to spend the weekend eating a bunch of awesome food, enjoying a cocktail and then watching a movie or two (or maybe even snoozing the afternoon away).

If you enjoy an adult beverage with brunch, skip the usual suspects the next time you host and try something spectacular instead. We’ve got three cocktail recipes on deck that start with a familiar noon-day sipper and then add our harissa or our preserved lemons to create truly unique, show-stopping drinks your friends will love. And the best part is, while these all look and taste impressive, whipping up a batch is no big deal.

  • Harissa Bloody Mary: Is there any drink more synonymous with brunch than a bloody mary? If bloodies are your go-to savory cocktail — and especially if you like them spicy — then harissa bloody marys are the drink you’ve been waiting for. Follow this method for knock-your-socks-off hair of the dog:
    • To make one drink, combine roughly one teaspoon Casablanca Market Harissa with 1.5 ounces vodka, two ounces pureed, canned tomatoes (the best quality you can get your hands on), two ounces tomato juice or V8, a dash of prepared horseradish sauce and a few squeezes of fresh lemon and lime juice. Pour the mixture over ice and garnish with your favorite bloody mary accoutrements. We like pickles, olives and bacon!
  • Preserved Lemon Shandy: There are many interpretations of shandies, but basically it’s some combination of beer and another nonalcoholic drink (often lemonade, but sometimes ginger beer, ginger ale or apple or orange juice).
    • To make a preserved lemon shandy, first make preserved lemonade: Take a quarter of a preserved lemon and muddle it in a glass with about a cup of simple syrup and the juice of half of a fresh lemon. Let the mixture steep for 15 minutes or longer. Strain the lemonade and add half a cup (or more to taste) to a half-full glass of an easy-drinking light beer, like an uncomplicated pale ale or pilsner.
  • Salty Collins: A Tom Collins is a classic gin and lemon fizzy brunch cocktail. Add a mellow, salty twist by adding a preserved lemon to the recipe:
    • To make a Salty Collins, first fill a tall, slim Collins glass with ice cubes and let it chill in the fridge or freezer. In a cocktail shaker, add 1 or 2 ounces of your favorite gin, half an ounce of simple syrup, the juice from half of a fresh lemon and the rinsed pulp from half of a preserved lemon. Shake until the sides of the cocktail shaker are almost too cold to hold, and then strain into the chilled Collins glass. Top the mixture off with chilled club soda, garnish with a slice of lemon and enjoy!

    Thirsty yet? Give any of these cocktail recipes a whirl at your next brunch (remember the Casablanca Market Harissa and Casablanca Market Preserved Lemons), and you’ll never go back to the “plain” versions again!

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