libation

Raspberry Lemonade ♯

At family gatherings, especially when there are minors at large, a nice, cold glass of lemonade can be very refreshing. I like to have a pitcher of it around on such occasions, made in such a way that I, too, can enjoy it—which means that it has to be sugar free. If you don’t care about that, feel free to use the sugared form of ingredients below. It is quick and easy to prepare, and appears here principally to record for my later use the proportions of ingredients that I have found to be the most suitable to my palate. Sugar-free raspberry syrup* can usually be found in the coffee isle in your local supermarket.

  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup sugar-free raspberry syrup
  • 1 cup <sugar>
  • 6 ½ cups water

Mix all ingredients together in a half-gallon jug. Refrigerate.

Makes 8 cups, or about 10 or 11 six-oz servings with ice.

Cranberry-Pomegranate Tonic ♯

This recipe is so simple I probably should not have included it in this recipe collection. But it’s good, and I drink it almost every night when I don’t want a glass of wine or cocktail. Sometimes I substitute another diet juice for the cranberry-pomegranate, but you get the idea. Enjoy it yourself!

  • 1 part diet Cranberry-Pomegranate Juice drink
  • 1 part diet tonic water
  • ice

Pour each ingredient in a tall glass filled with ice, stir, pour, and drink.

champagne punch

This is the libation offered during the cocktail hour at the Family Thanksgiving Feast of 1988†. When I make it today, I substitute <sugar> for sugar and diet cranberry juice and ginger ale for the real things, just to make it Lower G. I.

  • 1½ cups lemon juice
  • 12 oz superfine sugar
  • 1½ quarts cranberry juice
  • 6 bottles champagne
  • 2 bottles ginger ale
  • 1 cup brandy
Decorative ice ring:
  • 1 small bottle maraschino cherries
  • 3 limes, quartered
  • 1 orange, cut in 8 wedges.
  • 1 quart distilled or de-ionized water

Prepare a decorative ice ring ahead of time. Boil enough of the water to fill a ring mold, and chill. Fill the mold half full, and chill until frozen solid. Arrange fruit on the ice in a decorative pattern, add ¼” water and freeze. Fill the mold with cold water and freeze.

Stir lemon juice and sugar together in a large kettle (not aluminum) or jar until sugar dissolves. Mix in cranberry juice. To serve, place the decorative ice ring in a large punch bowl; add fruit juice mixture, champagne, ginger ale, and brandy; mix gently. Depending on size of punch bowl, mix ingredients in proper proportion at each filling.

Serves 25.