Cocktails recipes to make the summer sparkle!

Summer is the perfect season for cocktails. In fact, a cocktail is the prescribed drink as you relax on a terrace along with your lover or among friends. “It’s true, we love our cocktail drinks during the summer months,” admits Valérie Beaulieu who has been working at Léon Courville, Vigneron (previously Le Domaine Les Brome) for four years now; “and, we especially like them to be refreshing, sweet tasting and sparkling.” Valerie is, among other things, a mixologist. She’s the one who creates delicious blends of flavours to the delight of her guests. Furthermore, in partnership with Kava Tours (who offer a variety of guided tours on the Route des Vins), Valérie presents winter workshops to people interested in creating their own cocktails.

The Key to a good cocktail? Balance. “It’s important to find the proper dose between ingredients,” says Valérie,” however, there is a lot of “trial and error” involved before you succeed.” It also requires using some basic ingredients, wine for instance, and you build around this base. “I often say that there are four layers to a cocktail: alcohol, juice, aromatics … and pleasure!”

Valerie Beaulieu often uses the word creativity as well, saying that “a cocktail is a true creation; creativity is therefore essential to making something new and out of the ordinary.” If you would like to experiment inventing a new cocktail, leave the juice ingredient aside if you’re using ice wine. “It would be much too sweet! Mind you, I enjoy working with ice wines and I would combine it with club soda, for example. We could also add frozen fruit, which I love doing in the summer.” If you prefer following the instructions of an expert, here are two cocktails, signed by Valérie Beaulieu—perfect for surviving any heat wave!

The equivocal

Perfect for surviving a heat wave!

Ingredients:

• Ice cubes
• 1 oz. Vidal Vendanges Tardives LCV (Léon Courville, vigneron)
• ½ oz. Grapefruit juice (fresh, if possible)
• 1 oz. lychee juice in a box
• 2 sage leaves
• 2 lychees

Instructions:

Put ice in a cocktail shaker (a lot of ice!)

Then add the other ingredients and shake vigorously. Finally, lengthen to your taste and garnish with the sage and lychees.

The Ice Splash

Ingredients:

• Ice cubes
• 1 ½ oz. Vidal Vendanges Tardives
• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
• Fresh thyme
• ½ fresh lemon slice
• clear soft drink (7 Up style drink)

Instructions:

Place ice in a shaker then add all the other ingredients except for the 7 Up. Shake well. Pour into a glass and lengthen to your taste with the soft drink. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Cheers!