Spicy Raspberry Mint Sodas
- 1-1/2 cups demerara sugar raw sugar
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1 pint raspberries
- 1 dried chipotle pepper, seeds removed
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1 liter club soda
- crushed ice
- 1 cup orange, lemon or pepper-flavored vodka optional
- thin orange slices for garnish
- Place sugar and water in a 3-quart saucepan and place over medium high heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium. Add raspberries, chipotle pepper, and cinnamon stick; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain syrup, pressing on solids to extract syrup; discard solids. Store syrup in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up 1 week.
- To make sodas, add 1/4 cup of spicy raspberry syrup to glass along with a few mint leaves and use a muddler to bruise mint. Fill glass halfway with crushed ice and top off with club soda. If desired, add a splash of flavored vodka to glass before topping with club soda. Garnish with thin slice of orange and a couple of mint leaves.
sugar, water, raspberries, pepper, cinnamon, mint, club soda, crushed ice, orange, thin orange
Taken from food52.com/recipes/13107-spicy-raspberry-mint-sodas (may not work)