Here at Old Town Olive, we’re always looking for new ways to use balsamic vinegars and olive oil. Not only do we believe in our products and want to be able to recommend them to our customers to use in a variety of ways, but we also just plain enjoy experimenting with them here at our shop and getting to taste the results.
We recently blogged about shrubs, the flavored vinegar drinks from centuries past. Those things are very tasty and very refreshing! When looking up recipe ideas for shrubs we found another interesting idea—cocktails made with balsamic vinegar or olive oil.
Recipe Ideas for White Balsamic
Peach Tea Cocktail: Lushly flavored white balsamics shine in lighter flavored drinks, like this southern peach tea cocktail. Combine ½ cup Aged Peach White Balsamic with ¼ cup of white sugar in a small saucepan, and heat it just until the sugar is dissolved. In a large pitcher, combine the vinegar/sugar mixture, a quart of plain tea, two ripe diced peaches, and ice. Spike it with peach schnapps or vodka, stir, and drink at will.
Sangria: For a balmy summer evening, put this simple drink together earlier in the afternoon and let it chill in the fridge. Mix one bottle of red wine, ⅓ cup fruit flavored white balsamic like Cranberry-Pear, Grapefruit, or Gravenstein Apple, two cups of mixed berries, two limes sliced, and stir it all together. Tight before you serve it, add a cup of prosecco or other sparkling wine.
Similarly, you can make a tropical sangria by mixing a bottle of white wine, ⅓ cup of our Cara Cara Orange Vanilla or Coconut balsamic, two cups of cut up fresh pineapple, mango, and kiwi, and letting it chill. Add a cup of ginger ale right before serving.
Don’t Forget the Dark Balsamic
Dark balsamic gets in on the cocktail action as well. Here are a couple recipe ideas:
Strawberry Champagne Cocktail: Cut up two cups of ripe strawberries and toss them with a couple tablespoons of white sugar. Muddle them slightly, pour a dash of Strawberry Balsamic over them, then add a bottle of sparkling wine or prosecco and stir.
Dark Chocolate Balsamic Martini: Rim two martini glasses with sugar. Chill a few ounces of vodka in your martini shaker, add a tablespoon of Dark Chocolate Balsamic, shake, and strain into the glasses.
Olive Oil Cocktails?
Okay, admittedly, this one sounds a little weird at first, but it turns out it’s really delicious!
Peach-Basil Mimosa: Mix together 6 ounces of prosecco, 1½ tablespoons of Peach White Balsamic, and a ½ teaspoon of Basil Infused Olive Oil. Drink with your pinkie finger up.
Adding flavored olive oils to your cocktails can be done with a shaker, for mixed in flavor subtlety (i.e., a cosmopolitan with Rosemary infused oil or a lemon drop with Eureka Lemon infused oil), or with a dropper, so that you can see the oil floating on top of the drink (i.e., a sangrita with Cayenne Chile infused oil).
Let the tastiness begin! Try one of the ideas here, or get creative. There are enough flavors here to keep you sipping happily for a very long time.