Wet Whistle

Family Friendly

Watermelon Limeade

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Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!

 

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

In Utah, we harvest watermelons as early as July. The local farmer’s market starts getting the best ones around mid-August. The rind is a gorgeous, green, and the flesh is a deep red and smells as sweet as it tastes. This is very important for a tastier Watermelon Limeade!

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

How Do You Know If a Watermelon is Ripe?

I love to handpick the best watermelon! A ripe watermelon should feel heavy. After all, it is mostly water. Knock on the melon or slap it to be sure that you hear a hollow sound. I can be found knocking on every watermelon in the bunch so that I pick the perfect specimen for my Watermelon Limeade. Where the melon meets the earth is called the “field spot.” That is precisely how it sounds, where the melon touches the field. If the field spot is white, it is not ripe. If it is yellow and sounds hollow, you’ve got a ripe watermelon.

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Will My Watermelon Ripen After it is Cut From the Vine?

Watermelons do not continue to ripen after they are harvested. This does seem strange, but there is science to back it up. Watermelons are called a non-climacteric fruit, meaning that it does not produce large amounts of ethylene or CO2. Some other fruits in this family are pineapple, tangerines, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, grapes, and strawberries. They start to go bad rather than continuing to ripen. It is imperative to choose a watermelon at the peak of ripeness. This will ensure that your Watermelon Limeade tastes as amazing as it looks!

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley
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Watermelon Limeade

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword watermelon limeade

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs Seedless watermelon
  • 1/2 cup Fresh mint leaves
  • 1 cup Fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup Simple Syrup
  • 2 cups Water

Instructions

  1. In a blender add watermelon and mint.

  2. Strain the melon mixture into a large bowl or pitcher.

  3. Add in remaining ingredients and stir.


  4. Serve over ice or chilled. Garnish with a sprig of mint. 

  5. **To make a Boozy Watermelon Limeade add 1.5 ounces of white rum to a highball glass and fill with Watermelon Limeade.

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Tarragon Gin Lemonade

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Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Add in a bit of Elderflower and the result is a bright, crisp cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s evening!~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Could Tarragon in Drinks Become a New Favorite?

It’s time to enjoy warm, summer days and nights on the patio with friends. My tribe and I love lemonade, and it’s nice to put a bit of a twist on traditional lemonade. My ladies and I love a great cocktail, so Tarragon Lemonade becomes Tarragon Gin Lemonade with a splash of elderflower liqueur.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin.

This Tarragon Gin Lemonade is the Flavor of Memories

If I could put my Aunt Marie’s garden into a cocktail, this would be the one! It’s fresh, light, herbaceous yet floral. This cocktail makes me want to take my tribe of girlfriends all the way to California to sit with my fantastic aunt and my wonderful, sweet Uncle Richard. I want to sit in their yard under the wisteria, amongst the flowers, veggies, fruits, and chickens and visit with my warm, loving, fascinating family! My tribe would love them all! This cocktail, to me, is that gorgeous garden, in a glass. The second name for this drink would be Aunty’s and Uncle’s Secret Garden.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Add in a bit of Elderflower and the result is a bright, crisp cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s evening!~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

I have recently become quite good friends with gin. There is a local distillery that has a high-quality gin for an affordable price. Summer flavors must be light yet flavorful and gin is the perfect choice. I could drink this cocktail all season long.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Add in a bit of Elderflower and the result is a bright, crisp cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s evening!~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

What Elements Make the Tarragon Gin Lemonade So Tasty?

There are a couple of essential elements that make this cocktail taste like a summer garden. First and foremost is the tarragon. It makes the flavors pop. Be sure that you don’t obliterate the tarragon. It only needs bruising. If you muddle too much, it can become bitter. The second essential element is the elderflower liqueur. You only need a little in this cocktail to feel like you are sitting under the pergola breathing in the variety of blooms.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Add in a bit of Elderflower and the result is a bright, crisp cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s evening!~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Leo the corgi loves lemons! I had to banish him from the studio so that he didn’t drink from the pitcher and get tipsy from the cocktails!

I am excited about this cocktail. Let me know if you love it as much as I do!

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Add in a bit of Elderflower and the result is a bright, crisp cocktail that is perfect for a hot summer’s evening!~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley
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Tarragon Gin Lemonade

To make this drink family friendly, simply omit the gin and the elderflower liqueur! 

Course Drinks

Ingredients

  • 2 Lemons Sliced
  • 10 Sprigs Tarragon
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 3 Cups Water
  • 2 Cups Fresh lemon juice
  • 2 1/4 Cups Gin
  • 3/4 Cup Elderflower Liqueur

Instructions

  1. Put sliced lemons, tarragon sprigs and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl or pitcher. Muddle together firmly but don't emaciate the tarragon. Bruise it.

  2. Add the water, fresh lemon juice and 2 cups of sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.

  3. Add gin and elderflower liqueur stir well.  

  4. Strain into a highball glass with ice or fill a shaker halfway with ice. Shake 4-6 ounces in a shaker cup and strain into a cocktail or martini glass.  Garnish with tarragon and a lemon wedge 

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin. Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

 

 

Butterbeer

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Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has butterbeer wants to know how to make it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butterbeer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

“Does anyone fancy a butterbeer?” Harry Potter

I love all things Harry Potter. I am always excited to go to one of the Universal parks and step into the Wizarding World. I feel like a little kid who can’t wait to see the magic wands and drools over the colorful candy.

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butterbeer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

 The Butterbeer sensation!

Butterbeer was a quick success that had HP fans buzzing with excitement. I was told by the kind young man who served us last week in Universal California, that this magical drink was meant for everyone to enjoy and so there is no dairy. I could not solidly verify this but for the record, there is dairy in my version.

My favorite part of visiting Hogsmeade is wandering around the shops with a butterbeer in hand. After visiting with my two teens and my husband, we decided that I needed to make a kid version and an adult version of butterbeer.

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butterbeer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

What’s in that yummy “cream” on top of the butterbeer?

There is a buttery/carmelly kind of fluffiness that gets put on top of the butterbeer. It really does make an already wonderful drink, divine. Honestly? I don’t have clue how Universal makes it. I used cream in mine and I did three different versions of this before settling on the one below. My husband and my kids had to taste-test it for me each time (I heard no complaints!) The recipe below won by a small margin. They were all quite tasty!.

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butterbeer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

Whether you are a Harry Potter fan or not, chances are that you’ll like this drink! Give Harry my best, next time you are in Hogsmeade!

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butter Beer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

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Brown Sugar Whipped Cream

According to the taste buds of my family memebers, this is the best whipped cream to pile on top of butterbeer!

Ingredients

  • 1 pint whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients with hand mixer, stand mixer or by hand, vigorously until stiff peaks form. 

    Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butterbeer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!
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Butterbeer

To make a this without alcohol for the kiddos, omit the vodka and the butterscotch liquer and add butterscotch syrup. Stir together, ice, cream soda and 1 1/2 tablespoons of butterscotch syrup. Use a cocktail strainer to ditch the ice and pour your butterbeer into a tall glass. Top with a generous amount of brown sugar whipped cream. 

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Vodka
  • 1/2 ounce Butterscotch Liqueur
  • 6 ounces Cream Soda
  • 1 Tbs Brown Sugar Whipped Cream

Instructions

  1. Stir all ingredients until blended and chilled. Using a cocktail srainer, pour into a tall glass (8 ounces or bigger) and top with brown sugar whipped cream. 

    Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has Butter Beer wants to know how to have it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults!

Most people who visit Hogsmeade at Universal and has butterbeer wants to know how to make it at home. You can make one for the kids and one for the adults! ~by Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Homemade Grenadine

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Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, water and sugar

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon.

There was a time in America when women started to work more and the era of quick foods began. This was a time of meals in a box, frozen dinners, and take out. The era lasted a long time. Mostly because the children learned from their mothers to make quick foods. So it carried over to the next generation.

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, water and sugar~ By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

When my mother was young, she baked, canned, and prepared everything from scratch with her own mother, but by the time she had children, a job, and an active social life, she went for quick foods and I was not taught how to truly cook from scratch, except for baked goods. Mom’s hobby was baking and we did it every Sunday.

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, water and sugar~ By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

I started to learn to cook when I married my husband. After we had children, we started hearing about food coloring being a carcinogen and that it increased the symptoms of things like ADHD and depression. Our children thought that they were being punished by having parents that would eliminate such fun, colorful things from their lives.

At that time, I had no idea that you could actually make things like homemade grenadine. As a matter of fact, I thought Grenadine was cherry flavoring! It’s pomegranate! Surprised? I was too.

Homemade grenadine can be used in all sorts of cocktails as well as fun drinks like a classic Shirley Temple!

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Homemade Grenadine

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Pomegranate juice Squeeze your own or get a high quality, organic pomegranate juice.
  • 2 Cups Sugar I use organic cane sugar
  • 1/2 Juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan mix the pomegranate juice and the sugar, stir on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. add in the lemon juice after the sugar has dissolved. Let cool. Pour into a storage container. The homemade grenadine will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator. 

    *If you'd like it to keep for up to a month, add 1 ounce of vodka for preservation. 

Homemade grenadine can be used in all sorts of cocktails as well as fun drinks like a classic Shirley Temple!

 

Sparkling Lemonade

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Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It's a magical addition to any day.Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family-friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It’s a magical addition to any day.

Freshly squeezed lemonade was not something that I tasted until I was an adult. Yes, I suppose one could feel sorry for me. I was caught in a world of beverage packets mixed with water and sugar, and I liked it that way until a college roommate squeezed some lemons and made fresh lemonade for me. I was in heaven! That was when the floodgates of fresh juices entered my world.

Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It's a magical addition to any day.

I loved the flavor of freshly squeezed lemonade. To this day, it reminds me of sitting on the roof of the house where my roommate and I rented the very humble attic apartment. It takes me back to walking home from Utah State University on warm fall days. Still warm enough to enjoy the cool drink and still too warm for the fall clothes we were dying to wear.

I stepped it up a level and added sparkling water. Sparkling lemonade became one of my favorite beverages; I add it to many things to amp up the flavor and pizzazz. Sparkling lemonade is a fantastic base for cocktails and a crisp, Summer Shandy.

Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It's a magical addition to any day.

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Sparkling Lemonade

Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It's a magical addition to any day. 

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Author Darla

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 5 Lemons; cleaned
  • 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
  • 4 cups Sparkling water
  • Ice

Instructions

  1. Combine 1 C sugar and 1 C water in a saucepan constantly stirring over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

  2. Let cool completely. 

  3. While the simple syrup is cooling, zest one lemon.


  4. Juice all of the lemons.

  5. In a pitcher, combine the simple syrup, juice from the lemons, sparkling water and zest.

  6. Serve over ice.

Sparkling Lemonade is a fresh, family-friendly drink with freshly squeezed ripe lemons, sugar and sparkling water. It’s a magical addition to any day.