A refreshing Blackberry-Thyme Collins is a fun alternative brunch cocktail. It's essentially a grown-up version of sparkling flavored lemonade!
Of all the things I miss most while sheltering in place — watching my son play sports, shopping at the mall, going grocery shopping without a feeling of anxiety in the pit of my stomach — I think I miss brunch the most.
It's one of my favorite ways to indulge myself. As much as I love to cook and bake, it's such a treat to go out to eat. To let someone else take care of the cooking, and especially the clean-up.
Many who used to go out for brunch for Mother's Day will likely be planning to recreate that experience at home. I know I will. But while I love a good mimosa or bellini with brunch, it's hard to justify opening an entire bottle of champagne or prosecco for one or two cocktails.
Which is why I decided I'm going to make myself a different brunch cocktail this year: a blackberry-thyme Collins. It is a variation on the Tom Collins, a gin-based cocktail that includes lemon or lime juice, simple syrup and club soda.
I love cocktails that include simple syrup, because an easy way to vary them up is to flavor the simple syrup. After all, if you're going to be making the syrup anyway, why not throw some extra flavor in there?
No blackberries on hand? You can subsititute an equal amount of any kind of berry (or combination of berries) that you have. No thyme? Leave it out, or use another herb, such as rosemary, basil or mint.
Not a fan of gin? You can substitute an equal amount of vodka instead. No club soda? You can use lemon-lime soda instead, and halve the amount of lemon juice.
You can mix this cocktail up in a pitcher, or check out the notes section for how to mix up one cocktail at a time.
Blackberry Thyme Collins
A refreshing Blackberry-Thyme Collins is a fun alternative brunch cocktail. It's essentially a grown-up version of sparkling flavored lemonade!
Ingredients
For the syrup
- ¾ cup (4.5 oz) fresh blackberries
- ½ cup (3.5 oz) sugar
- ¼ cup (2 fl oz) water
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
For the cocktails
- 1 ½ cups (12 fl oz) chilled gin
- 1 cup (8 fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup (4 fl oz) blackberry thyme syrup
- 3 cups (24 fl oz) club soda
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, water and thyme. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, and cook the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the sprig of thyme and discard. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the blackberries to extract all the liquid. Discard the solids in the sieve and chill the syrup in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, or overnight.
- Combine the gin, lemon juice, syrup, and club soda in a large pitcher, stirring well to combine. Pour into ice-filled highball glasses to serve.
Notes
To make individual cocktails, combine 1 ½ ounces of gin, 1 ounce of lemon juice and ½ ounce of syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top off the glass with club soda.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 0g
I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.