I was in Sobeys yesterday picking up a few ingredients for a day at the beach when I was distracted by some real beauties! Local strawberries have made their way into the Sobeys stores in my area and I couldn’t be happier! The local strawberry season is something that everyone waits for with anticipation, and when it is here, you need to act fast. The season is only a couple of weeks long, and everyone in town is out to get their hands on some! I bought a couple of pints yesterday just to test the waters and give the local berries a taste, and am I ever glad I did. The kids and I quickly disposed of the first pint in a matter of minutes sitting at the table after lunch, just munching on one sweet/tart, juicy, bright red berry after another. I must say that there is no comparison between the local berries and those grown elsewhere and ripened on trucks. Just another great example why eating seasonally and locally is the right way to go!

With summer now in full swing and daytime temperatures around 30°C my mornings and afternoons at the beach are chased with relaxing meals and refreshing cocktails! Since I had some lovely strawberries on hand I thought that a recipe for a light strawberry cocktail was in order, immediately a daiquiri comes to mind, but not the slushy style drinks you find in many bars and restaurants. I wanted to make mine a little more in line with a classic lime style daiquiri, a cocktail, like you would find in Cuba, muddled and shaken not stirred up in a blender.

Don’t be scared off by the creatively flavoured rim garnish for this drink! Strawberries macerated in aged balsamic vinegar and fresh black pepper over vanilla ice cream is one of my favourite strawberry season desserts. The sweet and sour aged vinegar, along with the slight bite from the black pepper contrast very nicely with the sweetness from the sugared rim and the ripe strawberries.

Happy cocktails and drink responsibly!
Chef Ryan Skelton

Summer Strawberry Daiquiri
Makes 1

2 oz (60 mL) White Rum
½ oz (15 mL) Fresh Lime Juice
¼ oz (8 mL) Simple Syrup, see below
6 Fresh Strawberries
Ice
¼ cup (63 mL) Compliments Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena [1]
¼ tsp (1 mL) black pepper
¼ cup (63 mL) granulated sugar

1. Mix together the pepper and sugar on a small plate, and pour the vinegar into a shallow bowl that is wide enough for the rim of your martini glass. Dip just the rim of the glass into the balsamic vinegar and then into the peppered sugar, turn the glass over and set aside.
2. Hull the strawberries and muddle (crush) them in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
3. Add the rum, lime and simple syrup, stir to extract as much of the strawberry juice as possible.
4. Pack your cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously.
5. Fine strain into the sugar rimmed martini glass and garnish with a strawberry.

Simple Syrup is just that, simple. The standard bar ratio is 2:1 sugar to water. Combine 1 cup (250 mL) sugar and ½ cup (125 mL) water in a small sauce pot. Gently heat until the sugar is dissolved, let cool and transfer to a clean container until needed. To help prevent crystallization of the sugar you can also add a tbsp (15 mL) of corn syrup or liquid honey to the syrup while cooking. If you make a larger batch than you need, try adding an ounce of vodka to the syrup to help prevent mould or bacteria from growing during storage.

TIP – Add different spices, herbs, extracts, juices or fruits etc. to the syrup while the sugar is dissolving, the resulting simple syrup will add punches of crazy flavour to your cocktails!