Pomegranate Gin Fizz & G'Vine Review

I'm not a cocktail person. There are several reasons for this. I like beer and wine more than hard alcohol. I'm too lazy to make fancy drinks. I don't want to buy and store a trillion different liquors and mixers. And lastly, I don't know my limits with them. 

I know how many bottles of beer or glasses of wine I can have to achieve a light buzz or be slightly toasted. With hard alcohol, this is a mystery to me. And I don't like that. In addition, there aren't many mixed drinks I enjoy. However, there are a few of cocktails of which I am quite fond of. A well-made lemon drop, and a gin & tonic. That's about it. Margarita? Too sweet. Martini? No thanks. Bloody Mary? Oh actually, yes, I really do like those. 

If the drink doesn't have too strong of an alcohol taste, I'll probably be fine with it. Take this Pomegranate Gin Fizz I created. It's blended with fresh pomegranate seeds and a floral gin made from grapes. Topped with fuzzy water, it's the perfect lightly scented adult beverage to sip on. If you're not a big hard alcohol fan, this is probably right up your alley. Finally! A lovely cocktail I enjoy!

Pomegranate Gin Fizz

Blended with fresh pomegranate seeds and a floral gin made from grapes. Topped with fuzzy water, this is the perfect lightly scented adult beverage to sip on. If you're not a big hard alcohol fan, this is probably right up your alley.

Yield: 1 beverage

Ingredients

• 1/2 pomegranate, seeded (about 1/2 cup seeds)
• a couple drops liquid Stevia (optional)
• splash of lime juice (optional)
• 1-2 shots chilled G'Vine Gin
• several ice cubes
• glass of chilled carbonated water

Cooking Directions

1. Add the first three ingredients into a blender with a splash of water and whiz until well blender. The pomegranate seeds won't break up completely, and that's okay.
2. Fill a 8 oz. glass with ice cubes. Strain the pomegranate mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the glass with the ice cubes. Add 1-2 shots of G'Vine and top with carbonated water.
3. Stir and serve chilled with a few pomegranate seeds throw in.

So pretty, right? This beautiful gin fizz is made exceptional with the addition of a botanical, and floral gin called G'Vine.  

G'Vine is a small batch gin that is crafted in France, in the Charente region of Cognac, using grapes as opposed to grain. So neat! The flower of the grape plant is also macerated into the spirit and lends a delicate, blossomy essence. There are also nine other botanicals including juniper berries, ginger root, liquorice, cassia bark, green cardamom, coriander, cubeb berries, nutmeg and lime that are individually macerated and blended into the gin.

G'Vine comes in two varieties. The grey-bottled Nouaison (43.9% abv) is a bit spicier and more robust than it's flowery sibling, Floraison (40% abv) which is housed in a lively green bottle. Florasion is the French term for the period when vine flower blossoms, which occurs once a year in mid-June. I prefered the Floraison for it's juicy, botanical taste. 

This is definitely a spirit I would buy again. It was really unique and not like anything else I've ever tasted with regards to liquor. 

Find it at your local liquor store. A 750 ml bottle retails for $37. I recommend drinking with a large floppy hat, pinky out. French accent optional.

*DISCLAIMER*  PRODUCE ON PARADE IS A PERSONAL BLOG WRITTEN AND EDITED BY MYSELF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. MY REVIEWS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON MY OWN OPINION OF THE PRODUCT REVIEWED. I WAS NOT PAID TO WRITE THIS POST. THESE PRODUCTS WERE SUPPLIED TO ME AS GIFTS FROM THE COMPANY TO TEST AND REVIEW. OTHERWISE, IF I MENTION A COMPANY BY NAME AND THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, I AM MERELY WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING I LIKE, PURCHASE AND/OR USE. THE FACT THAT I DO RECEIVE A PRODUCT AS A GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW, WILL NEVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE CONTENT MADE IN THIS POST.

Wintery Quinoa Porridge

Occasionally, throughout the year and to my considerable delight, freezer items will get shuffled or used; revealing bags of wild, Alaskan mountain blueberries that Todd and I picked in autumn.

Like a reticent squirrel, I stash the berries in the back of the freezer, praying they will tide us over until next fall when we'll continue the tradition of picking them all over again. Usually, come August, I realize I have barely touched them and find myself working the blueberries into a many number of dishes. It's similar to my obsession with  hoarding bath luxuries (I don't even take baths!) like the flowery bubbles, salts, and fragrant fizzies. I keep them stowed away "saving" them for a worthy occasion. Alas, they never get used and I end up throwing them away 10 years later when I eventually find the dust-covered derelicts. 

This will not happen with my blueberries. They will not become freezer-burnt. I shall be better about using them throughout the entirety of the year. I shall deem them worthy of everyday smoothies and oatmeal. Okay, maybe not the smoothies yet...I shall make more pies. I shall celebrate the little buggers, instead of suffocating them with love. 

So, while excavating a bag of the blueberries from the back of the freezer, I also discovered some rhubarb I picked and froze a few months ago. Huzzah! And just like that, this winter-inspired quinoa porridge just fell right into place! 

A most divine wintery breakfast to keep you toasty warm and satisfied on a snowy morning. Wild blueberries and rhubarb from autumn mingle with fresh, winter pomegranates in this timely and humble quinoa porridge, speckled with toasted nuts and seeds. 

You're going to want to save this one for Saturday morning! Oh Saturday...you can't come soon enough.

Did I tell you we finally got snow?! We actually when on a night ski yesterday. Do you night ski too?

Wintery Quinoa Porridge

A most divine wintery breakfast to keep you toasty warm and satisfied on a snowy morning. Wild blueberries and rhubarb from autumn mingle with fresh, winter pomegranates in this timely and humble quinoa porridge, speckled with toasted nuts and seeds. NOTES: Feel free to use any combination of nuts and seeds you like. Toasting them is an extra step, but well worth it!

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, dry (I like red)
• 1/2 cup nut/seed mixture, chopped (I used pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds)
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. alma powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg
• small pinch of kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups frozen, wild blueberries
• 1 cup frozen, chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 pomegranate, seeded (about ½ cup of seeds)

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil with the quinoa. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, uncovered. Drain all the water from the pot, leaving the quinoa.
2. Meanwhile, over medium heat, toast the nuts and seeds in a sturdy frying pan until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients to the quinoa, including the nuts and seeds, but excluding the berries. Stir well until the peanut butter is completely incorporated.
4. Now, add the berries and over low, heat the porridge until the berries are warm.
5. Serve with an additional splash of non-dairy milk and/or maple syrup.

Dutch Word of The Day

Porridge --> brij (bray)

Good Deed of The Day

Did you guys see that the very first vegan butcher shop is opening up in Minneapolis?! So cool! If I'm ever in the Twin-Cities...check it out more here.