The Liquid Muse

Drink and Drive SAFELY this summer!

If you are throwing a party or attending someone else's, why not bring along some alcohol-removed champagne and wine to add a festive sparkle without any risk of DWI?

During my coast-to-coast promotion of non-alcoholic cocktails with Fre by Sutter Home, I appeared on morning shows in Seattle and Rochester singing the praises of non-alcoholic cocktails. In Rochester, Holly and Evan (the dynamic duo on 13 WHAM TV) tied the story to drunk driving around holidays, and I did two segments showing their viewers how to make "safer" drinks for the summer. Watch the segments on their website to see how to make the cocktails and hear more about being a "Thoughtful Entertainer," (the new-and-improved "Hostess With the Mostess!")

And, if you're tempted to whip up intoxicatingly fun non-alcoholic libations for your summer celebrations, here are those recipes:

The Liquid Muse Signature Cocktails
Designed for Fre by Sutter Home, Summer 2008
(all rights reserved by The Liquid Muse, LLC)

Tokyo Dreams (Martini Glass)

1 chopped lychee
1/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 ounces mandarin orange juice
3 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Premium White
Garnish: 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 1 whole lychee on a cocktail skewer

Rim a martini glass with powdered sugar. Muddle lychee, lime juice, sugar and ginger in the bottom of a mixing glass or cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, add wine. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Place the cocktail skewer across the rim of the glass.

Tropical Tease (White Wine Glass)

1 heaping tablespoon diced fresh mango
3 torn mint leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 ounce lime juice
3 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed White Zinfandel
Garnish: 1 lime wheel

Muddle mango, mint, sugar and lime juice in the bottom of a mixing glass or cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, add wine. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Place the lime wheel on the rim of the glass.

Sparkling Sangria Cooler (Collins Glass)

1 tablespoon Marinated Summer Fruit
4 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Brut
Garnish: Sprig of fresh mint and colorful straw

Prepare Marinated Summer Fruit at least 2 hours before a party (serves 10): Dice 8 strawberries, 2 large (peeled) peaches and 3(peeled) kiwis into a large bowl. Sprinkle fruit with 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar, and pour in1 cup of peach juice, Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, spoon 1 tablespoon of Marinated Summer Fruit mixture into each glass, along with at least 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the bowl. Fill glass with ice and top with Fre Brut. Garnish each glass with a sprig of fresh mint and a colorful straw.

Yankee Doodle Candy Cocktail (Champagne Flute)

1 package pop rocks
1 ounce mango juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
2 ounces Fre Alcohol-Removed Spumante or Brut

Rub the rim of a champagne flute with a lime, then dip the rim onto a small plate sprinkled with pop rocks, set aside. Pour juices into an ice-filled cocktail shaker, shake vigorously, then gently strain into the champagne flute. Slowly add the Fre sparkling wine, then the grenadine. Let the fireworks begin!