My Sweet Vanilla Mint Cacao CBD Cocktail Recipe

Now that we have pretty much entered the cozy season, I wanted to create a cocktail fit for the occasion, but with a trendy, health-driven little twist.

It’s no question that CBD oil is insanely popular right now because of its incredible health benefits. I recently discovered Pure Bloom, an all-natural and organic hemp oil company. What is hemp oil might you ask? Hemp extract oil is comes from specialized hemp plants and contains various concentrations of extract and other natural compounds. Pure Bloom’s non-GMO hemp plants are sourced from certified organic farms in Oregon and Colorado.

I was really impressed overall by Pure Bloom’s simple and effective formula: To ensure the most purest hemp extract, the company only uses 4 natural ingredients to craft their unique formulations: High Concentrated Hemp Extract, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E and Organic Peppermint Essential Oil …that’s it!

The brand’s Sweet Vanilla and Fresh Mint flavors are everything. I knew I definitely wanted to incorporate them into a cocktail! Then I thought, I really want to make the cocktail a little creamy, but still be on the healthier side. I wanted to make the base of this cocktail with Milkadamia, my newest favorite vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free (and soooo delightfully creamy) milk!

Scroll down for how to make my:

Sweet Vanilla Mint Cacao CBD Cocktail

Step 1: Fill half a stemless glass (or glass of your choice) with Milkadamia milk.

Step 2: Add 1 scoop of organic cacao powder.

Step 3: Add a generous pour of organic maple syrup.

Step 4: Stir until ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Step 5: Add generous amount of vodka. I prefer Absolut Elyx.

Note: This amount will vary depending on your glass!

Step 6: Drop 1 full dropper of Sweet Vanilla CBD oil.

Step 7: Drop 1 full dropper of Fresh Mint CBD Oil.

Step 8: Top with a dash of cinnamon.

Step 9: Garnish with fresh mint.

Step 10: Enjoy!

This was honestly my first time experimenting with CBD oil to make cocktails! I have been using Pure Bloom CBD oils and I’m truly impressed by how quickly they help to calm my anxiety. For those who don’t know, I have always struggled with anxiety and severe stress for most of my life but I have never been one to try to find a way to calm my nerves in an unnatural way. If you’re like me, I highly recommend trying it. Just a note, if you’re trying it for the first time, only take 3-5 drops from the dropper. If you take a whole dropper full in one sitting (especially on an empty stomach) you might be hitting the hay in minutes which is what happened to me the first time. Haha. But I am really glad to know I now have something that can moderately help.

I hope you all enjoy this cocktail! It was so fun to make, and I feel even better knowing that it’s made with ingredients a lot of people can trust. Let me know if you end up making it, I’d love to see what you think!

Photography by: Rebecca Gnasso

End of Summer Cocktails to Celebrate Labor Day with Friends

How have we already reached Labor Day?! I feel like it was just 4th of July. Well, I am totally a summer girl and I'm having a hard time accepting this, like I do every year. On the bright side, there's fresh and festive cocktails to be made to celebrate Labor Day and beyond with friends. Especially here in SoCal, it may be summer till November. LOL. Here are my 3 faves for celebrating with a group - total crowd pleasers!

Carrot Pineapple Punch

Ingredients: 

2 cups NOLET’S Silver Gin 

2 cups Carrot Juice 

2 cups Pineapple Juice 

1/2 cup Lemon Juice 

1 tsp. Fresh Grated Ginger 

2 cups Ginger Beer 

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in a punch bowl and stir gently. Add ice and garnish with edible flowers and citrus wheels. Make ahead: freeze an ice mold adding citrus fruit or edible flowers. Makes 8-10 cocktails.

Sweet Heat Margarita

Ingredients:

2 oz Tanteo® Jalapeño Tequila

1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

¾ oz Agave Nectar

4-5 Raspberries

Tanteo Jalapeño Salt Rim

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

Shake well and strain into a salt-rimmed, ice-filled Rocks Glass

Garnish with a raspberry or jalapeño slice

Bushwick Punch

Ingredients: 

4½ cups Smoke Tree Rosé

2 cups unsweetened black tea

¾ cup lemon juice

½ cup bourbon

½ cup raw cane sugar syrup

1 cup blueberries

1 lemon sliced

Directions:

Fill a punch bowl with ice

Top with Smoke Tree Rosé, unsweetened black tea, lemon juice, bourbon and raw cane sugar syrup.

Stir to chill and combine ingredients

Top with lemon slices and blueberries

Sweeten Your Day with This Recipe for National Watermelon Day

If there's one fruit of the summer, it is hands down, watermelon! And it just so happens that National Watermelon Day falls on an extremely hot August 3rd. With watermelon in one hand, the only proper thing to do is to have a watermelon cocktail in the other, right? My kind of double fisting! Watermelon and gin is my new favorite combination, and surely one which I know you will love. Here's my recipe for a Silver Watermelon Cooler! 

Silver Watermelon Cooler

Recipe: 

1.5 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin

.5 oz. Elderflower Liqueur

.5 oz. Lemon Juice

.5 cup Fresh Watermelon

4 Basil Leaves

Directions:

Muddle basil and watermelon in the bottom of a shaker. Add ice and all other ingredients to the shaker. Shake and strain into a goblet. Garnish with a basil leaf.

It's National Tequila Day... So Let's Make Lots of Tequila Cocktails

National Tequila Day might just be one of my favorite days of the year. But I mean... isn't any day you drink tequila one of your favorite days? Maybe I'm just biased because tequila is my fave (sorry vodka... actually not sorry), but there's nothing like a nice refreshing tequila cocktail on a hot day -- perfect that this day falls during a summer month! Here are some of my favorite recipes to celebrate with: perfect for parties, get togethers or simply just sitting by the pool or in your own backyard with one in hand. Cheers!

Corralejo Spicy Pineapple Paloma

Ingredients:

2 ounces Corralejo Silver

½ ounce grapefruit juice

½ ounce lime juice

½ sliced Serrano pepper

¾ ounce agave syrup

Pineapple soda (to top)

Tajín (for rim)

Directions:

Rim your glass with Tajín

Add all ingredients except the bitters into a cocktail shaker with ice

Shake hard to chill and combine ingredients

Strain into your glass over fresh ice

Top with pineapple soda

Garnish & Enjoy!

Pomegranate Margarita

Ingredients: 

2oz tequila

2oz pomegranate juice

1oz lime juice

1oz simple syrup

Sparkling Ice Classic Lemonade

Vanilla flake salt rim, for garnish

Lime wedge, for garnish

Directions: 

Rim glass with a lime and dip into salt, fill glass with ice and set to the side. In an ice filled cocktail shaker, combine tequila, pomegranate juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and shake. Strain into glasses and top with Sparkling Ice Classic Lemonade, stir lightly to combine. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Los Arango Spicy Ginger Margarita

Ingredients:

2 ounces Los Arango Blanco

1 ounce lime juice

½ ounce ginger simple syrup

3 slices fresh cut jalapeño

Tajín for rim

Directions: 

Rim your glass with Tajín

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice

Shake to chill and combine ingredients

Fine strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice

Garnish & Enjoy!

Frosecco Cocktails Are The New Summer Trend | Bubbling at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Move over frosé - you are SO last summer. Drunken popsicles in your cocktail? Been there, done that. A new frozen treat is on the market and it's a whole lot more bubbly and fun than last year's flat libation. Introducing, the first-ever froseccó cocktails! 

Ruffino wine has partnered with 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge to create the ultimate summer sipper from June to August! These stunning, colorful and sweet drinks emulate the vibe of the season. They go for just $15 each with 2 flavors offered:  Froseccó Fiore, with hints of citrus garnished with Lavender and Elderflower, and Froseccó Frutta, made with blackberries and peaches.

For my fellow friends who aren't in the NYC area, not to worry! These babies can be made at home with your Ruffino wine and are the perfect drinks for all your summertime celebrating and relaxing alfresco!

Froseccó Fiore

Ingredients:

25 oz Ruffino Prosecco

12 oz St Germain

8 oz Lemon Juice

4 oz Vodka

8 oz Simple Syrup

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and pour into a frozen drink machine. Mix until frozen and pour in an oversized wine glass. Garnish with fresh lavender, elderflower and a lemon wheel. 

Froseccó Frutta

Ingredients:

25 oz Ruffino Prosecco

12 oz Blackberry Simple (Fresh blackberries + simple syrup)

8 oz Lemon Juice

4 oz Peach Simple Syrup

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients and pour into a frozen drink machine. Mix until frozen and pour in an oversized wine glass. Garnish with fresh blackberries and peaches.