Lactose Free Garden Mint Citrus Cooler
Fresh citrus and garden mint come together in a sparkling drink that feels like summer in a glass. The base is a homemade maple-mint simple syrup — steeped just long enough to pull out every bit of that cool, herbal fragrance before being strained into a pitcher with freshly squeezed orange and lime juice. The result is bright, lightly sweet, and beautifully balanced without any dairy or hidden additives to worry about. Chilled sparkling water gets folded in at the end with a gentle stir so you keep all that fizz intact. It's the kind of drink that looks impressive enough for a dinner party but comes together with almost no effort. Garnish with a lime wedge and a sprig of fresh mint, and you've got something that tastes as good as it looks.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the mint simple syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed, plus more for garnish
For the cooler
- 1 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3 medium oranges)
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 limes)
- 3 cups sparkling water, chilled
- 2 cups ice cubes
For serving
- 4 lime wedges (optional)
- 4 small fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the water and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the maple syrup fully dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- 2
Add the mint leaves to the warm syrup and press them gently with a muddler or the back of a wooden spoon until fragrant and slightly bruised. Let the mint steep for 15 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher, pressing the leaves to extract as much syrup as possible. Discard the spent mint.
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