Paraben 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 mint simple syrup built from maple syrup, water, and fresh mint leaves — steeped and strained so every sip carries that clean, herbal sweetness without any artificial flavoring or preservatives. That matters more than it sounds, because many store-bought syrups, flavored waters, and bottled juice drinks quietly rely on synthetic additives and preservatives that can be a real concern for anyone keeping their routine paraben-free. Here, every ingredient is straightforward and recognizable: freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh lime juice, chilled sparkling water, and ice. The process is genuinely simple — make the syrup, squeeze the citrus, combine, and pour. Garnished with a sprig of mint and a wedge of lime, it looks stunning on a table without any extra effort. Whether you're serving it at a backyard gathering or just treating yourself on a warm afternoon, this cooler delivers big, bright flavor with total ingredient transparency.
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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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