Shellfish Free Garden Mint Citrus Cooler
Bright, herby, and endlessly refreshing, this sparkling drink layers fresh-squeezed orange and lime juice with a homemade maple-mint syrup that you simply cannot get from a bottle. The syrup comes together in minutes — just warm water and maple syrup, then a gentle steep with bruised fresh mint leaves that fills your kitchen with the most incredible fragrance. Once strained and combined with the citrus juices and chilled sparkling water, the result is something that feels far more special than the effort involved. It's naturally free of any animal-derived seafood ingredients by design, since every component here is pure fruit, herb, and a touch of natural sweetener. The trick to keeping those bubbles lively is that single gentle stir after adding the sparkling water — resist the urge to over-mix and you'll be rewarded with a beautifully effervescent pour. Garnished with a lime wedge and a sprig of fresh mint, it looks stunning on a table and tastes even better than it looks. Whether you're serving a crowd or just treating yourself on a warm afternoon, this cooler is the kind of drink people ask you to make again immediately.
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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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