Spiked Florida Swamp Water-Cocktail

Cool, sweet, and refreshing with a lemony kick from lemonade vodka. A quick and easy recipe, this is the quintessential summer adult beverage,  It’s the perfect cocktail for picnics, beach parties, or to enjoy on your patio.

When I lived in Pittsburgh, my idea of iced tea was a cloudy, overly sweet, acidic brew that I bought in a cardboard container at the convenience store. Sipping it, you could feel the acid wearing away the enamel on your teeth. And yet, I still loved and drank plenty of it.

Fast forward many years and I am now living in the South. I was thrilled to discover “the house wine of the south” (bonus points if you know what movie I am referencing). It was not bitter, not cloudy, and perfectly sweet. It was delicious and I was hooked!

I advanced my obsession into finding the perfect Arnold Palmer, which is half iced tea and half lemonade. Again, absolutely delicious.

This love affair with sweet tea and lemonade morphed into adult libations with a shot of Kentucky bourbon. Lovely, but a bit strong for my taste. I tried vodka, but it just tasted watered down. Even Citron vodka didn’t do the trick.

And then…..(cue the music)

I discovered a lemonade vodka! Have you seen this stuff? From what I was told by the clerk at the liquor store, it is a seasonal thing, so go get some. Now.

I had to give it a whirl in my iced tea. It was amazing. Very lemony and sweet, but not too sweet. The Pinnacle Lemonade Vodka gives it a strong lemon kick that is so refreshing, especially on a hot day. Plus, it’s such a quick and easy recipe.

The slightly murky light brown color of the drink reminded me of the Florida swamps, thus the name. Typically a swamp water cocktail is a syrupy sweet green concoction of a few different liqueurs. My Florida Swamp Water recipe is a more adult, less sweet cocktail.

You could use your favorite bottled iced tea and lemonade. Nobody will judge. But if you have the time, making a Southern sweet tea and a fresh lemonade really adds to the freshness of this cocktail and both could not be easier to whip up.

TIPS FOR MAKING SWEET TEA AND LEMONADE

• Use really good quality water. If your tap water smells like your pool or worse, you probably don’t want to taint your lovely tea and lemonade with it. Use filtered water, spring water or let your tap water sit in your refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 12 hours to allow the chemicals to dissipate.
• Always use the best tea that you can afford or find. I like Luzianne the best, but Lipton will work in a pinch.
• Don’t squeeze the tea bags. Not only could they rip open and dump the tea leaves into your brew, but it also releases more of the tannins that bring a bitter taste.
• Just a pinch of baking soda in the tea will smooth out the flavor and keep your tea from becoming cloudy.
• Use fresh lemons for the lemonade. Roll your lemons on the counter before juicing to release as much juice as possible.

I am able to rationalize enjoying this lovely cocktail because tea has many health benefits. This article from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics explains it perfectly.

Complete your Southern meal with this Spicy Southwest Quinoa Salad With Spicy Lime Vinaigrette, a spicy bowl of Florida Gumbo, and a side of Easy Sugar Snap Peas.

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