cocktail

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

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So far our Spring here in Toronto has been, well, rather dark and stormy. Inspired by all of the doom, gloom and downpours we created “the perfect storm” in a crystal faceted glass, complete with it’s own little storm cloud and a flash of pineapple lightning!

What goes into this amazing drink besides a cotton candy cloud puff? We used Zevia’s sugar free ginger ale as the base, Kraken Rum, and a touch of lavender water and sugar (either/or will do if you don’t have both) to add a touch of Spring floral flavour to the cocktail.

Scroll down to see what happens when a our storm garnish meets this refreshing rainy-day drink!

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What you’ll need //

Zevia’s Ginger Ale
Spiced Rum
Lime juice
Lavender water
Lavender sugar (optional)

Garnish
Cotton Candy
Fresh pineapple ring
Drink umbrellas

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If you’re using lavender sugar you can choose to rim each glass or simply sprinkle some in to the drink itself. Fill two glasses 3/4 full of ice, pour 1.5 oz of spiced rum in each glass. Squeeze in a half a lime and add a few dashes of Lavender water, top it off with Zevia’s Ginger Ale. You’re ready to garnish!

First cut out a lightning bolt shape out of the pineapple, place in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen it up. When you’re ready to serve, float a lime slice on top of each glass and place a straw and drink umbrella on either side. Form a loose cloud shape out of cotton candy and place your frozen lightning bolt on top, the sugar should help it stick. Carefully place the cloud on top of your drink and watch the magic happen!

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Quartz surface by Caesarstone Canada

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

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As post-vday February drags on and the days slowly start to get a tiny bit longer it’s important to keep spirits up – with spirits! If you’ve already burned through your countless boxes of Valentine’s chocolate, plus the extras you bought on sale at the drugstore on the 15th, this cocktail is for you. Inspired by the sweet fruity flavours found in red heart boxes, this month’s Zevia creation is a blend of bold berry flavours, plus a touch of chocolate of course!

Scroll down for the full recipe

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What you’ll need //

Zevia Black Cherry sugar free soda
Dillon’s Strawberry Gin
Fresh strawberries
Dark chocolate

In a cocktail shaker, combine 3oz strawberry gin with one can of Zevia Black cherry soda and shake with ice. Pour through the strainer into coupes and garnish with fresh chocolate dipped strawberries. Make a small incision on the side of the strawberry to rest over the lip of the glass. You’re ready to enjoy all the flavours of a box of chocolates without all the sugar!

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

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No matter how where you are in the world, it’s most definitely wine season. I’ve spent the past couple of days exploring Napa and the Sonoma coasts talking terroire and vintages, while the rest of the team back home has been playing around with something a little more experimental. Introducing, our take on the perfect winter red wine spritzer!

Made with absolutely no sugar (thanks to Zevia!), fresh fruit, and a bold red wine, this cocktail is as delicious as it is gorgeous, and it won’t even mess with your healthy living 2017 resolutions!

Scroll down for the full recipe

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Ingredients //

Zevia’s blackberry sparkling water
Red wine
Blackberries for garnish
Fun ice cube mould, we used this

Recipe //

The first step to create this sugar-free spritzer is to prepare your wine ice cubes overnight. Choose a red wine with an alcohol content around 10-13%, dilute the wine with a bit of water to help the freezing process, we used a 3:1 wine:water ratio. For an extra berry twist try adding some blackberries to the mould.

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For an extra frosty effect, place your empty glasses in the freezer for 15-20 mins before serving.

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Remove your red wine cubes from their mould and add to each frosted glass. Now simply pour Zevia blackberry sparkling water overtop and watch the magic happen. Finish it off with some blackberries and you’re ready to enjoy!

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

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And just like that, a new year is upon us. I can’t honestly say 2015 has been my best year, but it’s definitely been 365 days of massive change, unfathomable surprises, the highest high-highs and some pretty dismal lows. I guess to sum things up, it’s been a year of change, and though I’m thankful for so many of the amazing experiences and opportunities I’ve had, I have to admit I’m really excited to start fresh in 2016.

So let’s grab a cocktail and cheers to new beginnings in the new year!

Because 2016 is going to be so awesome, Johanna and I wanted to whip up an equally awesome NYE cocktail to ring in the new year, RAOP style. We received the sweetest holiday package filled with glittery organic cotton candy from our pal Fancy Pufs just before Christmas, and it turns out fairy floss goes remarkably well with our favourite NYE essential, pink champagne. Top it off with a splash of Dillon’s Rose Gin and tinsel stirrers, and you’ve got yourself the prettiest New Year’s cheers!

scroll down for the recipe…

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Ingredients //

Fancy Pufs Cotton Candy (pink preferred!)
Pink Champagne
Dillon’s Rose Gin
A classic bar set (Ours is from Cocktail Emporium)

Recipe //

Fill each glass with cotton candy (as much as you can fit!)

Pour two shots of rose gin and approx. 1 cup of champagne into a cocktail shaker. Stir gently.

Pour the mixture over each glass of cotton candy and watch as the sugar dissolves into the champagne (it’s more fun than you think…)

Top off each glass with extra cotton candy and champagne until full, then add a stir stick of your choice- we just glued bits of tinsel onto paper straws!

Cheers to 2016

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

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As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not really into board games. As a generally mega-impatient person I have a horrible time committing to anything with the potential to stretch on and on, and though I try my best to be a good sport I almost never actually manage to stick with a game till the end. The only exception to this rule is a game that really plays to my strengths- movie trivia.

In case you haven’t noticed I’m hyper detail-oriented, which makes me the ideal candidate for everything from trivia to reading comprehension. I’m also an avid movie watcher, and I love testing my knowledge and stumbling across new films to add to my “to watch” list. For these reasons and so many more, I have totally fallen for Pop Stream, a new interactive movie trivia game that connects to your iPad.

In all honesty, my relationship with this game started with aa lot of hesitation and distrust. I generally avoid anything I perceive as unnecessarily tech-focused/futuristic, sticking to analogue versions of almost everything I can. That said, I brought the game over to a hangout with a group of friends on a whim, and within minutes we were all totally hooked. With fun question categories, video clips, and really hilarious moving avatars, its the perfect accessory to tote to holiday parties and family gatherings this Christmas. The only thing that makes playing Pop Stream even MORE fun? Cocktails of course!

Scroll down for a fun game night cocktail recipe…

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We wanted to pay homage to one of our favourite pastel movies with this recipe, so we chose a California girl-pink concoction inspired by our girls Romy and Michelle. With great diet advice (candy corns and gummi bears anyone?) and exceptional taste in music, this movie has everything you need to throw an awesome themed movie-trivia girl’s night- and with the help of these cocktails that’s exactly what we did!

Business Woman Special

Ingredients //

Sparkling Lemonade
Grenadine
Peach Schnapps
Vodka

Method //

Pour sparkling lemonade over ice, then add a shot of both vodka and peach schnapps. Top it off with a splash of grenadine, and cheers to your genius invention of Post Its.

Glasses via. Overstock.com

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com