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Recipe Detail Page
Sorrel Slushie
Summer 2023
In Jamaica, hibiscus is known as sorrel, and its bright purple dried flowers (order them from latortilleria.ca) are brewed into a tea with a bright, cranberry-like taste, spiked with tropical spices. You can also substitute a hibiscus-rich tea blend, such as Tazo Passion tea. Choose dark or turbinado sugar as your sweetener for a delicate molasses note. Delicious as a vibrant non-alcoholic slush, this drink can also have a float of 1 oz white or aged rum on top as a cocktail variation.
Makes 2 drinks
10 dried whole cloves
10 dried allspice berries
10 loonie-size coins of peeled fresh ginger,
1/4 inch (5 mm) thick
2 tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar
6 hibiscus tea bags or 3/4 cup (175 mL) dried hibiscus flowers
3 cups (750 mL) boiling water
Botanical Swizzle Sticks (recipe follows) for garnish
1. At least 1 day before serving, lightly muddle cloves, allspice and ginger in the bottom of a quart-size (1 L) heatproof glass measuring cup. Add brown sugar and hibiscus tea bags or flowers. Pour boiling water over all and let steep for 5 minutes, pressing with a spoon occasionally to extract colour. Cool mixture completely. Strain through a colander or tea strainer to remove solids and pour 2 cups (500 mL) of strained liquid into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Reserve extra hibiscus tea in a sealed jar or container and refrigerate.
2. Make Botanical Swizzle Sticks and freeze.
3. When ready to serve, add frozen hibiscus cubes into blender with half the cold hibiscus tea. Blend on smoothie or milkshake setting, drizzling in additional chilled tea as needed through the hole in the blender’s lid in a thin stream, until a slushy consistency is reached, up to an additional 1/2 cup (125 mL) of liquid.
4. Pour into two lowball or rocks glasses and garnish with a Botanical Swizzle Stick.
Makes 2 drinks
BOTANICAL SWIZZLE STICKS
Order silicone ice-stick trays from amazon.ca or find them at grocery or big-box stores. Not only can you use them to make pretty drink garnishes, but they’re great for freezing ordinary ice into sticks that you can drop into your water bottle to stay cool all summer.
1. Lay any combination of summer herbs (such as mint, lemon verbena or lemongrass), edible flower petals and berries into ice-stick moulds and carefully fill with water, using the tip of a knife or skewer to reposition botanicals if necessary. Freeze overnight. To use as garnish, gently run silicone side of ice-stick tray under cool water to unmould and place upright in drink.