Coconut & Cardamom Summer Cocktail

We’re used to bright, fresh summer flavors in cocktails this season but sometimes you really just need some spices to warm you up on cool summer nights. This Coconut & Cardamom Summer Cocktail will refresh you and at the same time warm you up with the flavorful  cardamom!  

Summer cocktails, like I mentioned before in my Citrus Hibiscus Fizz post, are meant to be simple. Something you can whip up in a matter of minutes (if you’re properly stocked!) For this drink, the only “complex” thing about it is making a cardamom simple syrup, which shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

As the summer season slowly creeps up on us, the restaurant industry on Martha’s Vineyard is trying to stay ahead. Or maybe catch up? We’ve just gotten through Memorial Day and Father’s Day, two big humps that will lead to now 2 weeks of training new cooks in this “slow period” before July 4th. These couple weeks, we train and re-train; we teach our new cooks how to prep, cut, cook, and bake a variety of items in hopes that they make it through September. That’s seasonal life for you – winter months are spent craving for the warmth of summer and the summer months are spent working 16 hour days. We’ll see the beach in September. That’s the way it is.

As cooks, the one thing we do look forward to is our end of the night boozy drink. Typically, I don’t tend to indulge in alcohol (I’d rather dive into a jar of Nutella), but sometimes a cold drink after 16-hours of standing up and running around in the kitchen is all my body craves. This Coconut & Cardamom Summer Cocktail is refreshing enough with the coconut water, with a hint of spice from the cardamom. I’ve suggested gin as the alcohol of choice since I like how the slight juniper flavor pairs with the cardamom, but you can definitely switch it up and use vodka or even a spiced rum. Choose your poison and drink in moderation. Happy summer my friends!