Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop

The Recipe Redux is a group of like-minded food bloggers whose mission is to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover. Each month members post recipes to their blogs following a theme set by the group moderators. This month’s theme is probiotic cocktails and gut-health mocktails . Click the Recipe Redux link at the bottom of this page to see links to all the posts for this month’s challenge.  JUMP TO THE RECIPE

It might be a stretch to call any alcoholic beverage “healthy”, but relatively speaking, this Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop easily beats out a classic lemon drop cocktail, which is typically made with simple syrup and triple sec liqueur – two ingredients that can cause it to have as much as 23 grams of sugar or more!  By comparison, this cocktail has only 4 grams of sugar (excluding the optional candied ginger garnish), but, more importantly, it’s made with ginger kombucha, a beverage containing probiotics. Probiotics are the live bacteria that promote a healthy gut (digestive tract).

Kombucha is an ancient Chinese beverage of fermented tea thought to have numerous health benefits, including improving digestion and joint health, aiding in weight loss, boosting energy and immunity, and fighting cancer. Because it’s fermented, it has a slightly fizzy quality that makes it a great cocktail mixer. It comes in a variety of flavors but one of the most popular, and my personal favorite, is ginger, which I thought would make a great base for a healthier lemon drop cocktail that I’ve aptly named Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop. I tested it out this weekend. My husband took one sip and his eyes grew wide. “Wow” he said, “that tastes like a $20 cocktail”!

Gut-health is a popular headline nowadays as more and more research supports the idea that gut-health is linked to overall health. It’s a complicated topic though, and much is still unknown, but scientists have found important differences in the gut bacteria of healthy individuals vs. those with chronic diseases. The problem is they’re not sure whether the chronic diseases are caused by a patient’s gut bacteria, or whether it’s the chronic diseases that cause changes in a patient’s gut bacteria – the classic chicken and egg syndrome. In the years ahead, it will be exciting to see what new medical discoveries emerge from this field. In the meantime, there are a couple of simple dietary changes you can make to improve your gut bacteria. One is to eat a diet that emphasizes plants, and the other is to consume foods rich in probiotics. Here’s a great list of probiotic rich foods. Notice that kombucha is #2 on this list!  Warning – these Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop cocktails go down REAL easy. For maximum health benefits, I recommend switching to straight up kombucha after drinking one of these cocktails.

This Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop recipe is very similar to the Wild Blueberry Kombucha Martini recipe I posted exactly one year ago today.

If you make a Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me over on Instagram @QueenofMyKitchen.  I’d love to see your creation!

Ginger Kombucha Lemon Drop

 

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Author: QUEEN OF MY KITCHEN

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) gluten-free vodka
• 5 ounces (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) ginger kombucha
• Candied ginger (sometimes called crystalized ginger) - optional garnish
• Fresh lavender leaves - optional garnish

Instructions

1. To make sugar rimmed glasses, spread the coconut sugar out on a salad plate and put 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice on another salad plate. Holding a standard size martini glass upside down, dip the rim into the plated lemon juice and then into the coconut sugar. Repeat with another martini glass (see notes).
2. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, the remaining lemon juice, vodka, and ginger kombucha. Gently shake (don’t shake vigorously or it may bubble up too much) and pour into the martini glasses.
3. Garnish with candied ginger and fresh lavender leaves if desired.

Notes

For best results let the sugar rimmed glasses set/harden for 30 minutes or longer, instead of serving immediately.

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