And just like that, the last day of June is here. Time flies when you’re testing and tasting summer cocktails every day—and that is exactly how we have been battling this overwhelming heat and unusual humidity here in Southern California. Every week this month we have been taking over the feedfeed’s snapchat and showing you how to make these delicious creations. If you missed any of the episodes, they are now all available on the feedfeed website for your viewing pleasure. You’ll get a private tour of our garden, see where our fruit trees are growing—including our Santa Rosa plum tree exploding with deep purple plums—plus we’ll take you behind the scenes where we shoot our photos for the blog, and you’ll even get to meet our sweet kitty, Sylvia. We’ve had a great time making these snapchat videos, and are super excited about this week’s episode, which we will be filming live this morning at 10am PST. For today’s show, The Husbands will be celebrating the summer arrival of one of our favorite fruits—the pretty and palatable peach—with a sparkling cocktail that is light, tangy, and refreshing to sip outdoors at this weekend’s Fourth of July parties… and on the fifth of July, and the sixth…

There’s nothing that compares to a fresh juicy peach on a hot summer day. When we decided to highlight this beautiful stone fruit, we wanted its delicious sweet flavor to be the star of this sparkling spectacle. Each cocktail uses a half of a peach, with aromatic basil leaves, freshly squeezed lemon juice, vodka, and a splash of Aperol—a brightly colored golden Italian liqueur made with bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona. Strained into a champagne flute, and garnished with a slice of peach and a fragrant basil leaf, this glowing mixture is then finished with club soda and glittering prosecco. It is light and bubbly, the stunning color is as pretty as a Georgia peach, and it tastes like sunshine in a glass!

This vibrant drink is a peach to prepare. You start by muddling the fruit and basil leaves in a cup, and in less than five minutes, you’ll feel those scorching summer temperatures quickly dissipate, while your body and mind thank you for this satisfying seasonal spritzer. A few weeks ago, our mixologist friend Al asked us to photograph some of his original creations for his new website, and today’s drink is inspired by one of the creative recipes he made that day: a strawberry-basil aperol cocktail. We soon realized that you couldn’t simply swap out the strawberries for peaches and expect the flavors to be balanced, so more testing had to be done! Cocktail testing is a tough job but someone’s gotta do it. So we sipped and tested, and sipped and tested, and after a festive and eventful session in the kitchen, the Venetian peach was born: a delightful sparkling beverage that is particularly peachy, perfect for a peppy pool party. Say that two times quickly!

Venetian Peach

1/2 of a peach
4 basil leaves
1/2 ounce (15ml) lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces (45ml) aperol
1/2 ounce (15ml) vodka
3 ounces (90ml) club soda
1 ounce (30ml) prosecco

garnish:
slice of peach
basil leaf

In a drinking glass or measuring cup, muddle together the peach and basil leaves thoroughly, until the peach is liquefied. Add the lemon juice, aperol, and vodka, and muddle again briefly to combine. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a champagne flute, pressing to release all the liquid. Add the club soda and prosecco—slowly, as it may foam up—then garnish with a slice of peach and a basil leaf. Cheers!

notes:
— The peach does not need to be peeled, since it is getting strained out anyway.
— You can substitute champagne for the prosecco, if desired.
— If making multiple drinks, muddle together the peaches, basil, lemon juice, aperol, and vodka for all the drinks in one container. Strain the mixture, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Divide the peach mixture evenly among the glasses, and then add club soda and prosecco to each glass.