Man is it Thursday already?  Monday being a holiday really sped my week up and has kind of had me running around like a crazy lady all week.  Please tell me I am not alone here.  I have a couple of really exciting upcoming ventures that I am about to embark on and it has left little time for a moment to myself, but I am not complaining!  Sometimes you need a moment though, so I think today I'll sip on this muscadine and rosemary smash cocktail and take a few breaths.

I have a confession, and it's that I actually have only had one experience with muscadines before this cocktail and it was drinking muscadine wine  (Canean loves it) and I was not a fan.  It was far too sweet for me.  I don't think Cab girls can be muscadine wine girls.  However I'm up for a good challenge and muscadines are in season and readily available in Louisiana right now.  I figure, why not make something tasty and beautiful out of them?

The sweetness from the muscadines is balanced with fragrant rosemary and the citrus flavor added from the lemons.  It's the perfect drink to transition from summer to fall and makes me feel like I'm somewhere fancy. 

Speaking of fancy, how gorgeous are the glasses that I used?  They are from Anthropologie and they were kind enough to send them to me after I entered an Instagram cocktail contest and got featured on their blog!  I'm in love with the shape, the silver detail, and how well they show off the cocktail ingredients!  Must. Get. More. Anthro. Glasses.

Anyway, if you don't have muscadines in your area, you can swap them for regular table grapes or wine grapes, so don't let that stop you.  You need to make this drink for your friends, or just yourself...whatever.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Fresh Muscadines
• 1 Sprig's worth of Rosemary Leaves
• 1 -2 Tsp. of Agave Nectar (depending on your taste and how sweet you want your drink, the muscadines are very sweet themselves)
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 2 Oz. Gin
• Soda Water
• Bitters

Directions:

• In a mason jar or cocktail shaker, mash together your muscadines, and rosemary.
• Add your lemon juice, agave, and gin and shake vigorously until well combined.
• Pour over two glasses filled with ice and top with soda water.
• Sprinkle a dash of bitters on top and garnish.

Join me in a cocktail when you get home from work today and let's chat about that thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.  Cheers!