Blackberry Limeade

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 4 cups fresh blackberries, plus extra for garnish (or unsweetened frozen blackberries, thawed)
• 1 cup turbinado sugar (or grated palm sugar)
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, crushed (or 1 t. grated lime zest)
• 1 green cardamom pod, lightly crushed
• 1/2 cup fresh key lime juice
• thin lime slice, for garnish
• 2 cups ginger ale
• ice cube

Recipe

• 1 lay a double piece of cheesecloth on a nonporous work surface (as the berries will stain a wide array of cutting surfaces and clothes, this may be best done outside or over newspaper and wearing an apron or smock).
• 2 place the blackberries on top of the cheesecloth and gather into a bundle like a hobo sack.
• 3 hold the sack of berries over a glass, stainless steel, plastic, or ceramic bowl; twist the top of the sack to squeeze the juice from the berries into the receptacle (this will yield about 1 cup very strong, tart, dark juice).
• 4 refrigerate the juice until needed; discard the purple mash.
• 5 in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, 1 cup water, the lime leaf, and the cardamom pod; bring to a boil.
• 6 simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced to a thin syrup.
• 7 remove the lime leaf and cardamom.
• 8 allow the sugar syrup to cool and then chill it.
• 9 in a 1 quart pitcher, combine the blackberry juice, sugar syrup, and lime juice; stir to combine and then refrigerate until cold.
• 10 to serve, stir the ginger ale into the pitcher; fill glasses with ice, and pour in the blackberry limeade.
• 11 garnish with slices of lime and blackberries.