In honor of my wonderful patio garden, I had my family over for dinner last night.  It was a perfect garden party (albeit a patio garden party) filled with the bounty of spring.  We had radishes and young beets in our salad, asparagus and roasted lamb seasoned with herbs from my garden on our plates.  There was also fresh pesto crostini for appetizers and, of course, a beautiful view of my potted plants.  Naturally, when you have a garden party, you need a cocktail that tastes like spring in a glass, which is why I developed my 3 citrus-ginger gin fizz. 

A traditional fizz is simply gin, lemon, a little sugar, and sparkling water--an absolutely refreshing way to wind down a warm spring day.  I've added a twist to this recipe by using three types of citrus--grapefruit, lemon, and lime--and the addition of ginger simple syrup in place of the sugar.  There are few combinations as heavily as citrus and ginger in my book--they play on each other's brightness.  Make sure to use freshly squeezed citrus juice--the bottled kind doesn't have as bright a flavor and contains lots of hidden sugars. You can also skip the gin and have a refreshing mocktail, as my pregnant sister did.

Even if you aren't hosting a garden party anytime soon, I'd recommend enjoying this cocktail to kick off your Saturday night!

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 grapefruit

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

6 ounces (3 shots) ginger simple syrup

Sparkling water

Combine three juices together in a mason jar or other container.  In four glasses, add one shot of the juice mix to each glass and 1/2 shot (.75 ounces) of ginger simple syrup.  Top with ice.  Fill the glass to the top with sparkling water and stir.  Enjoy in a shady grove, patio garden, or other lovely outdoor space.  Serves 4.