This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.
Montana seems to have finally gotten the memo that it’s summer, and the temperatures are thankfully beginning to get a bit warmer after a long, cool spring! With these warmer temps, it’s only natural to crave a refreshingly cool, summery drink to chill down after a hot day in the sun. And my recipe for pineapple-peach mojito mocktails (featuring two new flavors of Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water) will certainly do the trick!
First things first, this is a ridiculously easy recipe to make – you need just five ingredients and you’re set to go! Sugar, fresh peaches, fresh mint, peach flavor and pineapple flavor sparkling water! That’s it!
If peach and pineapple aren’t your thing, keep in mind that Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water is unveiling a bunch of new flavors, including Peach, Pure, Apple, Pineapple, Caffeine Lime, Caffeine Blood Orange and Caffeine Grapefruit. Discover savings and more great items like this here!
I used two cans of peach and two cans of pineapple sparkling water. However, you can get away with just four ingredients by using four cans of a single flavor. For instance, four cans of peach or four cans of pineapple. But I personally love how these two flavors mix together.
Muddling the fresh mint leaves and freshly sliced peaches is and important step to meld the flavors, so don’t skip it! If you’re unfamiliar with what muddling does, “to muddle” means to press the ingredients against the side of the glass with a muddler. Muddling is an essential step in many summer drinks that use fresh produce and herbs because it helps to release the flavors of the fresh ingredients so they bind with your drink better. If you don’t own a muddler (I admit, I don’t), you can muddle the peaches and mint in this recipe either with the back of a wooden spoon, or even a pastry blender. I used a pastry blender and it worked great!
Some of you may also find yourself wondering if mint and peach really go well together. I’m here to answer that question with a resounding, “Yes!” The way this drink is put together ensures that the mint flavor isn’t overly strong – it simply adds a refreshing profile to the overall drink. I promise you, it won’t remind you of toothpaste! (And that is a very good thing!)
On a very hot day, I’d recommend chilling your sparkling water beforehand to make the coolness of your drink last longer (along with the help of the ice cubes, of course).
If you’re someone who’s trying to be more aware of your sugar intake, you could also easily reduce the amount of simple syrup included in the recipe and this drink would still be delightfully tasty, just a little less sweet! Just adjust the sparkling water to taste to account for the reduced simple syrup volume.
Also, did you know that Safeway offers Grocery Delivery and Drive Up & Go™ for convenient ways to shop? I haven’t personally used the service, but saving a little extra time is always something that’s worthy of being explored!
Overall, I’m a huge fan of this recipe. It’s quick to put together, unbelievably pretty, really refreshing, and would be such a nice treat to serve at a barbecue or get-together. Or, heck, just for yourself after a day floating the river! And, adding your alcohol-of-choice to this drink would be exceptionally easy, too if you’d prefer more of a cocktail and less of a mocktail.
If you don’t drink it all in one go, it also holds up well over a couple of days in the fridge. You’ll lose some of the “sparkle” of the sparkling water, but there’s still a slight “zing” to it, and the side bonus is that the flavors have even more time to meld, blend, and really do some great things.
I shopped at Safeway in my local area to find these new Soleil flavors, but you can also find Signature SELECT Soleil exclusively at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, Tom Thumb and Vons. These new flavors are available at most stores within the Intermountain Division. Be sure to ask a store near you if they carry these flavors!
And lastly, enjoy!
- 1 cup of granulated sugar (mixed with ¾ cup of hot water to form a simple syrup)
- 3-4 peaches, pitted and sliced
- 1 bunch of mint leaves (about 1 cup of loose leaves, saving some for garnish)
- 2 cans Peach Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water
- 2 cans Pineapple Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water
- 2 trays of ice (about 24 ice cubes)
- Make the simple syrup by either turning your faucet to hot and filling up a measuring cup with ¾ cup of hot water, then pour in the 1 cup of sugar and stir until it dissolves. If your faucet water isn't hot enough you can microwave your water until you reach a temperature that will dissolve the sugar (usually about a minute is good).
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the peach slices and the mint leaves (leaving out a few of both peaches and mint for garnish), and pour half the simple syrup in. If you have a muddler use that to muddle the peaches and mint together until mint leaves are torn and bruised and peaches are mashed down a bit into smaller chunks. If you don't have a muddler, you can do this with the back of a spoon, or even a pastry blender.
- Pour the muddle mixture into a pitcher, along with the remaining simple syrup.
- Add the ice into the pitcher, pour in the peach and pineapple Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling waters, stir the mixture a few times, and you're done!
- To serve, pour the mojitos into glasses and spoon in a few peach slices and mint sprigs for garnish, and enjoy!!
You can substitute 4 cans of peach Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water, or 4 cans of pineapple Signature SELECT™ Soleil™ sparkling water for a more concentrated flavor of one or the other.
You can reduce the sugar in the simple syrup and replace with additional sparkling water for a less-sweet drink.
Be sure to serve promptly to retain the bubbly nature of the sparkling water!
