Creamy Strawberry Mint Daiquiri

It's cocktail Friday and time for a new drink. But Brian and I are still really loving last week's Springtime Martini. And so, with no particular plans for a new beverage, we headed off to do some weekend grocery shopping and ran into a big bunch of ripe looking strawberries.

Technically, it's not quite strawberry season yet. But even though it's a couple of weeks away, we've been seeing ripe, plump specimens start to appear in the market. No doubt they're coming from California and not the farms upstate but the aroma drew us in and a container found its way into our cart.

At first we figured we'd do a frozen strawberry daiquiri but there's still a spring nip in the air and we weren't quite in the mood for our beloved frozen summer sipper. So we turned them into strawberry puree (minus a few we munched on while working) and came up with something lip-smacking good. Cheers!

Per Serving:
2 oz. Rum
2 oz. Strawberry puree (see below for recipe)
1 oz. Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 oz. Lime juice
1/2 oz. Simple syrup
1 Tablespoon fresh mint *

To make the strawberry puree, blend fresh strawberries in a small chopper or blender with about a teaspoon of water for every 4 berries. Pour through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and store in the refrigerator. It will take approximately 3 strawberries to make an ounce of puree.

In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, add the puree and mint and muddle together. Add the remaining ingredients and about 5 ice cubes. Shake well and pour into a chilled daiquiri or margarita glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

*  We also tried the drink with fresh basil instead of mint and it is a great flavor combination with the strawberries.