Finally! The summer cookout season has begun! We had a great get-together with some friends recently where I thought I’d give a big-batch cocktail a go instead of just throwing a ton of PBR in a cooler (which is perfectly acceptable, of course). I’m not a fan of super sweet drinks so when I came across this recipe I thought it looked easy enough to make and sounded perfectly refreshing and tasty for a hot summer night in the backyard – and I was right! I will definitely whip this up again for our next BBQ.

Ingredients
1 cup lemon juice (from 4 large lemons) + extra sliced lemon for garnish
1/3 cup agave nectar
3 1/3 cups water
4 cups prepared hibiscus tea, cooled
10 oz. vodka of your choice
handful of mint leaves, for garnish
1/2 cup blueberries, for garnish
**I doubled this batch for a gathering of about 8 people

In a small saucepan, combine 1/3 cup water with 1/3 cup agave syrup. Bring to a boil, stir until combined, and let simmer for 3 minutes. Then remove from heat and transfer to a pitcher.

Next, juice the 4 lemons and add the juice to the pitcher. Add the extra 3 cups of water to dilute the lemonade. Pour in the prepared hibiscus tea and vodka, then garnish with lemon slices, blueberries, and mint leaves. Serve over ice. I got this great recipe (although I added the Vodka) from the beautiful blog, Vegetarian Ventures.