Coachella Cello Cocktail: Sparkling Wine, Strawberry-thyme Simple Syrup and Limoncello.

I’ve never made to Coachella, but I admit, looking at all of the fun photos on Instagram and Facebook make me kinda wish I was there! Everyone is drinking, eating and jamming out to great music with friends in the dessert. Well I have to make the most with what I’ve got, so I decided to drum up a new refreshing Coachella-themed cocktail this past warm weekend so I could cool off and be there in SPIRIT – pun intended! I call my new Champagne palate pleaser the Coachella Cello Cocktail.

I’m a big advocate of not letting anything go to waste, so when I discovered some overripe strawberries in my fridge, I decided to "pot" them to use and make some homemade *Strawberry Simple Syrup infused with fresh thyme. It was so easy to make this syrup and now I’m completely obsessed with it!

I should also mention the fact that I just got married!!! Yes, sorry if my posts have lagged a little but I planned my entire wedding and since I’m such a details girl, the whole experience took up a lot of my time. But now I have all of this leftover Champagne (well, technically Piper Sonoma, so sparkling wine), and I had to do something with it so I used the syrup, the sparkling wine and my homemade limoncello to create this amaaaazing Coachello Cello. Another great reason to make this cocktail? There's no muddling required - score!

I hope you get a chance to make my new cocktail because I really think you’ll love it. If you do try it, please let me know what you think and if you had any fun drinks at Coachella – I’d love to hear about it!

Coachella Cello

(makes 1 cocktail)

Ingredients:

1 oz Limoncello

¾ oz Strawberry-Thyme Simple Syrup

Champagne or Sparkling Wine

ice

Garnish:

thyme sprig

Directions:

Add limoncello and strawberry-thyme simple syrup to a champagne glass. Top with cold Champagne or sparkling wine (slowly - especially if you want the red color to stay at the bottom) and garnish with a thyme sprig. Can be served over ice, too. Enjoy!

*Strawberry-Thyme Simple Syrup Recipe

Ingredients:

10 Strawberries (halved)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Place strawberries and thyme in small pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turned heat to simmer and leave for up to 20 minutes or until water turns red. Remove strawberries and thyme sprigs with a strainer and throw away. Add sugar and continue to simmer until sugar is dissolved (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool. Store leftover syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate.