Let’s cocktail: the skinny bitch 2.0

Last year around this time I was fully into breastfeeding, so I had to let all those lovely terrace sessions with cocktails pass me by. Now I am completely not such a heavy drinker, but a whole summer on ginger ale with mint eventually gets to you.

This year mom gets a second chance and I am fully alert when it comes to the latest cocktails and summer drinks. Now I am always up for a glass of bubbles, but after tasting this variant, I will swap the classic form for the summer edition in the coming months: meet the champagne cocktail! Veuve Clicquot has released the Rich bottle for this and Moët & Chandon comes with the Ice Impérial. Both champagnes are served in a large glass with ice and a slice of cucumber, orange, or bell pepper.

I still find a classic G&T delightful in this lovely weather: they are just delicious calorie bombs. I am absolutely not a calorie counter, but I am quite interested in a variant that is just as tasty and also better for the waistline. When I was sitting on the terrace at CHA! in Laren, I suddenly got served a very exciting gin cocktail. ‘First taste and then guess,’ said the owner. After one sip, Marly and I were sold. And hold on, the only two ingredients are gin and lime juice. I call it the Skinny Bitch 2.0. It’s going to be a lot of limes to stock up on this summer.

My latest discovery is thanks to Jon's friend group, who suddenly ordered the Moscow Mule en masse, to which I asked if that was a fish dish. And so I unexpectedly found my new favorite cocktail that consists of vodka, lime, and ginger beer. If you don’t like ginger, then this is not your thing, but for me, this brew tastes like pure summer. It will be tough to choose which one we will serve at Otis’ birthday party this weekend. Don’t worry: for the kids, there is only sugar-free lemonade with a glitter straw on the menu.