Blackberry Mint Gin Smash

My Blackberry Mint Gin Smash is my new favorite cocktail and will be on repeat all summer long!

I always thought gin was for like, old, distinguished men. Specifically, served after a round of country club golf. (Sorry.) But boy, was I wrong. So, so wrong. I had my first experience with gin back in college and whew, that was not pretty. Truly, there is nothing worse (in college) than a cheap gin + cheap tonic water combo. Blech.

I revisited gin on our first trip to Aba with their Kiwi G&T. And, like everything else at Aba, it was delicious. Why hadn’t I had gin since college? Right, old man stereotype.

But then about a week ago, I just decided “why not” and picked up a bottle of gin from my local Trader Joe’s. It’s nothing fancy but it has great reviews. And then, you know, blackberries and mint go together like Bert & Ernie. So, there we have it: a Blackberry Mint Gin Smash.

I still don’t particularly like tonic water so I chose to use sparkling water instead. I love Topo Chico but use whatever you’ve got. Honestly, I don’t know what makes this cocktail a “smash.” Well, I guess I smash the blueberries and mint in a cocktail shaker? (I even googled what a smash cocktail is and didn’t really find anything conclusive.)

Speaking of cocktail shakers, how fun are these:

Gin not your thing? I gotchu covered with my favorite Spicy Watermelon Margaritas!!