Thirsty Thursdays: May Challenge Round-Up

The Cucumburt, by The Daily Spud

Today, I'm thrilled to present the entries into May's Thirsty Thursdays Challenge. As you may recall, participants had a choice of either cucumbers or bourbon this month and the entries are spectacular! Let's get to it, shall we? I will present them in the order in which they arrived in my mailbox.

First up, we have The Cucumburt (pictured above), created by The Daily Spud. This refreshing shake "marries cucumber, yoghurt, ginger, mint and coriander along with a measure of gin and tonic." Well said and well done, Spud! I'd say that's a marriage made in heaven! What with all of those lovely herbs and the cucumber, it might even qualify as a health drink ... best to have two servings so as to reap the full benefits! ;)

The Bourbon Mago Sensation, by Lynnylu

Lynnylu, from Cafe Lynnylu, decided to go the bourbon route and has offered the Bourbon Mango Sensation for your sipping pleasure - a "fruity melange of mango, lemon and mint" inspired by the Milk and Honey Bar in New York City. The mango, mint and lemon are muddled together with superfine sugar to create the base for this gorgeous and summery drink. No doubt that mango plays beautifully with the bourbon and the mint is most welcome indeed. Yum!

Bluegrass Iced Tea, by Team Noodle

In an amusing twist, "Team Noodle", of Tangled Noodle, opted to work with bourbon for this challenge ... even though their suggestion for the month was the cucumber! How delightful! Mr. and Mrs. put their respective "noodles" together to create a cocktail sure to please them both. Their Bluegrass Iced Tea boasts a dangerously delicious combination of rosemary and mint infused bourbon, lemon, sugar and a bit of tonic for topping up. Inspired by both the classic Mint Julep and the flavor of iced tea, this is a refreshing cocktail just "perfect for sipping as you sit on the porch on a hot, humid summer night - or just imagining you're sitting on a porch on a hot, humid summer night!"

Summer Bourbon Slush, by Suzy

Suzy, from Suzy's Goodies opted to go with the bourbon as well, offering her Summer Bourbon Slush cocktail. This unique recipe combines orange juice and lemonade concentrate, pineapple juice, strong black tea and bourbon - all of which are mixed together and placed in the freezer over night to form a slush. The slushy goodness is then topped up with a bit of 7-Up before serving. What fun! I love the use of the black tea here and, as Suzy says, its "perfect for a summer afternoon!"

Bourbon Banana Colada, by Shirley of GFE

My pal Shirley (whom I met at BlogHer Food last September), from Gluten Free Easily rounds out the bourbon entries with her luscious looking Bourbon Banana Colada. This summery treat was inspired by the BBC cocktail (Bailey's Banana Colada) Shirley had while traveling through Virgin Gorda. Her version omits the Bailey's and blends up a lovely tropical mix of bourbon, dark rum, frozen banana, fresh pineapple, coconut milk, shredded coconut and ice to create a drink sure to put you in mind of warm soft sands and cool blue waters. I particularly like the use of the rum and shredded coconut ... I hope you saved me some, Shirley!

Pineapple Sage Cocktail, by The Duo Dishes

Happily, our final entry is of the cucumber variety. The Duo Dishes, who by all accounts throw one mean party, threw their hat into the ring with the Pineapple Sage Cocktail. Inspired by a drink they had during a visit to New York, this gorgeously green sipper features a mix of raspberry vodka, Midori liqueur, pineapple juice, muddled cucumber and fresh sage. Wow, its a party in a glass! Keep mixing it up like that, Duo, and you might just find me crashing your next bash!

Goodness, what a stunning, inventive and beautiful array of cocktails! I am thoroughly impressed with each and every entry ... and completely at a loss for choosing a winner. As such, I've decided to put the husband on the hot seat this month. There's no way I can choose among such dear blogging friends - so I've shown him all the entries and descriptions and asked him a simple question: "if you could have only one of these drinks right this minute, which would you choose?"

His answer: The Pineapple Sage Cocktail! While the husband was clearly impressed with all the offerings, and said he would try any one of them, the combination of sage, pineapple and cucumber won him over.

Congrats to The Duo Dishes! You now have the honor of choosing an ingredient or spirit for this month's challenge. Please announce your choice in the comments ... so we can all get mixing!

Finally, my undying thanks to all who participated this month. I truly appreciate your willingness to play along and especially your willingness to share your creativity with my readers. I'm delighted with your efforts and thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I hope you'll play along next month too. :)

Be sure to stop by and visit all of our featured bloggers for these scrumptious recipes. Tell 'em Diva sent you ... and I'm sure they'll buy the next round.

Cheers!