San Diego Sips: Mulberries add a special twist to refreshing summer drinks

From alcohol-free refreshers to gin sours, these drink recipes have something for everyone

Welcome to the first edition of San Diego Sips, a weekly column at Tides & Tacos where I take locally sourced ingredients and mix them into refreshing cocktails.

I created this sector of the Substack because while I don't miss the crippling back pain and dealing with (sometimes) moody customers from my years working as a bartender, I will always love creating new drink recipes.

Often when creating a new cocktail, I am inspired by locally distilled liquors and what’s in season at a farmers market or grocery store specializing in stocking locally grown fruits and vegetables.

It's at Specialty Produce where I found this week’s highlighted ingredient: Pakistan mulberries from Coleman Family Farms in Carpinteria and Ventura, Calif.

Though you may have heard of them in a classic nursery rhyme, mulberries are seldom found in most mainstream grocery stores due to their fragility and short shelf life limiting their commercial viability.

I have been guilty — more than once — of neglecting my mulberries in the fridge until they're no longer edible, so I find that the best way to use them in cocktails is to turn them into a syrup.

This is an excerpt from my newest food writing project, San Diego Tides & Tacos. Visit this article on Substack to find cocktail recipes using homemade mulberry syrup to serve at parties this summer.