A perfect Signature Wedding Cocktail

The better Half & Half, a signature wedding cocktail all your guests will love! (great for any party too!)

A version of a delicious signature wedding cocktail that will please even the pickiest of drinkers: A better half and half. It’s a combination of Sweet Tea Vodka and fresh lemonade.   It’s a nice change of pace, not overly strong, but very satisfying.

This week’s Friday Cocktail is from my niece Halley’s wedding in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida last November. It was their signature wedding cocktail and they called it the better half and half!  Clever and delicious, it was the perfect drink to have to celebrate!

It was nice and cold for a hot day and it was easy to drink many of them while toasting to their marriage! (They are a really LOVED couple, the toasting of them was nonstop, so trust me when I say it was many of them.)

Usually, I’m a purist. I like my iced tea plain, no sugar. I prefer martinis with gin straight up with no fruit-infused mixer.   Although I will occasionally have a chocolate martini…I mean chocolate vodka is pretty amazing in the right situations.   And while I’m trying many new versions of bourbon cocktails for the Friday Cocktail series nothing beats a good scotch all by its lonesome.

But sometimes you need to break away from tradition and try new things. Enter the wedding signature cocktail: A better half and half. It’s kind of like an Arnold Palmer Iced tea except it’s the adult version.

Yes, you read that right, an Arnold palmer with alcohol. By substituting sweet tea Vodka for the iced tea then pairing it with lemonade it makes for one heck of and adult cocktail version.

It has just the right amount of tartness from the lemons while the sweet tea vodka gives it the added sweetness that you need to have a really smooth drink. Translation: you won’t choke on the alcohol taste when you take your first sips!

I’ve added my own touch by infusing the lemonade with fresh rosemary. It’s been a little bit crazy around here so I bought storebought lemonade and the rosemary was my way of making it just a little bit fancier.

This wedding was in St. Pete’s Beach Florida. If you have ever been to Florida you know what real humidity is like. This drink is very refreshing because of both the lemonade and serving it over ice. The bartender made big containers of it ahead of time and poured it over ice for us upon ordering.

The recipe I’m including is to make it with a big batch but I plan on making it often for just one or two people at of our upcoming at home cocktail hours. So I’ll include a single version recipe in the note section.

If you ever have a chance to visit St. Pete’s Beach I highly recommend it.

We stayed at the Postcard Inn, a perfect venue for a wedding while having great rooms at really fair rates. It’s right on the beach and they were crazy accommodating for anything we needed.

There are some great restaurants there to have the local fish available. Rum Fish Grill had some of the best appetizers. They had a Poke Tuna and Firecracker Shrimp that really hit the spot.

Rum Fish also has probably the second-best mai tai I’ve ever had… second best to the version I make at home you can find here.

I also highly suggest the St Petersburg Farmers Market on Saturdays in the heart of downtown. I could have spent many hours there looking at great produce, interesting art pieces and some very unique food choices.

The Thai Food booth was especially tasty and made fresh to order. Here are some pictures that don’t even begin to do justice to how wonderful it was.

The last thing I recommend is the Twistee Treat!  It’s a homemade ice-cream shop that has some crazy combinations where everyone can find something that appeals to them.  You can’t miss it driving down the street….. its a business shaped in the image of an ice cream cone!  Try it out,  I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Can you tell I had a great time? I really enjoyed the city and the memories I will have from here. (If you look below you’ll see we all had a pretty great time!!  And doesn’t my niece look absolutely beautiful??)

But back to the signature wedding cocktail, the better half and half. I can’t think of a better drink to make for a cocktail party. You can make it in pitchers ahead of time which is a great way to go so you have more time to focus in your guests or getting food ready.

Cheers!

Yield: 8

A perfect Signature Wedding Cocktail

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A version of a delicious signature wedding cocktail that will please even the pickiest of drinkers: A better half and half. It’s a combination of Sweet Tea Vodka and fresh lemonade. It’s a nice change of pace, not overly strong, but very satisfying.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz Sweet Tea Vodka, I used Seagrams
• 32 ounces Lemonade
• fresh squeezed lemon juice from 1 large lemon
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, plus additional for garnish

Instructions

1. Muddle 1-2 sprigs of rosemary in bottom of pitcher.
2. Then add Vodka, lemonade, and lemon juice.
3. Strain into glass over ice, then serve with a garnish of rosemary.
4. This would also work well with a sugar rimmed glass!

Notes

One Serving:
2 parts Sweet Tea Vodka
3 parts Li]emonade
squeeze of 1/4 lemon
sprig or rosemary
(muddle rosemary in the shaker with liquids before pouring over ice!)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

8 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 192Sodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 15gSugar: 13g

*** Wedding Photography Photo taken by Breanna Peterson Photography

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