Blackberry Smash

Blackberries are my favorite fruit, and they are so delicious this time of year.  In addition to eating blackberries & dark chocolate for breakfast, I've been using them to make this amazing mocktail/cocktail, the blackberry smash.  I was going to call it a blackberry fauxjito, but blackberry smash is just so much more fun to say.  In addition to being fun to say, it's really fun to make and drink.

When I have a party, I like to offer one special, seasonally-inspired cocktail that I can make for my friends all night long.  I'm not a very proficient bartender, so I don't want to offer a bunch of different things, but I've found that having one unique drink makes a gathering way more glamorous and fun.  At Thanksgiving this past year, I had ten people over, and was prepared with several different kinds of wine and beer, as well as the ingredients for cranberry margaritas.  The margaritas were such a hit that I don't think we opened a single bottle of wine--no one could say no to a creative libation based on fall's quintessential berry.