Summer Blackberry Bramble (Easy Recipe)

The blackberry bramble is the perfect summer cocktail. Made with vodka, lemon, and blackberry syrup, it is easy and delicious.

Summer is all about sipping on refreshing drinks, relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful weather and this bramble cocktail is all about this.

This drink was inspired by one of my recent trips to South Carolina where I had it for the first time at a restaurant there. I fell in love with how simple and fruity this cocktail was and how it brought all the flavors of summer into one glass.

With just vodka (though gin can be used) blackberries, lemon, and some sugar, this drink is so good.

I love grilling up delicious dishes like my grilled tuna steaks and hamburgers to go with this but it is perfectly delicious to sip on its own.

What is a bramble

If you are not familiar with a bramble cocktail, it is a cocktail made with berries that grow in a bramble, namely raspberries and blackberries. This is how the blackberry bramble cocktail got its name.

Traditionally, blackberry brambles have gin in them but we decided to use vodka since we always have it on hand and because vodka, much like gin, is a very smooth liquor. Crème de mûre, a blackberry liquor is also traditional in this drink.

We are using a blackberry simple syrup instead of Crème de mûre to keep things simple.

Ingredients

• Fresh blackberries. You will need fresh blackberries to make the puree portion of this drink.
• Vodka. There are not many ingredients in this blackberry bramble so make sure to find a nice smooth vodka. I love using either Kettle One vodka or Tito vodka.
• Lemon juice. You can use fresh lemons or bottled lemon juice here.
• Granulated sugar. This is for the simple syrup you are making for the blackberry cocktails.
• Cubed or crushed ice.
• Soda water.
• Fresh mint sprigs or blackberries for garnish.

How to make a blackberry bramble

This blackberry bramble is so easy to make.

Make the blackberry simple syrup:

1. Add the blackberries sugar and water to a saucepan and cook until the blackberries are soft and following apart.
2. Cool and strain.

Assemble the Cocktail:

3. Fill rocks glasses almost all the way to the top.
4. Add all of the cocktail ingredients to the glass and stir well.
5. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and additional blackberries if desired.

Tips and variations

• If you don't want to fuss with making your own blackberry simple syrup, you can muddle 5-6 blackberries in the glass before adding the other ingredients and you can add a store-bought blackberry syrup or blackberry liquor like crème de mûre in its place. I also use my blackberry puree recipe for a quicker blackberry syrup if I am short on time.
• If you prefer a more natural sugar for the simple syrup portion of the recipe, you can use honey instead of sugar. Just follow the ratios in my honey syrup recipe for how much to use.

More cocktail recipes

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This blackberry bramble is not only delicious but it is also so easy to make. You only need a few ingredients to create this refreshing summer cocktail that everyone will love.