This Peach Thyme Spritzer screams “Summer!” It’s loaded with a peach-thyme infused simple syrup that’s made with honey and garnished with fresh juicy peaches! Cheers!
I knew that I couldn’t let Peach Week fly by here on Our Balanced Bowl without sharing a cocktail! Because what’s Summer with peaches and what’s Summer without cocktails?! So they basically go hand in hand, right? Ha!
Since we have been at home much more often lately, I’ve loved getting creative in the kitchen both culinary wise and by making new drinks! My go-to will always and forever be dry red wine BUT there is something so refreshing, delicious and NEW about a fresh cocktail.
Specifically, this Peach Thyme Spritzer! It’s just the BEST.
Why You’re Going to Love This Drink
I absolutely love how this drink is so juicy and refreshing. The fresh peaches just take it to a new level in my opinion.
And while the peaches are absolutely perfect, I also am obsessed with the pairing of thyme. I know, I know, I feel like savory herbs can sometimes go south quickly in drinks but not this one!
The thyme is infused into a syrup along with the peaches so you have a very subtle perfect herby flavor that pairs perfectly with the extra sweet peaches.
Oh, and to make it even more unique, instead of making a simple syrup with granulated sugar like I would normally do – I infused the fresh peaches with thyme and HONEY! Yes! Fresh peaches with honey….do I even need to say more?!
Pairing those three together combine this perfectly delicious not overly sweet but extra peachy syrup that you use in this cocktail.
I also love the brown sugar rim in this cocktail – it’s something you can absolutely skip BUT I love the combo of peaches + brown sugar. It reminds me of peach cobbler and plus it adds always prefer a rimmed drink because it looks pretty + you took a lot of effort when in reality you didn’t! Ha 🙂
So, you have the peachy thyme honey syrup + brown sugar rim + you combine it with your choice of alcohol (I’ll get more into that below), top with some bubbles + garnish with slices of fresh peach + a sprig of thyme to make it extra fancy and YUM. You have your new go-to late Summer cocktail!
Ingredients You Need
- Fresh peaches
- Fresh thyme
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Liquor of choice (white rum or vodka)
- seltzer/club soda
- ice
Best Tips in Making a Peach Thyme Spritzer
So, this was my first time making an infused syrup. And while it sounds super fancy and extremely labor intensive, it truly wasn’t!
All I did was dice up some fresh peaches (didn’t even peel the skin), added in the fresh honey and several sprigs of fresh thyme and let that come to a boil on medium high heat.
Then, I reduced the heat for 20-25 minutes, letting the mixture thicken. I stirred it every few minutes to make sure that it wouldn’t stick to the bottom and also to help smash the peaches to help break them down easier.
Afterward, once it looks something like this:
I strained it through a fine mesh strainer until it looked something like this:
It’s thicker than a syrup but thinner than a sauce and perfectly delicious. Side note: Feel free to save the peaches that you strained and put them in yogurt, on toast etc! The syrup itself yielded about 1 cup worth and it kept wonderfully in the fridge in a closed mason jar.
Finally, for the drink, I coated the rim of the glass with brown sugar, added in the peach syrup followed by the liquor. Stir stir stir. Add in ice. Top with seltzer water or club soda. Stir Stir Stir. Garnish with fresh peaches + a sprig of thyme because ya love yourself. Drink up!
Easy Variations/Ways to Jazz it Up
Let’s talk about rum vs. vodka. So far in this blog post I haven’t specified which alcohol to use in this drink. That’s because I tried this recipe with BOTH and I loved them BOTH.
So, I’ll say this. If you’re looking for a more tropical super fruity drink, I would absolutely go with the white rum.
If you’re looking for something more smooth + clean, I would definitely recommend vodka. Both are delicious. Both are amazing. Just depends on what mood I’m in!
Speaking of more smooth/clean – if you aren’t a fan of the brown sugar rim, you can definitely use granulated sugar instead. Or hey, you could use none at all! Whatever works for you!
No fresh thyme? I think that rosemary could work as well – it just has a little bit of a stronger flavor.
No honey? You can definitely use granulated sugar in place of the honey in the peach thyme syrup.
Not a fan of plain seltzer water/club soda? You can definitely spice it up by using a flavored seltzer, ginger beer or hey even prosecco because WHY NOT?!
Wanna get wild and crazy? My husband blended his and ended up LOVING it! It tasted like an adult slushie! So, if you’re into that sorta thing, highly recommend.
I hope you guys enjoyed this super fun Summery cocktail! Let me know in the comments if there are any other cocktails you’d like to see before the Summer is over! Xo – Haylie
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Peach Thyme Spritzer
This Peach Thyme Spritzer screams “Summer!” It’s loaded with a peach-thyme infused simple syrup that’s made with honey and garnished with fresh juicy peaches! Cheers!
Ingredients
Peach Thyme Syrup
- 3 cups peaches, diced into bite size pieces
- 1/2 cup honey
- 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
Drink
- 1/4 cup peach thyme syrup (more if you want it even sweeter)
- 1.5 oz. white rum OR vodka (see notes)
- 1-2 tbsp light brown sugar, to coat the rim of the glass
- seltzer water to top
- fresh peach slices + thyme to garnish
Instructions
How to Make Peach Thyme Syrup
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Dice the peaches into bite size pieces. In a medium size pot, add the diced peaches, fresh thyme and honey. Stir to combine. Cook on medium high heat to get it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low/medium for 25-30 minutes. Stir every few minutes with a wooden spoon to make sure the peaches don't stick and to help break them up.
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When the syrup has thickened up, strain it through a strainer. It should yield about 8-10 oz. of syrup. Save the leftover strained peaches for putting on top of yogurt, toast etc. 🙂
How to Make Peach Thyme Spritzer
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Dip the rim of your glass in water and then coat it with the light brown sugar. Add in the peach thyme syrup followed by the alcohol. Stir together with a spoon. Add ice. Top with seltzer water. Garnish with fresh peach slices + a sprig of thyme + a drizzle of honey if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
The peach thyme syrup should yield about 8-10 oz worth. You can store this in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed jar for several days.
If you want a more tropical flavor, use white rum. If you're looking for a more "clean/smooth" flavor, use vodka. I tried both for this recipe and loved them both - just depends on what mood I'm in.
See blog posts for substitutions/ways to jazz up the drink!
This looks fantastic! It sounds like the perfect drink for this humid N.C. weather!
Thank you my friend!!! We need to have a cocktail hour soon! 😉
Haylie, your peach thyme spritzer sounds soooo refreshing and lovely! The perfect cocktail that uses those sweet summer peaches!
Thank you so so much, Christie!! I love the fresh sweet peaches too 🙂
I love my wine too but you’re right, there is something so nice and refreshing about a summery cocktail! I love the combo of peach and thyme. Looks terrific!!
Thank you, Katherine 🙂 I love a good Summery drink too!
This is one beautiful cocktail! Loving the flavor combination!!
Thank you so much, Annie!!! 🙂