FRUIT AND LIQUOR Peaches team with spirits for summertime treats

One of summer's greatest treats is the peach. With market bins bursting with this wonderful fruit, now is the time to start eating your fill.
Peaches are classified as cling (meat holds onto the pit) and freestone (meat comes away more easily from the pit). The latter are late-season varieties.
You can eat peaches picked off the tree, bake them into a pie or cobbler and dice them and add to pancake batter. Or you can puree the flesh and add it to the recipes below. I didn't test the Iced Tea recipe, but did bring the fixings for the Peach Cobbler Cocktail to a family party this past weekend. We made the first batch according to the recipe; to the second batch we added shaved ice for a frozen version. Either way was exceptional,.
How to choose a peach: Hold a peach and sniff it. It should smell fresh and fragrant. Reject fruit without any scent.
How to store peaches: To ripen, place in a brown paper bag and check daily until ripe. Once ripe, peaches will keep in the refrigerator as long as five days.
PEACH COBBLER COCKTAIL
1 ounce Stoli Persik
1/2 ounce heavy cream
1/4 ounce peach schnapps
1 tablespoon butterscotch schnapps
1 tablespoon Southern Comfort
1 tablespoon peach puree
Cinnamon sugar
Twist of orange or lemon
In a cocktail shaker with ice, shake the Stoli Persik, cream, peach schnapps, butterscotch schnapps, Southern Comfort and peach puree. Strain into a martini glass. Rim the glass with cinnamon sugar (moisten the rim of the glass first with a little piece of orange or lemon and garnish with a twist of orange.
PERSIK ICED TEA
2 ounces Stoli Persik vodka
1 ounce peach puree
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice
3 ounces iced tea mix
Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice and pour into a tall glass, garnish with mint leaves.
XRecipes courtesy of Stoli Vodka