The Top Ten Summer Drinks

Introduction

The days are getting longer and hotter: that must mean it’s summer. With the change in season comes a change in palates, and a key element to any menu is the drinks. Today, we’re going to cover ten of the drinks that we think go great with this summer. Most of these will be cocktails, which we source from Mitte Hellmich’s excellent work The Ultimate Bar Book. But, not every occasion calls for a drink, so we certainly have some awesome non-alcoholic options as well to keep you refreshed even as the weather nears triple-digit temperatures.

The Mojito

This summer classic brings to mind hot Havana nights, and it’s just as cool on your back porch as it is overlooking the Florida Straits. This rum-based cocktail goes excellent with lighter foods- we’re thinking blackened Mahi with some grilled vegetables but is an excellent nighttime cocktail as well.

To make it, get your hands on:
1 oz lime juice
1oz sugar
2oz light rum
6-8 fresh mint leaves
Club Soda

The easy way to make this is to put everything but the club soda in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously, then strain over ice, topping the glass off with the club soda. A little stir with a bar spoon, and you’re set to enjoy.

Bourbon, Neat

Bourbon is about as American as apple pie, baseball, and summer nights camping under the stars. Hauling a whole set of cocktail ingredients up the trail might be asking a little bit much, but celebrating the summiting of a mountain, or a quiet night by a lakeshore deserves a decent drink

That’s where bourbon comes in. Given that it’s summer, we appreciate the lightness that some bourbons have, but we recommend bringing one that you love. Put some in a flask, stash it in the bottom of your backpack, and thank us later when a little bit of the good stuff makes your calves feel a bit less sore.
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Infused Sparkling Water

It’s hot out and you want something that’s refreshing like a soda, but without all of the sugar. If you want something with a homemade twist, make up some infused sparkling water. For this, you’ll need some means to carbonate water at home, but for those looking for a reason to get that likely forgotten Christmas gift out of the closet, this is as good a reason as any.

Simply take some fruit or other flavorings of your choice: we like lime and strawberry with just a few mint leaves and cut them up, putting them in water at least overnight. In the morning, strain out the fruits- a slotted spoon is excellent for this- and run the water through your carbonation device. The result is light, refreshing, and pretty healthy to boot.

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Lighter Smoothies

A lot of storebought smoothies are high in sugar and made with yogurt or ice cream, which can make you feel sluggish and heavy: this is about the last thing you want before heading out when it’s this hot.

Instead, try making a smoothie where you fill your blender half and half with ice and frozen fruits of your choice-we’re going strawberries, blueberries, and bananas that have been cut and pre-frozen. Then, add 2 or so ounces of lime or lemon juice to get some tartness, and fill the rest of the blender with a more mellow juice, for instance, pineapple or mango. The result will be a light, refreshing smoothie that still has some sweetness, but this treat won’t have any of the processed stuff.

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Gin and Tonic

In the summer, the English swear by their Gin and Tonics. Originally developed as a way to make malaria medicine more palatable with the herbal notes from gin, this dead-easy cocktail is a crowd-pleaser whether you’re in colonial India or your backyard. If you’re hosting a party, this is one you can make in a moment.

You’ll need:
2-3oz gin to taste
Tonic Water
One Lime Wedge

Fill a glass with ice, add the gin, fill with tonic water. If you want to be fancy, put a lime wedge on the rim of the glass. It probably took you longer to read this than it will take you to make, and that’s one of the best things about a gin and tonic.

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Coffee and Cola

I picked up this one from some Spanish expats living in the US. The combination may sound weird but begins to make some sense once you figure that both coffee and cola nuts are both the fruits of tropical plants. The taste is different than what most American pallets are used to, but it’s rich and will certainly pep you up.

For this, all you have to do is take a glass, add a shot of espresso to the bottom, fill with ice, and top with the cola of your choice. The idea has caught on so much that some of the big cola companies are selling this in cans now, but making it yourself keeps everything rich in flavor and freshly carbonated.

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The Aperol Spritz

This seriously refreshing cocktail is based on Aperol, a zesty aperitif that has an orange flavor. A light, sparkling cocktail with balanced flavors, it’s about perfect for weekend brunches in the summer if you want something with a little bit more depth than a mimosa.

To make it, you’ll need:
3 oz Aperol
3 oz Sparkling White Wine
Club Soda
Orange Slice

Making it is simple: take a glass filled with ice, add the Aperol and white wine: top with club soda and garnish with an orange slice. Notice a trend here? We want to drink well, not necessarily spend all summer behind a bar.

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Rosé

We love a bottle of good red wine, but sometimes they can feel a little heavy for summer nights. If you’re having fish, pasta, or even steak, a well-balanced rose will often have enough body to keep up with heavier foods, but not be so heavy that it leaves you feeling parched.

Serve these like you would a white wine: chill them well and serve in stemmed glasses to avoid warming them up with your hands. If you want to keep them extra cool, some folks use frozen grapes: this trick is certainly classier and better for the wine than using ice, which, in case you were wondering, you should absolutely not do at the work barbecue.

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Craft Beers

Summer is craft beer season here in the US, and we are certainly here to enjoy it. No matter what style of beer you like, there is someone, likely near you, making it fresh and selling it on tap. Now that it’s getting safer to do so, going out and supporting these local businesses will keep the American brewing tradition alive.

In some parts of the country, breweries are getting together to host festivals or provide beer passports, so you can sample a variety of styles and types of beer. We’d highly recommend this if you want to develop your tastes in beer a bit.

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The Shandy

Finishing things off, we’re going with a shandy, which is a beer cocktail made from any beer you’d like, and lemonade, mixed in equal parts. You can do this with any beer, but some lend themselves to it better than others. Beers that already have citrus elements make for a great shandy, whereas something darker might not do quite as well.

Once you find a combination that you like, this is a thirst-quenching and refreshing drink that you can sip all afternoon without over-imbibing. It’s perfect for barbecues or watching the game with some friends. Also, if you have some friends coming over, you can pre-make a few pitchers and be done with bartending for the moment.

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About author
G
Garrett is a writer and commentator based in the South. His areas of expertise lie in cooking, fashion, and the outdoors among others. He has been writing and educating professionally for years, and enjoys creating online discourses around positively masculine spaces.

Comments

I like the information. I don't like having to keep clicking to the next page, versus just scrolling down one page. Makes it seem like one of those Facebook click-baits where they give you a little information before sending you to the next page of mostly ads and little information.

Just my 2c worth.
 
I like the information. I don't like having to keep clicking to the next page, versus just scrolling down one page. Makes it seem like one of those Facebook click-baits where they give you a little information before sending you to the next page of mostly ads and little information.

Just my 2c worth.
Well, every article is setup to maximize revenue, so you are right the next page helps with that. However, endless scroll articles that go on and on often putting your computer in overdrive do the same thing. They are showing you more and more ads. So user experience wise having to click to next page vs. overloading your browser. Either way you’re going to get ads. FYI you can go to right and page option to view everything at once. We might need to make that more clear though.
 

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