Summer drinks!

November 23, 2005 9:10 PM

Summer drink recipes!

Down here in the southern hemisphere, we're headed into what is promising to be a VERY hot summer.

What I'm looking for is good summer drinks. I have this mental image of lying prostrate on a deck chair under an umbrella, and drinking fancy concoctions full of ice and fruit and maybe tiny umbrellas.

I've got a juicer, ice shaver, blender etc, and I'm not above buying additional gear.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are welcome here, any sort of complexity too, and classics such as Pina Coladas are fine as well!

posted by tomble to Food & Drink (22 answers total)

I suggest gin and tonics on ice until you sense you're approaching uncouth drunkeness, then switch to iced tea, preferable sun brewed, unsweetened. This dynamic duo has gotten me through plenty of lazy weekends on chaise lounges.
posted by moift at 9:14 PM on November 23, 2005

Can't go far wrong with a Tinto de Verano...
posted by benzo8 at 9:30 PM on November 23, 2005

I love a nice cold gin fizz:

Fizzes
from House and Garden's Drink Guide (1973)

Fizzes, which are popular drinks in the late morning and afternoon, are usually served in highball glasses. They are made from liquor, citrus juices and sugar, shaken with ice. The mixture is strained into glasses which are then filled with club soda or other carbonated drink, including champagne. Egg, both yolk and white, is used in some fizzes.

Perhaps the best-known of these drinks is the Gin Fizz. There are many versions of it, but following is the classic recipe.

Gin Fizz
3 ounces gin
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
2 tablespoons [fresh] lemon juice
1 tablespoon [fresh] lime juice
3 or 4 ice cubes
club soda

Combine all ingredients except the soda in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a [12 oz] highball glass and fill with soda. Serves one.

I only discovered this drink a few months ago, but I love it. Enjoy!
posted by jdroth at 9:35 PM on November 23, 2005

This is a little something a friend of my mother's turned my family onto eons ago. I used to sneak scoops of it when they weren't looking. She called it "Wisconsin Slush"

Boil 9 cups of water with 2 cups sugar

Add 4 green tea bags, cool

Remove tea bags

Add 1 12oz. can of frozen orange juice & 1 12oz can of frozen lemonda

Add 2 cups vodka, gin or brandy, stir & freeze

To serve, fill glass half full and the fill with sour mix.

We always prefered vodka.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:45 PM on November 23, 2005

Second the gin and tonics, invented in colonial India for medicinal purposes, to ward off the malaria. (Big problem in Melbourne). Make sure you get the tonic with Quinine in it - so it's for medicinal purposes.
posted by Dag Maggot at 9:53 PM on November 23, 2005

Informative Wikipedia article on the humble Gin and Tonic
posted by Dag Maggot at 9:56 PM on November 23, 2005

Being in the So. Hemisphere (Auckland here), we probably won't get much love from those heading into winter. I'm thinking I'm drinking green this year:
- Sun-brewed green tea: I use three bags (I like Twinings) per 2L of water, let stand outside perhaps 2 hours. Serve with lots of lime.
- Mojitos are da man! Here's a nice recipe, but once again, substitute lime for the usual lemon juice/slices.
posted by rob511 at 10:08 PM on November 23, 2005

G&T... but with the proportions: 1/3 gin, 1/3 tonic and 1/3 lemon juice (stick your lemons in the nuke for 30 seconds before cutting for maximum juiciness).

(and obviously loads of ice)
posted by pompomtom at 10:13 PM on November 23, 2005

I'll second the mojito.

I'm also very fond of sangria on a hot day, especially as it can be fairly weak but still very nice.
posted by arha at 10:15 PM on November 23, 2005

What we do here in FL is a concoction of a good dark rum, preferably Meyer's, and whatever tropical fruit juices turn your crank: orange, pineapple, mango, papaya, etc., in any combination. The trick is to add a healthy splash of soda. The fruit juices can tend to be too sweet, especially over the course of an evening. The soda cuts the sugar and adds a nice effervescence. Garnish with a slice of citrus and tiny umbrella (optional).
posted by wsg at 10:18 PM on November 23, 2005

My #1 hot weather drink would have to be the mint julep and the Derby Julep is the best of the dozens of varieties:

5 leaves of fresh mint
1 tsp. simple syrup
2 oz. Kentucky sour mash (although any bourbon will do)
1 spring of mint (as garnish)

Pour syrup into the bottom of a highball glass, cover with ice, put mint on top. Muddle the mint into the ice. Add bourbon and stir. Lay a fifty on a filly to win.

I'm familiar with the Wisconsin Slush as a "Bourbon Slush". Everything's the same, except for the booze (natch).
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 10:31 PM on November 23, 2005

Have a swanky summer.

Bikini Martini

1 fluid ounce coconut rum
3/4 fluid ounce vodka
1 fluid ounce pineapple juice
1 dash grenadine syrup

Combine rum, vodka and pineapple juice in a drink shaker. Shake firmly until frothy. Pour in a martini glass, add a touch of grenadine in the middle. Garnish with an orange wheel.
posted by frogan at 10:45 PM on November 23, 2005

Iced tea by wgp: Blend strong, high quality tea (I mix organic green with Earl Grey) let cool, sweeten with Ribena (black currant nectar) to taste, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a slice for decoration. Pour over ice. Top with a fresh sprig of mint. Everyone raves about this and asks for my recipe. Good tea makes a real difference.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:48 AM on November 24, 2005

Can you get Pimms out there? That's what we always serve at garden parties here in Blighty, what ho.
posted by chrismear at 2:56 AM on November 24, 2005

Also, a simple Meyer's rum and ginger ale with a slice of lime is exellent.
posted by wsg at 11:49 AM on November 24, 2005

*excellent
posted by wsg at 11:49 AM on November 24, 2005

A good nonalcoholic drink is the Southampton: juice of half a lime, two or three dashes bitters, tonic. Really good. Also if you add some sweetish bourbon, it's still good (sounds weird but I like it, anyay).

Pastis or ouzo and ice-cold water (1:5 ratio), if you like licorice.
posted by kenko at 11:58 AM on November 24, 2005

Mint julep.

Mojito (instead of ice cubes, try making it a slushy).

Chilled sun tea (big jar, water, tea bag/leaves - leave out in the sun).
posted by PurplePorpoise at 12:31 PM on November 24, 2005

Yep, we get Pimms - spent Sunday on a friend's deck washing down salmon with Pimms Cups. Very civilised.

Another summer fave is to substitute the Pimms in the Pimms Cup recipe linked in chrismear's post with Stones Green Ginger Wine. Just Stones, ice and lemonade is great. Or Coke, Bundy and Stones. Mmmm, Stones.

Forget mojitos - the Cachaça is where it's at.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:53 PM on November 24, 2005

And don't forget beer - a spritzy hefeweizen from Schöfferhofer or Erdinger, or a spicy Belgian wit like Hoegaarden. Do like my German cousins do and mix hefe with Coke!
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:57 PM on November 24, 2005

Forgot our other summer strategy:

Pretty much anything muddled with a little sugar and ice (either in the glass or strained), topped up with a standard spirit and lemonade or ginger ale tastes good in summer. Try muddling fresh lychees with finely shredded kaffir lime leaf, or mango with mint and fresh ginger. They key is long mixed drinks made with basic spirits, plain mixers and plenty of ice - no cream, no milk, no liqueurs. Try those Schweppes mixers that came out last year - Agrum and the like. A dash of bitters never hurt anybody, either.

The missus reminds me not to forget the Transfusion - a very tall, wide glass of finely crushed ice, a shot of vodka, gin or white rum, and straight red Cottees cordial. Sip. Slowly. The super cold, super sweetness really helps in the heat.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:06 PM on November 24, 2005

Agua de Jamaica.
posted by Wet Spot at 4:30 PM on November 24, 2005