My friend Julie insists that the perfect summer drink is a simple gin-and-tonic with a twist of lime.
"On a hot day, it's light and refreshing. And see?" she points out as she holds up her drink so that it sparkles in the sunshine, "It's pretty, too, because it's all bubbly and fizzy. And most best of all, it's easy to make."
Julie is pretty convincing that a gin-and-tonic is an ideal cocktail for warm temperatures, but when it comes to fully stocking a summer bar, you'll need more than just gin.
When the weather heats up and it's time to replace the cognacs, brandies, and scotches that are more suited for winter entertaining, I opt for lighter spirits and liquors, starting with vodka.
Vodka-based drinks pair well with fruits like watermelons, peaches and pineapples, and for my summer bar I've chosen wheat-based Level Vodka (www.levelvodka.com; about $30 for 750 ml), from the makers of Absolut. Level is mellow and smooth, and I like its clean, citrusy taste that leaves no burn at all. While Level is ideal for unflavored vodka, I also tend toward a bit of boldness and always stock some of flavored vodkas.
Smirnoff has just rolled out their White Grape and Passion Fruit flavors (www.smirnoff.com; about $14 each). The taste is actually true to the fruit, and I found both to be excellent with tonic. While I was especially ape about the white grape, I also like Stolichnaya Blakberi (www.stoli.com; about $24). This blackberry-based vodka is quite good although not as sweet as I thought it would be. But if your tastes run more toward spiciness than sweetness, Stoli Blakberi is a "berry" fine choice for your summer bar.
Few drinks bespeak of summer more than iced tea and mint juleps. And even if you're not named Scarlett or Rhett, you'll still be saying "y'all" and "bless your heart" in no time by stocking your bar with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka (www.fireflyvodka.com; about $20), a sweet tea-infused, muscadine-based vodka from South Carolina. Yes, honey-chile, I said South Carolina, where summer temperatures often reach the fricassee mark before noon. It does taste like sweet tea, so try it over tonic with lemon or a sprig of mint for a down-home taste of the South.
Balance your summer bar with bourbon for those mint juleps that you'll sippin' on the back porch as you watch the sun go down. I keep relatively inexpensive Wild Turkey 101 (www.wildturkey.com; about $20) on hand because I like to make mint juleps for a quick cool down during backyard barbecues.
Flavored rums for pina coladas are essential for a bar, and my picks for summer are Malibu Caribbean Rum Tropical Banana Flavor, which has the flavor of very ripe bananas and is just a smidge away from being too sweet, and Malibu Rum Coconut, with the taste and nose of the tropics (www.maliburum.com; about $15 each). Along with Malibu's other flavors – pineapple, passion fruit, and mango – these rums are versatile for cocktails and easy on the palate.
For rums without the fruit basket turnover, the pale golden 10 Cane (www.10cane.com; about $35) from Trinidad is one of my favorites. The rum, distilled from fresh sugar cane juice and aged in French oak barrels, is slightly sweet and adds a nice symmetry to the lime in a daiquiri. For a clear rum, I've selected Mount Gay Eclipse Silver (www.mountgay.com; about $16), a light-bodied rum from Barbados aged in used whisky and bourbon barrels. With its notes of cane syrup, citrus, and peppermint, it mixes very well in classic summer cocktails.
Summer is also the season for fresh strawberries, which pair perfectly with champagne. I wouldn't dream of having a summer soiree without champagne, and one of my favorites is Moet & Chandon White Star (www.moet.com; about $35). For an elegant champagne cocktail, just mix two parts champagne to one part vodka. I used Smirnoff White Grape Vodka and loved the grape-on-grape combination.
To finish stocking your summer bar, follow Julie's lead for those hot days when nothing else will do but a gin-and-tonic. My personal pick is lime-infused Tanqueray Rangpur (www.tanqueray.com; about $22), but that's because I think that lime, along with bread and cheese in any form, should be one of the basic food groups. Two parts tonic to one part of gin over lots of clear ice blends well for a "bubbly and fizzy" summer drink.
For under $300, your summer bar is now open. Here are a few cool cocktails to get you started:
BLAKBERI BLUES
2 parts Stoli Blakberi
1 part Stoli Blueberi
1 part cranberry juice
1 part simple syrup
Splash of raspberry liqueur
Squeeze of lemon
Sage to taste
Muddle sage. Combine with ingredients, shake vigorously over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with one blueberry, one blackberry and sage.
RED PASSION
1.5 ounces Smirnoff Passion Fruit Flavored Vodka
3 ounces cranberry juice
Mix ingredients together in a rocks glass, then garnish with a lemon-lime twist
PASSION LEMONADE
1.5 ounces Smirnoff Passion Fruit Flavored Vodka
2 ounces lemonade
Mix ingredients, then serve in a tall glass on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
WHITE GRAPE COSMO
1.25 ounces Smirnoff White Grape Flavored Vodka
.25 ounce triple sec
2 ounces cranberry juice
1 ounce lemon-lime soda
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, then shake, strain and serve in a martini glass. Add a dash of lemon juice or squeeze of lemon for more flavor.
THE 54 JULEP
2.5 ounces Wild Turkey 101
3 sprigs of mint (six to eight mature-sized leaves)
1.5 teaspoons brown sugar
.5 cup crushed ice
In a traditional silver julep cup or double-old fashioned glass, mull two sprigs of mint with the brown sugar and one ounce of Wild Turkey 101 for a few minutes, crushing the mint leaves with a spoon. Add the crushed ice, the rest of the bourbon, and garnish with sprig of mint.
10 CANE DAIQURI
2 ounces 10 Cane Rum
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
Combine ingredients with cubed ice in a mixing glass. Shake vigorously, and then strain into thoroughly chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly sliced lime wheel.
PINA COLADA
4 ounces Malibu Coconut Rum
3 tablespoons crushed pineapple
3 tablespoons cream of coconut
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup crushed ice
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple.
Mary Ann Anderson writes On the Rocks for McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
