It’s time to get outside, so why not enjoy your summer evenings with a cool cocktail
Summer is a time for the exotic and a need to be outdoors whether it is for a barbeque, a party or just relaxing in the privacy of your garden. These are perfect opportunities to let your cocktail fantasies flourish. The challenge for any host is to create new sensations. New cocktails are constantly being created and even more so for the summer months. Somewhere around the world, it is summer every day and people are sipping concoctions ranging from a Mojito and a frozen Daiquiri to a Pi?a Colada.
Creating a summer cocktail is similar to the way in which a painter works with colour. Imagine the background canvas is the glass, the paints are the spirits and the juices, the brushes are the cocktail shaker or the blender, and the juices are the colour palette.
So what’s texturally different about a summer mixture? A lot! There is more use of clear, light spirits as a base. Whiskey, brandy, bourbon and other darker spirits are put away to the rear of the cocktail cabinet. It’s easier to mix a white spirit with juice than a stronger tasting base. Briefly, the four main alcoholic spirits that make the best bases for the coolest cocktails are:
* Gin – in my opinion it’s pretty simple really you either like gin or you don’t.
* Vodka – a good neutral spirit to use as a base for summer cocktails despite its association with a cold climate. Try also the wide range of fruit flavoured vodkas.
* Tequila – Some say there is no summer without tequila. A useful tip to remember is that each bottle is graded by the level of agave it contains. It can be blanco or silver, gold, reposado and anejo.
* Rum – the base of many of my favourite cocktails. It comes as white, gold, spiced, dark, premium aged, over-proof, single marks, and last but not least we have Cacha?a, the Brazilian version of rum.
Where to use all those spirits!!
Typical summer classic drinks are those that contain soda water, lemonade or ginger ale, sugar and fresh fruit juices. Below is a guide to the types of drinks you might come across:
* Cobbler A combination of spirit, fruit and mixed berries with mint as decoration
* Collins A long and refreshing drink made with lots of ice. The two more popular versions are the Tom Collins and the John Collins.
* Cooler Similar to a Collins, but with a spiral of citrus peel trailing over the highball rim. Contains soda or ginger ale and perhaps bitter or grenadine.
* Fizzes Another drink related to the Collins, a spirit with lemon juice, sugar syrup or brown sugar, shaken and served with soda in a highball glass.
* Juleps A long drink based on fresh mint stepped in bourbon.
* Mojitos A term for a drink much like the above julep, based with rum.
* Punches Traditionally rum and water, served hot (not at this time of the year) or iced with sugar and orange or lemon juice. Now other spirits are added with slice of citrus.
* Rickey The unsweetened of the Collins family, made with spirit, fresh lime juice and soda water, first made in 1893.
* Sling A term for a drink made with a spirit base, citrus juices and soda water served in an ice filled highball glass.
These are all equally refreshing and could be found in any cocktail book. You need not wait to go out and try them. One of the best ways to enjoy them is to try and make yourself one at home. All you need to have is the right bar equipment and right ingredients. Generally speaking, summer means more fruit juice, more ice, and more fresh garnishes.
For those wanting to detox during summer there are many alternatives. A combination of juices and/or vegetables still give you the sharp, sweet, spicy and creamy flavours that excite your palate. The various textures combine to make it look good as well. There is so much freshness in those drinks with berries and citrus because they contain strong fragrances that are so intense that they heighten all the senses.
The number of fresh or long life juices available today, and the fact that nearly everyone has a blender and/or a juicer in the kitchen make the non-alcoholic drink an easy option.
Here are some recipes that are great for alfresco entertaining
The Neon Watermelon Margarita
Cool and sexy, it’s the kind of drink that makes things happen
Ingredients
4cl silver tequila
3cl triple sec
3cl fresh lime juice
2cl Midori (melon liqueur)
Half slice, cubed, seeded watermelon
1 tsp superfine sugar
Preparation
Pour all the ingredients into a blender in the order mentioned above. Blend for about second. Add a scoop of dry crushed ice. Blend till smooth and pour into a brown-sugar-rimmed margarita glass.
Summer Sunset
A refreshing drink full of vitamins and energy to take you through the day
Serves 4
Ingredients
Half yellow melon
Half papaya
Half mango
6 strawberries
20cl passion fruit juice
20cl peach juice
1 lemon cut in half
3cl fresh orange juice
3dashes grenadine
Preparation
Scoop out the seeds from the fruit and discard. Dice the fruit and put it into a blender. Add the passion fruit and the peach juice. Add a squeeze of lemon and the grenadine. Blend for ten seconds. Add two scoops of ice and blend again to chill the drink. Fill four highball glasses with ice and fill each three-quarter full. For the final touch, with a bar-spoon float the fresh orange juice over the top. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Honolulu Juicer
Freshness personified, with the peach-flavored Southern Comfort, providing the sweetness. This recipe easily multiplies to serve in pitcher for a crowd. A drink for the perfect cool down
Ingredients
3cl Southern Comfort
2cl golden tum
2cl lime cordial
1cl fresh lime juice
10cl pineapple juice
Preparation
Pour all the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake sharply. Pour directly into a highball glass and garnish with a wedge of lime.
