Drinks - quick and easy recipes - page 16

One night I was enjoying a couple of these cocktails with a friend who got to the bottom of his glass quicker than expected. I warned him that the blend of fino sherry, citrus juice, Cointreau, and allspice liqueur is dangerously easy to gulp, explaining that I’d made that mistake before at the start of an evening and it was soon the end of me. He laughed and said, “Well, then this cocktail is your alpha and omega … your beginning and end!”

A mint-flavored simple syrup made with leftover holiday candy canes. Use it as a topping for ice cream, or as a cocktail mixer.

This blended summer drink was given to us by Tres Restaurant (formerly known as Tres Agaves). It comes together in only a few minutes and can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd. Just blend tequila, watermelon, lime juice, and agave nectar and pour over ice. A basil leaf garnish adds a bit of fragrant spice.

The original Dark ‘n’ Stormy (dark rum, ginger beer, and lime) comes from Bermuda. We give it the American convenience-store treatment, with ice and enough time in the blender to make it slushy and super-refreshing. Warning: You will get a brain freeze, so sip slowly!

The Mojito (white rum, lime, simple syrup, and muddled mint leaves) is arguably the most cooling drink ever invented. Turn it into a slushy, and it reaches arctic levels of refreshment.

The Old Fashioned is a beautiful thing. At its best, it’s a careful balance of whiskey, sugar, and bitters, with a little dilution from water, often in the form of melting ice. Here, the classic goes pool-friendly, with a slushy blender version that relies on lots of ice, as well as fresh cherries to lend a little brightness and color.

This blended mix of lemon juice, simple syrup, fresh strawberries, ice, and vodka refreshes like a 7-Eleven Slurpee for grown-ups. Drag the blender out to the patio, put on some summer tunes, and kick back in the lounge chair.

Indian spiced tea—masala chai—has a lovely delicacy and a fortifying strength. We harnessed both qualities for these refreshing milkshakes that should help you get through the muggiest summer afternoon. Chai tea bags are handy, but we suggest making your own sachet, using cheesecloth and a good-quality masala chai, a blend of loose-leaf black tea with whole spices such as cardamom pods, cloves, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon, and dried ginger.

Christopher Longoria of restaurant 1760 in San Francisco devised this beautifully colored, wonderfully aromatic cocktail to highlight mezcal in a way that smooths out its rustic edges. It’s bright and sophisticated, not to mention wickedly strong. What to buy: You’ll need a bottle of Hangar 1 Kaffir Lime Vodka and a moderately smoky mezcal, such as Del Maguey’s Vida. Special equipment: A wooden muddler is best for crushing the basil, and a four-prong bar strainer is a handy tool.

Trick Dog is a bar in the Mission District of San Francisco that’s known for its expertly crafted cocktails. The Lombard Street cocktail was named after one of the city’s most famous, and windiest, landmarks. The smokiness of the mezcal, paired with the sweet and sour flavors of the pineapple syrup, sherry, and lime juice, makes this a well-balanced drink that’ll give you a much-needed taste of the tropics on a chilly evening.

In German, the language of beer, radler means “cyclist.” In beverage terms, a radler is a kind of beer-based “sports drink”—lager mixed with a soft drink, similar to an English shandy—a refreshing pick-me-up for guzzling when you stop at a kneipe, a countryside tavern. It’s simple and cooling, even when you’re not cycling the Alps. What to buy: You’ll need a pale lager with hoppy bitterness, like Weihenstephaner.

Technically this is a radler (the German version of lager and lemonade) but the spirit—a beer of low-hop bitterness, combined with something fruity and refreshing—definitely skews shandy. Instead of soda, we call for a second beer, a Belgian lambic flavored with raspberry. What to buy: You’ll need a wheat beer with low hops, such as Erdinger Hefe-Weizen, and a raspberry lambic (we’re fans of Timmermans Framboise Lambicus).

Substituting tangerine juice for lime in a margarita is a revelation. The taste is gentler, a little sweeter, and far more aromatic—the tangerine flavor acts as a shadow for the orange liqueur, amplifying its presence. If you can get a Meyer lemon to garnish with (it adds a final burst of citrus perfume), go for it. If not, a regular Eureka lemon will do just fine.

Ah the shandy, Britain’s low-alcohol pub drink, the ultimate session sipper. This one calls for ginger beer, mixed half-and-half with a mild-tasting lager (no bitter hop bombs, please). Enjoy one for lunch when you have to go back to the office and keep a clear head, or whenever you want a little something that cools and stimulates without making you foggy.

Digestifs are boozy after-dinner drinks said to tame the effects of a rich, heavy meal. They’re ridiculously easy to make: Just add citrus peels or herbs to grain alcohol and steep, then strain and mix with simple syrup. Digestifs keep forever (we store ours in the freezer so they’re already chilled), ready whenever you want a nightcap or a cocktail mixer. This recipe relies on the peel from blood oranges to create a wonderfully aromatic digestif that just happens to be perfect for margaritas.

Who doesn’t love a good G&T? Well, the Spanish certainly do. Condé Nast Traveler reported that Spain is home to the biggest gin drinker population (per capita) in the the world. Although this refreshing take on the classic gin and tonic would be great on a hot summer day, we’d be happy to sip on one (or a few) as a pre- or post-dinner libation all year round. Perhaps make a batch to wash down a feast of our homemade paella recipe.