Top 10 summer cocktails

Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Air Mail


Siegal's take on a cocktail he calls "old and esoteric." It sounds to me as if it originated in the '30s or '40s, when the term "air mail" had an sense of glamour to it. The first sip tastes simple. But hold it in your mouth for a few seconds and a whole host of intense, complex flavors reveal themselves.





The Goods:

chilled wine glass
2 ounces Mount Gay Special Reserve White Rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounces honey syrup*
2 to 3 ounces well chilled sparkling wine, such as Prosecco

Add the rum, lime juice and honey syrup to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Pour into wine glass and top with sparkling wine.

*Honey syrup dissolves more quickly and is easier to pour than pure honey. To make Siegal's, combine five parts inexpensive honey with two parts very hot water in a small bottle. Seal, and shake vigorously. Let cool.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
The Bikini Martini

The name--not to mention the vivid blue color--makes this a summer cocktail winner. It tastes delicious too.


The Goods:

3 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin
squeeze of fresh lime juice
2 tbsp Blue Curacoa
1 tbsp peach schnapps
1 tsp confectioners' sugar or one packet of Equal
lemon zest

Fill a martini glass with ice and water to chill it. Half-fill a martini shaker with ice and add the gin, lime juice, Curacao, schnapps and sugar. Shake well for at least 30 seconds.

Pour out ice and water from martini glass, and poor in the mixture through a strainer. Garnish with lemon zest.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Campari Smash

The appealing contrast between the tangy bitterness of the Campari and the sweetness of the limoncello make this Siegal original a perfect summer refresher.


The Goods:

4 lemon wedges, seeds removed if possible
1 1/4 ounces Campari
3/4 ounces limoncello

Muddle the lemons in a shaker. Add Campari and limoncello. Shake lightly. Serve in a rocks glass.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
La Chic Martinique

Rhum agricole, from the French West Indies, is made from cane sugar rather than molasses, the basis of regular rum. It has a highly distinctive, aromatic, verdant flavor. This is an adaptation of a cocktail created by Brian Van Flandern of New York's Per Se restaurant for a Rhum Clement cocktail competition.


The Goods:

1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Rhum Clement VSOP Rum
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup or 1/2 packet Equal
soda water to taste
twist of lime peel
chilled martini glass

Shake the first four ingredients vigorously over ice. Add a splash of soda and shake gently until it foams. Pour into martini glass. Float the twist of lime peel on the surface.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Cucumber Mojito Crush

Replacing some of the mint with cucumber adds a whole extra dimension to this cool Cuban favorite.


The Goods:

1 1/2 ounces 10 Cane Rum
4 slices peeled seedless cucumber
6 to 8 mint leaves
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
1 packet Equal
chilled ginger ale

In a tall glass, muddle together the cucumber, limes, mint and Equal. Add to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add rum and shake. Fill glass with crushed ice, return mixture to glass and top with ginger ale. Garnish with a slice of cucumber.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
English Harbor Rum and Soda

One of my favorite summer drinks is one of the simplest--it consists of an aged rum poured into a tall glass of crushed ice and topped with a splash of soda. Here, the softer, creamy Antiguan rum, laced with subtle hints of vanilla, chocolate and coffee, makes for a delectable change from the usual, assertive dark rums.


The Goods:

3 ounces English Harbor Five-Year-Old Antigua Rum
soda to taste
wedge of lime

Fill a rocks or highball glass with ice. Add rum. Add soda to taste and stir. Garnish with lime.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Gin and Tonic

The English classic was exported around the world during the days of Empire and has been improved by such marvels of modern technology as the plentiful supply of ice.


The Goods:

2 ounces of well-chilled super-premium 47% gin
2 or 3 ounces of fresh tonic (I prefer Schweppes)
wedge of lemon or lime

Add gin to a highball glass filled with ice. Add tonic to taste. Squeeze the lime or, if you want to be really Brit, lemon, into the drink. Drop in the wedge.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Pimm's Cup

This classic English summer drink is becoming increasingly popular on both sides of the Atlantic.


The Goods:

1 1/2 ounces of Pimm's Number One
4 to 5 ounces of 7-Up or Sprite
wedge of lemon
sprig of borage or, if unavailable, slice of cucumber

Ideally you should combine all the ingredients, in these proportions, in a large pitcher, and then pour it into highball glasses filled with ice.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
Zenzero

It's the subtle hint of ginger--and you should use a light hand when adding it, as less is definitely better than more--that, with the honey, gives Siegal's invention its distinctive and refreshing flavor.


The Goods:

1/4 ounce fresh ginger
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey syrup
2 ounces El Tesoro Platinum Tequila
well-chilled martini glass

Muddle together the ginger and lemon juice. Pour into a shaker filled with ice. Add tequila and honey syrup. Shake well and pour into the martini glass.


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Ten Cool Summer Cocktails
The Zuidam Crush

I first encountered this drink at a party to promote Zuidam Gin. It was served without the soda, and while I liked the fresh orange flavor, I found it heavy and too strong. So I had the bartender add some soda. This now appears to have become the official version, and I am expecting my first royalty check shortly.


The Goods:

3 ounces Zuidam Dry Gin
1 1/2 ounces Patron Citronage
splash Club Soda
slice of fresh orange

Muddle orange in a rocks glass. Add ice. Add gin, Citronage and soda to taste. This works equally well as a short or long drink. Stir.