Summer Cocktails

BREAKING REDS NEWS! 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN NOMINATED FOR 2015 MACAVITY AWARD! 

RHYS BOWEN NOMINATED FOR 2015 BRUCE ALEXANDER HISTORICAL 

FICTION AWARD!

CONGRATULATIONS, HANK AND RHYS!

Julie Reiner

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: One of the best things about living in New York are the great restaurants and bars. Julie Reiner's iconic saloons serving craft cocktails — Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club, Clover Club, and newest venture, Leyenda are some of Noel's and my favorite places for date night. The drinks are amazing, the food is wonderful, the atmosphere is celebratory, and, best of all, even though they're sort of glam — the vibe is neighborly.

In case you can't get to New York, the good news is cocktail doyenne Julie Reiner has a new book out: The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion (Grand Central Publishing).


Yes, readers, I couldn't resist getting it... (I'm a bit of a Julie fangirl — love seeing women chefs and business owners succeed.) 


The CRAFT COCKTAIL PARTY gives cocktail basics and keeps thing simple for the home cook. (Yay!) The recipes are organized into the four seasons—not surprising, given that Reiner's inspired by seasonal ingredients. As she writes: 

At the season's height, when every stand at the farmers’ market sags under the weight of pristine berries, plump tomatoes, and bunches of fragrant herbs, my bar starts to resemble a garden. I generally divide my market haul into two piles: one for muddling into drinks and one for making infusions and syrups. When certain fruits, like raspberries, are gently heated in sugar, the resulting syrup can be even more robust in flavor than the fruit itself.


I haven't tried all the recipes in "Summer" yet (give me time—it's only June...), but I do think I've found one for our summer house cocktail.


Here's the recipe for Ginger-Mint Lemonade — perfect for summer and can be made with or without alcohol.


GINGER-MINT LEMONADE 

The ginger syrup in this drink is the real star. It’s so good, in fact, that you could leave the booze out entirely for an undeniably delicious mocktail. 

8 mint leaves 
¾ ounce ginger syrup 
2 ounces citrus vodka or gin (I recommend Ketel One Citroen or Tanqueray No. Ten) 
¾ ounce lemon juice 
1 ½ ounces water 
Garnish / Mint sprig


GINGER SYRUP

Ginger Syrup Ginger is a very versatile cocktail ingredient. It works with any spirit category and adds spice to your beverage without adding heat. It’s essential to categories of drinks called “mules” and “bucks,” most frequently encountered in the form of the Moscow Mule. The best way to make it is with a juice extractor (used to juice vegetables and noncitrus fruits). If you don’t have one, you can still make ginger juice with a bit of elbow grease: Just grate fresh peeled ginger root with a microplane zester and then squeeze it through a piece of cheesecloth. However, when you’re entertaining or making lots of drinks, it’s perfectly acceptable to buy a bottled ginger juice or syrup. There are quite a few good ones on the market today. I recommend ginger juice from the Ginger People and Hawaiian ginger syrup from Pacifikool, both of which can be found online.

½ cup ginger juice 
1 cup superfine sugar 

Heat the juice in a saucepan over low heat until warm but not boiling. 

Add the sugar and blend with an immersion blender or whisk. 

Let cool, then transfer to a nonreactive metal or glass container with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. 

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP, enough for about 13 drinks

SUSAN: Reds and lovely readers, what drinks, alcoholic or not, keep you cool in the summer. Please share in the comments! And cheers!