21 Drink salute

When you're packing that picnic basket this summer, don't you dare forget the booze. I'm kicking off my traditional 21 Drink Salute to Summer with some bourbon in my al fresco mimosa. Any Basic Becky can mix OJ and sparkling wine. But add a generous pour of your favorite bourbon, and all the other picknickers will be scrambling for a spot on your blanket.
Cheers!

Help your old man beat the summer heat on Father's Day with some ice cream and boozy coffee! Affogato is an Italian dessert consisting of gelato "drowned" in hot espresso and liqueur. This Americanized version is one part iced coffee, and two half parts of coffee liqueur and nutty amaretto. Shake it up with ice, then strain it over a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream. My old man's favorite was Butter Brickle, so that's what I'm eating/drinking in his memory today. Cheers!

While we've got our bottle of the Italian liqueur amaretto handy, let's go ahead and use it for refreshment as we toss the bocce balls around in the backyard. The classic Bocce Ball cocktail is vodka, amaretto, and orange juice, with a bit of club soda if you like sparkle and fizz. But since I'm playing the red bocce balls today, I blended in a few ripe red strawberries to the OJ for good luck. When playing bocce, don't worry if your lawn is as gnarly as mine. Just grab your balls and have another cocktail. It'll be fine. Cheers!

The perfect martini doesn't exi --
We've got baseball on our brains here in Omaha, playing host right now to the annual spectacle of the College World Series. So the Cooperstown cocktail, named for the home of baseball's hall of fame, seemed an apt way to celebrate Day 4 of our 21 Drink Salute to Summer. The Cooperstown is essentially a "perfect" martini (one part gin, with half parts each of dry vermouth AND red vermouth), with a little mint thrown in for some razzle dazzle. It's a great way to pass the time during an inevitable rain delay in America's greatest summer pastime. Cheers!

Gallop on over to your local horseshoes court, and enjoy a refreshing Horse's Neck in between throws. For those of you keeping score at home, you may recall I featured this cocktail five years ago. I normally try not to repeat drinks, BUT... that one was made with bourbon. This one is brandy, topped off with ginger ale, some bitters, and garnished with the characteristic twisty lemon peel. The dandy brandy is a ringer for me. Cheers!

The neighbor kids were having a lemonade stand (probably without a permit). So, after I called the Health Department to report them, I decided to celebrate National Martini Day with the Lemon Drop: vodka, orange liqueur, lemon liqueur, and simple syrup. Go ahead and put some sugar on the rim if so inclined. Like me, this cocktail is cold and sour and best enjoyed in small doses. What's more fun in the summertime than lemonade? I'll TELL you what's more fun: not getting food poisoning from an unpermitted lemonade stand, that's what. And teaching your kids respect for the law. How about THAT? In any event, shake your cane at the neighbor kids, then shake up one of these refreshing martinis. Cheers!

Cool off after that hot summer bike ride with a Bicicleta. It's just Campari dumped into a glass of iced white wine, topped off with some sparkling soda. Go ahead and use that cheap back-of-the-fridge wine that you got at the grocery store... the bitter Campari will mask the taste anyway. Don't forget to toss in a couple round orange wheels -- and don't forget to wear your helmet, kids. You'll need that brain of yours to feel the throb after you've tossed back a few of these cocktails. Cheers!

In 2004, Chad Fell of Winston County in Alabama blew a 20-inch unassisted bubble with Dubble Bubble bubblegum, a world record that stands to this day. The history books don't record how Chad celebrated his amazing achievement, but he could have done worse than a bubblegum-infused vodka cooler. Turns out if you toss a handful of Dubble Bubble into a jar of vodka and leave it overnight, you've got a base spirit that really does convey the flavor and color of bubble gum. (Don't use Bubble Yum, by the way... you won't get the same results, and I heard it's made with spider eggs anyway.) For this cocktail, I shook up a couple ounces of the infused vodka with a half ounce each of simple syrup and banana liqueur -- did you know that bubblegum flavor is a blend of banana and strawberry? -- then topped it off with some club soda on ice. Unlike the actual gum, the flavor of this cocktail hangs around for more than 5 minutes, so take your time and enjoy. Cheers!

The perennial dilemma: how do you keep your cocktail cold when it's 100° and you're out smashing croquet balls around the yard? Now THAT'S a sticky wicket. Purists will say a proper Pimm's Cup must be Pimm's No. 1 liqueur with lemonade and fresh fruit. My version uses ice-cold ginger ale and frozen fruit... and anyone who tells me I can't do that will get a swift mallet to the head. The name of the game is flexibility, friends. And friendship. And booze. Cheers!

If your plans for summer fun include building a sweet treehouse, be sure you consult the sprites before construction begins. As we all know, woodsprites or treesprites are the guardian spirits who inhabit even backyard trees, and woe to the hapless mortal who dares to disrupt their abodes without the proper permits. I would suggest appeasing them with a spirited offering like the Woodsprite cocktail. It's a tree-tall shot of oaky bourbon topped off with a canopy of lemon-lime soda (Sprite is the obvious choice), with a half ounce of elderflower liqueur mixed in to give it a little extra herbal magic. The treesprites are notorious for their love of sweet, juicy fruits, so be sure to think of them by adding a nice cherry garnish to your cocktail. Cheers!

Don't let rainy skies dampen your summer fun. I'm passing time between showers with a Rain Water cocktail. It's a variation of the classic two-ingredient Ranch Water -- tequila with Topo Chico mineral water -- using, in this case, lemon-lime flavored Rambler sparkling mineral water (it's made in Texas, so you know it's bigger and better). Throw in as many lime chunks as you think prudent, and maybe watch the grass grow as you wait for that eventual break in the clouds so you can get out and play. It wouldn't be summer without a few thunderstorms, would it? Cheers!

Toss that Frisbee around while the sun is shining, then cool your jets with an icy drink. The classic Bee's Knees cocktail is gin with lemon juice and some honey syrup, shaken and strained neat into a fancy coupe glass. My version adds some Drambuie -- a honey-infused Scotch whisky liqueur -- and is served in generous portions over ice. You could also try substituting Limoncello for the fresh lemon juice if you don't have lemons on hand (or if you just can't get enough booze in your cocktails). However you mix yours, it's just what you need to get a sweet little buzz on after throwing the disc in your backyard this summer. Try not to get stung. Cheers!

Some people (let's call them "psychopaths") consider gardening a relaxing summer pastime. I consider it loathsome, tedious manual labor. Nevertheless, I am endeavoring to grow some watermelon in my garden this summer. Impatient grump that I am, today I mixed up a cocktail made with some store-bought watermelon chunks. It's the Brazilian drink called the Caipirinha: cachaça (which is like light rum, but it's distilled from sugarcane juice rather than molasses), with lime juice and granulated sugar. For the watermelon version, I just muddled and shook the melon with the other ingredients and strained it into a rocks glass with some extra lime wedges. If you don't have a bottle of cachaça on hand (you should), just use light rum and call this a watermelon daiquiri. Call it whatever you want, actually. You can even call gardening "fun" if you want. Just don't call me if I'm standing all sweaty in my weedy garden with a cocktail in my muddy hands. I won't answer. Cheers!

When the hot summer sun finally dips below the horizon, it's fun to gather 'round the backyard fire pit with some ice cold drinks. You'll need to fire up the blender for this one. Blend a shot of Fireball cinnamon whiskey with some pineapple chunks, and layer it in with some ice blended with peach schnapps, along with fire-red Grenadine for color. It tastes a little like hot grilled fruit... it looks a little like fire... and it adds just a little something extra to cool you down on those warm patio nights. Cheers!

If you can't scavenge coconuts on a tropical beach, hot summer days are great for playing make-believe. (Or for fond memories of your last trip to Puerto Rico.) Give your mojito some extra coco-mojo by adding coconut water. Just muddle a handful of mint with a tablespoon of sugar, squeeze in the juice from half a lime, then add about a half cup of coconut water to your shot of light rum and shake it all up. You can try to look cool drinking it from a coconut shell... but honestly, a glass is sooo much more civilized. Cheers!

While you're gearing up for this summer's Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest, slated to go down this Friday on Coney Island, consider washing down a few of your own dogs with some refreshing, ice-cold Coca Cola... mixed with red wine! There are versions of this simple (and surprisingly tasty) cocktail all over the world. In Argentina, they call it Jesus Juice. In Chile, they call it Black Vulture. But in the Basque region of Spain, where the drink has become wildly popular, they call it the Kalimotxo. Don't forget the lemons. Joey Chestnut, who has won the annual hotdog-eating contest a whopping 16 times, probably won't have one of these at his side as he shovels hotdogs down his gullet this Fourth of July. But you can certainly have one or two as you enjoy a little grilling on your patio this week. Cheers!

When those rain clouds finally part and you get some breezy blue summer skies, you tie some string to your favorite kite and watch the day drift away. You can also tie one on with a lovely blue cocktail. This one has a half ounce of Blue Curacao liqueur shaken up with a half ounce of simple syrup and two ounces of light rum, topped off with some lemon-lime soda. (I also tried a version of this with lemon juice and dry sparkling wine instead of the Sprite and rum, but it just didn't convey the light and airy feel I was going for.) The thing about summer is that you've got to lay back on the grass and enjoy watching clouds on these warm-but-not-too-warm days. If you need an excuse to do that, a kite and a cocktail should suffice. Cheers!

Despite taking golf lessons at my local community college a few decades ago, I never quite got into the swing of the sport. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a cocktail that's kinda-sorta named for "The King" of American golf: Arnold Palmer. The Arnold Palmer, of course, is a non-alcoholic beverage comprised of equal parts iced tea and lemonade. But it's a refreshing beverage that you can easily booze up a little. (Or, a lot.) To make the Peachy Palmer cocktail, just add a shot of your favorite peach-flavored spirit to your Arnold Palmer. Toss in some frozen peach slices as a handicap. I experimented with three different liquors: peach brandy, peach vodka, and peach bourbon. But if you'd like a cocktail that's not just par for the course, put some peach bourbon in your Arnold Palmer and enjoy hanging out at that 19th Hole. Cheers!

If there were to be an unofficial "smell" of summer, what would it be? Tonight, I propose a toast to the fragrant, unassuming Citronella candle that we've all burned on our patios in a vain attempt to ward off the skeeters. The cocktail we'll be toasting with is a variant of the Italian dessert/digestif called the Sgroppino. It's lemon sorbet blended with a fizzy mixture of vodka and Prosecco. (Man, those Italians know how to live! No wonder we named our freaking continent after one of them.) In keeping with our summer theme, I've added a little extra citronella scent by muddling in some sweet-smelling lemongrass and a splash of Limoncello. I'm even garnishing mine with a few blades of lemongrass in the middle to sort of mimic the look of the Citronella candle's wick. But, as the Barefoot Contessa would say, "if you don't have a handful of fresh lemongrass from the herb garden behind your Tuscan villa, store-bought will do just fine." (We know it's not fine, though, don't we?) Sorry for the late post today, folks, but this cocktail had to wait until after supper... just as the mosquitos are out hunting. Cheers!

As you're mapping out your summer roadtrip to visit Yellowstone (or one of our 62 other majestic national parks), enjoy a bubbly version of an old standby. The Old Faithful Old Fashioned adds a predictably delightful eruption of club soda to the classic blend of whiskey, sugar, and orange bitters. Just like its geothermal namesake, the Old Faithful Old Fashioned is effervescent and enchanting and mildly alkaline. It can be enjoyed responsibly at ninety-minute intervals in large crowds of people. But unlike the geyser, it's cold and potable and won't scald you to death if you get too close. Park rangers will discourage you from throwing orange wedges or ice cubes into the geyser, but you can and should throw some of each into your cocktail. Be sure to snap a quick pic... it's what everyone does these days. Cheers!

No Fourth of July celebration would be complete without a good ol' fashioned tug-of-war. Two opposing forces competing for glory. So today let's wrap up our 21 Drink Salute to Summer with a shandy-radler tossup, featuring the quintessential American beer: Pabst Blue Ribbon. The shandy is a simple mixture of a light-flavored beer (like our PBR lager) with lemonade, and is said to have originated across the pond in jolly old England; the radler swaps out the lemonade for some grapefruit juice, and has its mythic Teutonic origins in Germanic lands. Both cocktails add a little tangy zip to your ice-cold brew. And yes, do go ahead and add some ice... unless you've got a koozy for your pint glass. Just quaff quickly to minimize diluting your drink. For my money (and shouldn't an epic tug-of-war involve a friendly little wager?), the tart radler pulls harder and bests the shandy lightweights on the other side. Then again, my ancestry is mostly German and not at all British, so I may be operating under cultural bias. But hey, we're all Americans today, right?

Wherever you're from and whatever you're drinking, I hope we can all come together on Independence Day and celebrate our shared love of this country, and our shared enjoyment of seasonal pastimes, and of course our shared passion for festive adult beverages. I hope you've had reason to hoist a glass with me over the past three weeks, and I hope we all find many more things to celebrate during these remaining days of summer. Until next time... Cheers!