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13 summer cocktails
These icy drinks are perfect for hot days and nights.
Published: July 12, 2012
385.rb.ft.summerdrinking
Strawberry daiquiri at the Aviary When the Aviary says it’s serving a strawberry daiquiri, it doesn’t mean what you get at Uncle Julio’s. This version uses no ice at all; rum, lime juice, sugar and fresh strawberry juice are frozen with liquid nitrogen into the consistency of a sorbet. With no possibility the drink’ll get watered down, the only danger is a massive brain freeze. $18.—Julia Kramer
Moscow Mule at the Gage This classic mix of vodka, lime and ginger beer tastes like the lime popsicles you can get at Trader Joe’s—subtly sweet, subtly citrusy and hit-over-the-head perfect for a hot summer day. If you’re really overheated, the copper mug, filled with crushed ice, makes for a fantastic compress. $10.—Marissa Conrad
Freeze Pops at Terrace at Trump On this 16th-floor patio, you’re paying for the view (and dearly—most cocktails are $18), making these $11 pops damn near a bargain. They may resemble those Fla-Vor-Ices from your childhood, but with an ounce and a half of booze in each, they can get you drunker than a teacher on summer break. Choose from four flavors: passion colada (Cruzan rum and bits of coconut; pictured, below left); strawberry lemonade (housemade limoncello and strawberry jus; below center); sangria rouge (syrah and diced apple; below right); and el corazon (blood orange with pomegranate and Patron Silver tequila). $11 each or three for $29.—Laura Baginski
Adult snow cones at Red Door When a restaurant orders a machine for the express purpose of making the perfect crushed ice for these boozy balls, you know it’s serious. You know what else is serious? How delicious the minty pear-mojito version (pictured, top) tastes on the restaurant’s giant patio. Other flavors: Bulleit old-fashioned, black cherry (made with Grey Goose Cherry Noir), Malort Chartreuse, Templeton Rye Manhattan and orange-blossom bourbon (also pictured). $7 each.—Laura Baginski
Time Out Chillout at Sable Kitchen & Bar The Time Out Chillout is bartender Mike Ryan’s response to a challenge from TOC: Make the chilliest, iciest cocktail possible. His immediate thoughts were of dry ice and/or liquid nitrogen and vodka. But he eventually nixed all of that, settling on a crushed-ice drink that’s “almost equal parts ice and cocktail,” and choosing bourbon as his base. (“I’m just being contrary,” Ryan says, “making a really, really cool, refreshing drink out of a spirit that many view as not being refreshing.”) The bourbon is joined by peach liqueur, cinnamon and creme de menthe, the latter providing a cooling sensation, and it’s served in a tiki mug because—well, that’s just cool. The finished cocktail is like TOC the magazine, Ryan says, because it’s all about “giving people what they want, even if they don’t know they want it.” A compliment in the form of a cocktail? We’ll have two. $13; available through July.—David Tamarkin
Haute Tropique at the Barrelhouse Flat The average person might say Fernet tastes like mouthwash. Or menthol cigarettes. Or paint varnish. “Not only do I love Fernet,” says Jeff Donahue, the Barrelhouse bartender who came up with this drink, “but I find it amusing and challenging to work it into new applications.” Hence the inspiration for this tropical drink, which accents the bitter digestif with two types of rum, cinnamon syrup and orange curacao. $11.—Julia Kramer
Free Rider at the Whistler The tiki revival comes to life at this music venue/cocktail bar once every other month (next: August 19) with tropical-retro cocktails. The bar also features a weekly-changing tiki drink on its everyday menu. Co-owner Billy Helmkamp created this original, available any time by request, which gives Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum and pineapple juice an herbal kick via Benedictine, Fernet and a fragrant mint sprig garnish. $12.—Julia Kramer
Liquorsicles at David Burke’s Primehouse Talk about a cold war: Both Primehouse and Terrace at Trump are serving similar boozy popsicles this summer. Primehouse’s versions, which chef Rick Gresh doled out at last year’s Green City Barbecue to a fevered response, include a smooth and almost creamy strawberry mint margarita flavor (pictured, below right), featuring strawberries from Seedling Farms and mint from his home garden, and a spiced bourbon lemonade version (below left) that, with cloves, star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg, tastes like iced autumn (and that’s a good thing). $10 each.—Laura Baginski
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Sundae Mourning at Perennial Virant Is the ice-cream sundae dead? No, but this crushed-ice rum cocktail is certainly giving it a run for its money. There’s no ice cream in the drink, but the flavors are there: strawberries, pecans (via pecan orgeat, a syrup) and chocolate (that is, chocolate tincture, a liquid made solely from cocoa beans). $12.—David Tamarkin
Green sangria at Masa Azul We usually cringe at the thought of sangria (all those sad chopped apples!). But bartender Jenny Kessler’s version combines the juices of cucumbers and green apples with verdejo wine, Tres Agaves blanco tequila and crushed ice for a refreshing, vegetal sip. The only thing this has in common with standard sangria is it’s very easy to drink. $8.—Julia Kramer
Veranda Way at Scofflaw On a visit to La Chaparrita in Little Village, Danny Shapiro tried the taqueria’s housemade tepache, a nonalcoholic Mexican pineapple drink that achieves its effervescence from a five-day fermentation. Now he’s buying it from the taqueria, playing off its tamarind, clove and orange notes with a cinnamon-ice spear and turning it into a cocktail by adding Citadelle gin and Aperol. $8.—Julia Kramer
Layered Fizz at NoMI Garden When you think summer cocktails, you don’t necessarily think apple brandy and Chambord. But the enormous square ice cube in the frothy (thanks to egg white), tart (thanks to lemon) and not-too-sweet drink goes a long way toward upping the refreshment level. What takes it all the way to “ahhh” land: Drinking it on the seventh-floor terrace of the Park Hyatt hotel. Available at NoMI Lounge, Garden and Kitchen. $14.—Laura Baginski
Mint julep pitcher at Fulton’s on the River A julep cup brimming with crushed ice, Weller Special Reserve bourbon, mint, simple syrup and soda is a party for one. A pitcher of the stuff is a really big party for one. Or two. Realistically, four people could share this notably potent pitcher and be set for the night. $35.—David Tamarkin
Strawberry daiquiri at the Aviary When the Aviary says it’s serving a strawberry daiquiri, it doesn’t mean what you get at Uncle Julio’s. This version uses no ice at all; rum, lime juice, sugar and fresh strawberry juice are frozen with liquid nitrogen into the consistency of a sorbet. With no possibility the drink’ll get watered down, the only danger is a massive brain freeze. $18.—Julia Kramer
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