Your Essential Summer Drink Guide

With the weather heating up, entertaining and enjoying the great New Hampshire outdoors is a must. From backyard barbeques to camping trips lakeside, we’ve got your summer beverages covered. Here are our favorites to stay cool all summer long:

Wines We Love for Summer Sipping

Summer is the season of grilling and outdoor entertaining. Crisp, white wines tend to pair well with grilled foods, but reds can also be a great compliment to summer dishes. Food and Wine suggests looking at first, how hearty is the food, and second, what’s the dominant flavor? For lighter foods—white-fleshed fish, vegetables, chicken breasts—pick a lighter wine. For heartier foods—sausages, burgers, steaks—choose a more robust wine. (Both reds and whites can be light-, medium- or full-bodied.)

Here are our suggestions for summer sipping:

For Chicken For Fish For Red Meat
Pinot Grigio Pinot Grigio Cabernet Sauvignon
Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc Tuscan Blend
Rosé Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Sauvignon Blanc Riesling Merlot
Riesling Rosé Zinfandel

 

If you feel like mixing things up, try a red or white sangria with fresh fruit slices! Whether it’s red or white wine, sangria is a great option for a refreshing summery drink. Prepare it yourself or purchase one of ours, we’re sure you’ll love it. Not in the mood for fruit? Try a light and refreshing white wine spritzer! Simple, tasty and easy to make, spritzers are great for any summer evening.


Red Wine Sangria

(For one pitcher, recipe courtesy of Food and Wine)

Ingredients

One 750-milliliter bottle fruity red wine, such as Merlot

4 ounces brandy

3 ounces Simple Syrup

1 cup mixed slices of seeded oranges, lemons and limes

Ice

 

In a pitcher, combine the red wine, brandy, Simple Syrup and fruit. Refrigerate until the drink is chilled and the flavors are blended, 4 to 8 hours. Serve the sangria in chilled, ice-filled wineglasses.


White Wine Sangria

(For one pitcher, recipe courtesy of Food and Wine)

Ingredients

One 750-milliliter bottle rich white wine, such as Chardonnay

4 ounces brandy

2 ounces Simple Syrup

1 cup mixed chunks of seeded oranges, lemons and limes Ice

 

In a pitcher, combine the red wine, brandy, Simple Syrup and fruit. Refrigerate until the drink is chilled and the flavors are blended, 4 to 8 hours. Serve the sangria in chilled, ice-filled wineglasses.


White Wine Spritzer

(For one glass, recipe courtesy of Bon Apetit)

Ingredients

3 oz. aromatic white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, or Gewürztraminer)

1 oz. club soda

dash of orange or lemon bitters

1 orange or lemon twist (or summer fruit of your choice, strawberries or blueberries, for example)

 

Pour wine into a wineglass filled with ice; top off with club soda and bitters. Garnish with orange twist (or other fruit).

 

Easy, Three Ingredient Summer Cocktails

We also know that when entertaining, the last thing any host wants is to miss out on the fun. Get back to enjoying the beautiful weather and your party with these easy, 3 ingredient cocktails! They are quick to make and definitely delicious. Try one of the recipes below, and let us know what you think!


Moscow Mule

(For one mug, recipe courtesy of Liquor.com)

Ingredients

2 oz vodka

3 oz ginger beer

Juice of half of a lime

Lime wheels for garnish

Ice

 

In a copper mule mug or glass, combine vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice. Top with ice and garnish with a lime wheel.


Classic Kentucky Mint Julep

(For one glass, recipe courtesy of Camille Styles)

Ingredients

2.5 oz bourbon

25-30 mint leaves

1 oz Simple Syrup

Ice cubes

Crushed ice

Mint Simple Syrup

½ c sugar

½ c water

1 large bunch mint leaves

 

First, you’ll make the Simple Syrup. Combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Place the bunch of mint leaves in an old mason jar (or other heatproof container) and pour the syrup over the leaves. Place the jar in the fridge and let the leaves steep in the syrup for at least one hour. Strain the leaves from the liquid and set the syrup aside.

 

Place 25–30 mint leaves in a cocktail shaker and pour in the 2.5 ounces of bourbon as well as one ounce of Simple Syrup. Top with a few ice cubes and stir. Fill your chilled silver cup with ice about halfway. Strain the liquid from the cocktail shaker into the cup. Pack crushed iced on top of the liquid to the top of the glass. Garnish the drink with a sprig of mint leaves and a straw.

 

Please drink responsibly.