Your summer drink list

No beer all summer? Tecate in a can???

You blaspheme.

How could you ignore the wonderousness that is a Pimms & Tonic?

anything from a can is blaspheme, but i will agree on la duni. those caipirinas are yummy!
i will be trying some of your vodka and lime concoctions this summer.

"I find it hard to drink beer when it's hot."

Well, there's your problem. Make it cold first.

And pour it out of the can or bottle. Just as you need to open up whiskey with a little water, you need to open up a beer, too.

Wheat beer is a little heavy for summer, for me anyway.

I do like the thought of Tito's and hot peppers -- that could be a winner. But it's hard to beat a gin & tonic.

Normally I eschew the frozen margarita, because it is a girly drink and I disapprove of girly drinks. Too much sugar. However, one summer day in San Francisco two friends and I spent the day traveling around town while at a science fiction convention. We were very hot and thirsty when we came back, and the service at the Mexican restaurant was slow. My friends decided to work their way through all the different flavors of frozen margarita. I think they got through three or four before the chips and salsa even arrived . . . . I kept up with regular flavor. I just can't drink things that are pink. But I did allow them to be frozen. The alcoholic slurpee--but, Rod, you say that like it's a bad thing!

Lately (behind the curve as usual) I've discovered mojitos. Yum. The caipirinha is good, of course, but if you think it's a girly drink you're not making it right. When I was a teenager, my parents used to let me make gin and tonics for them. And myself. A jigger never really seemed like enough gin, so I put in a leetle bit extra. No one ever complained.

Sangria is good with tapas. If it's a nice spicy red, and again, just fruit, no extra sugar. And, of course, there's always the old standby, Jack on the rocks. Jack and Coke is just for sissies.

Well, normally I would completely agree with the rule against beer in a can. But there's something about Tecate -- which is not a very good beer, I must say, but it just tastes ... right in a cold, cold can. My standard beer is Chimay red, but it's not so hot for summer imbibing. Kirin Dry is good, but mostly, beer is too sweet for my taste in the summer.

The Michelada sounds delicious.

When we lived in Manhattan, there was a Rosa Mexicana a couple of blocks away, on the East Side. They made a pomegranate margarita that was quite nice, if you got a tequila floater to mitigate the sweetness.

Beer: I tend to stick with lagers and the like in the summertime; Yuengling, Sam Adams Summer Ale, etc. My absolute summer favorite is Radler, or what the Brits and Irish call Shandy- half beer, half lemon soda. It's THE drink for when you're done working out in the yard on a hot day.

Liquor: Gin and vodka drinks, mostly. BTW, Rod, ever infused vodka with bacon? It's actually not half bad. Maple bacon works best.

The Michelada sounds delicious.

I've spent many afternoons in Mexico drinking them. The best part is that you don't need a lot of lime juice and you can use the cheapest beer you can find--Sol, Tecate--because the lime juice and ice and salt takes over.

1. An Arnie Palmer, tall, with light ice. [Half and half unsweet tea and fresh lemonade. A buck for a Route 44 size from Sonic between 2 and 4].

2. From the King Kone on Malvern in Hot Springs: a Purple Cow.

3. From Sonic: Diet Ocean Water [blue coconut diet Sprite].

What can I say, I'm a teetotaler since the doctor said I have dispensation toward liver problems even without drinking. Alcohol would just be asking to be put on the transplant list.

Daniel: I think it depends on where in Mexico you are, Zach. I've had something similar to what you mentioned--kind of like a bloody mary with beer and lime instead of vodka and tomato. In other parts, it's made with just the lime juice.

Yeah, I just looked it up on Wiki. Your version sounds much better.

Kevin Divine: 1. An Arnie Palmer, tall, with light ice. [Half and half unsweet tea and fresh lemonade. A buck for a Route 44 size from Sonic between 2 and 4].

Better than a John Daly. Half and half tea and vodka.

You might want to try a couple of drinks invented by my later father-in-law:

1) You mix this pretty much like the mint julep in your post, but you use tequila instead of gin. It's called, of course, Tequila Mockingbird.

2) and then there's the one that starts out kind of like Long Island Iced Tea--rum, vodka, gin, scotch, and ginger ale. Then you garnish with a sprinkling of Wheaties on top. Hence the name: Cereal Killer.

Drinking is what you do on a long, cold, winter night ... alone.

I tried to go all local and cruchy this past winter: local handcrafted brews (Moat Mountain, Tuckerman), hard cider, mead (maple wine) and Sortilege (Canadian whisky and maple syrup).

Blech, blech, and blech! (Except for the local beer.) Some local and regional traditions deserve to die out.

You forgot the peanut shells - Singapore being a socialist dictatorship that whips those who transgress their municiple anti-littering ordinances, the only place permitted to drop trash on the floor is...

the Raffles Hotel bar, where complementary peanuts roasted in their shells are provided for guests to shell in gay abandon - its hilarious !! The Chicken satay served not on a plate but a on banana leaf is to die for too.

But I digress, Pimm's No 1 cup (in a punch cup, of course) with cubed chunks of cucumber and apples, slices of orange, and if you like it sweet a marashino cherry along with a generous dash of Rose's lime juice cordial, lemon soda and ice.

As a Brit, I like shandy (called a radler in Germany, for cyclists who have no designated peddler in tandem) half beer, half lemonade

And on European jaunts, a shorle is never amiss: half wine, half seltzer water (named by incredulous conquered Germans watching Napoleons Frenchies getting drunk after diluting their wine in this fashion -- they toasted their beloved Motherland with "Toujour l'amour" (Love, always) that when slurred resembles "shorlamorla")

And "Kein fissimatente" of course! (German slang for "hooking-up" or "hanky-panky" again from concerned conquered German matrons warning their daughters not to accept the generous invitations offered by the Frenchies to "Visite ma Tente?

Zum Wohle and Cheers!

Grey Goose is way too pretentious. My vote is for Tanqueray Sterling Vodka, all the quality at a much lower price.

As far as summer drinks go, I like nothing more than a gin and tonic, or a Vodka tonic as an alternative.

In beer, summer shifts me to lighter fare than my preferred stouts and dark ales, reminding me of the glories of wheat and white. I'm surprised to hear such a denigration of Hoegaarden. I've found it one of the better of the white ales, though not perhaps sufficiently better than a good American facsimile to justify the price difference.

Speaking of weird things that people drink in Michigan . . . does anyone else remember Tudor beer, from the A&P? Google it. Some very, very strange people with too much time on their hands apparently collect old Tudor beer and ale cans. You can see pix of them on eBay.

A cut above Tudor was Schlitz, or Papst. Or Goebel, or its rival, Stroh's. When Stroh's closed their Detroit brewery down, a marvelous parody of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" was aired on local radio stations: "After the Brewery on Gratiot is Gone."

Any semi-decent, non-pretentious beer becomes better for summer thirst-quenching if you put it in the freezer to chill quickly and then accidentally forget about it until JUST before the bottle explodes, when it has become a beer slushy. Do try to remember to open it over the sink, or in the back yard, rather than on carpet or a good shirt.

But not at home! Only when going out to eat a couple of times a month!

I'd stick with the Walker Percy julep just for all that it embodies. But, since you're not in the "Real South" any more, try a real south-of-the-border "Chelada."

Salt the rim of a tall pilsener glass, squeeze in a few lime wedges, fill with ice (I know...),add your favorite cerveza Mexicana, kick back and enjoy.

I have to agree with Daniel that micheladas are awesome. Love those, especially when I'm hanging out with the family having a backyard barbecue. They're especially great with fajitas, IMO. Tecate is my beer of choice for micheladas, but Dos Equis works well, too.

Mojitos are great summer drinks, as is sangria. Both are just made for hanging out with friends over a good meal, and they're very refreshing.

And I've never liked frozen margaritas. Thankfully, there are plenty of bars here in Austin that don't want to deal with blenders, so I just get mine on the rocks.

BTW, If you'd ever consider a light summer beer, I'd recommend Skinny Dip, which is made by the same folks that make Fat Tire. It's their version of a light/low-carb beer, but to me, it's got more taste. It's got a bit of a hoppy taste, but it's also clean and citrusy. I picked it up on a whim last summer when I was headed to a party at a friend's house and enjoyed it a lot.

I'm with Nate.

There's beer for real beer drinking, and then there's summer beer. What I call "mowing the lawn" beer. Hot day, mow the lawn, have a beer. Mostly it just needs to be cold and wet.

A texan denigrating Hoegaarden. Do you know that their founder, Pierre Celis, relocated to Austin to start up Celis Brewery back in the 90s sometime? InBev bought him out, and then cheapened his recipe, so he started up Celis in response.

Unfortunately, I don't think Celis exists anymore, though I could be wrong. Haven't seen it in the Northeast in years. No matter, we have Allagash White (along with the rest of Allagash's stellar lineup) right here in Portland, ME.

In homage to a favorite author:
Dandelion Wine.

Oh, and I forgot the non-alcoholic alternatives:

Cranberry juice mixed with water and ice

Newman's Own low sugar lemonade with water and ice

Honest Tea iced tea - low in sugar

Water

Rob G: I am generally a fan of Shipyard, and yes, they're from Maine. Some of their brews have a hint of diacetyl character (butteriness) that comes from their exclusive use of ringwood yeast though. Shipyard Prelude is my favorite of theirs, and whatever their Brewer's Choice offering is in any given year. Last year it was honey porter, this year a high gravity "Royal IPA" made entirely with British hops. Mmm.

On a recent trip to Califorina, I was really surprised to see just how common Shipyard is out there. I had no idea it was so widely distributed.

And yes, Thumper is great. Especially on cask, but you're not likely to find that in any pubs outside of Maine.

Sangria is perfect but you have to plan ahead and make sure you start soaking the fruit with the wine, brandy and triple sec the night before. It makes ALL the difference.

Clare - being raised in a Scottish family I have been drinking Shandy's since I was a small child and have never heard of them being made with lemonade. For us it's been beer and ginger ale for as long as I can remember.

>>not Hoegaarden, though; it's the PBR of its class>>

If so, why does it cost so friggin' much???

1. Gin and Tonics are the preferred drink for me, although sometimes I will drink vodka and cranberry juice (cape cod) or an ice cold Manhattan in an old fashioned glass.

2. Yeungling or Yeungling Black and Tan for beer. I, too, am a fan of shandies, with ginger ale.

3. Sangria or a nice Spanish Rioja red.

BEER: Pilsners, Vienna Lagers, and American Amber/Red ale.

WINE: Sangria is good. Rose is a nice alternative to white wines for summer, but a Pino Gris with grilled whitefish always is good.

COCKTAIL: Lime Margarita, on the rocks, lots of salt-- NO CUERVO AND NO FAKE SWEET AND SOUR!

MOJITOS!

On the wheat beer, try a nice one by Ayinger. It's from the Bavarian town of Aying. They have two kinds you can buy at Central Market or at the Gingerman - Brau-Weiss and Ur-Weiss. I prefer the lighter-colored Brau-Weiss and the wedge of lemmon is a must.

Cool off with a traditional Pimms Cup - a cup of ice, shot of Pimms, pour in some carbonated lemonade such as that made by Lorina (also at Central Market or Whole Foods); you can use ginger ale instead. Add a slice of lemmon, a slice of orange, a sprig of mint. You must also add a slice of cucumber. If you don't add the cucumber, you will miss out on a key secret I learned in Britain two summers ago. Try it with and then without and you will see what I'm talking about.

Less trouble is a little Mount Gay Rum with tonic, laced with Meyers Spiced Rum and a squeeze of lime.

Salutos!

The Dark and Stormy: equal parts ginger beer and spiced rum, served on the rocks with plenty of lime.

"There's beer for real beer drinking, and then there's summer beer. "

Agreed, people wonder why I drink light beer. That's until they go out boating in Arizona, in 120 degree heat, and drink for several hours. A light beer that's been sitting under ice for an hour is refreshing. It's kind of like a sports drink that gets you drunk.

A variation on the classic White Lady with the foo-foo aspect (egg whites) eliminated:

2 parts good quality gin
1 part Cointreau
1 part lemon juice

Shake with ice, strain and serve in a martini glass with a twist of lemon peel.

It tastes like beautiful, cold, alcoholic lemonade, and it is easy to drink 3 or 4 very quickly. Very dangerous.

Champagne, served really cold, ranks number one. (Add some cognac for a simple version of the French 75.)

Dry French rose. Rolling Rock.

Latest successful experiment is putting gin (from a bottle kept in the freezer) into French carbonated pink lemondade. OK, I know that sounds girly, but trust me, it tastes good.

its a good thing our boys are fighting for our freedom in iraq so we can drink wine and other beverages like ben stein in his swimming pool