For no alcohol, I’m always happy with mint tea…light on the mint. For alcohol, I’ll take a chilled glass of Pino Grigio. We also make Ina G’s Real Margaritas year round but more often in summer.

This link is all alcoholic and came to my inbox recently…for whatever might look appealing.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/recipes/?_recipe_drinks=spring-summer-cocktails

ETA - DH is a Pimm’s Cup fan in warm weather. I used to enjoy them but would prefer the PG I mentioned.

Aqua de jamaica.

Grainlady often posted a recipe from a magazine for "sassy water". People really like it and it's very refreshing. Do follow the recipe. When I've winged it a bit it hasn't been good: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2418093/water-jars#n=20

I don't find sugar (or alcohol) refreshing, but an unsweetened or just a bit of fruit juice in it ginger ale is lvoely.

Non-alcoholic - Cool (not too cold) water. Room temperature with a small ice cube or two. Flat or bubbly, no flavor added.

Alcoholic - A good beer or a chilled white or rose wine with a fresh flavor. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio (often similar in taste to the first one), Grenache or a Mosel/Rhein Riesling.

One of our favorite Jamaican cocktails is called The Jamaican Browning. Browning, refers to the spices and sauce used to make the brown stew sauce used in many Jamaican dishes. Here, the brown comes from chocolate syrup.

The Jamaican Browning

Quantities are to your taste.

Two cups of crushed ice, a cup of whole milk, a good amount of chocolate syrup, several shots of Creme d'Cacao, several more shots of dark Jamaican rum, and a tablespoon of fresh papaya. Blend until smooth. Drink through a straw.

Efferve Sparkling French Lemonade, the clear one, not the cloudy one.

MtnRd had a delicious cocktail in NYC at our GTG a few years ago, a St. Somebody. I wish I could remember!

A classic G&T.

Water with a couple of ice cubes.

Vinho Verde.

I recently discovered a new Spindrift flavor called Nojito. Lime and mint in sparkling seltzer, no sugar. Mojitos are my fave alcoholic drink in the summer and I'm loving this non alcoholic version.

Water, not too cold.

NA: Fresh red grapefruit juice with club soda and muddled basil. Water with cucumber, and/or fruit, and maybe some herbs. Iced tea with lemon.

Alcohol: Sangria is always good. We recently had a 1:1 mix of prosecco and limoncello, which was tasty. I agree Ina's margaritas are delicious.

Year-round I drink water from my bottle with a whole lemon squeezed in. No sugar...just pure lemon water.

An inch of red wine in a tall glass, then fill it with cold 7Up. It's what we drank at Grandma's house (Italian family), and it is still the most refreshing drink. Not for all-day consumption, of course.

Water and iced coffee usually. But my daughter was here the last two days helping me clear out a room because my stupid shoulder/arm is still hurting. I had some vanilla chai tea bags and made a couple glasses for both of us yesterday. Today, just plain black iced tea.

Unsweetened ice tea is my year round refresher of choice. In summer I'll switch up with freshly made lemonade.

For an alcoholic beverage, I like Greyhounds - grapefruit juice and vodka. Have also found that Mexican grapefruit soda makes a great fizzy version of the same. An ice cold beer is always welcome after a warm day out in the garden and I'd never say no to a margarita of any flavor!

Wow! I have to get out more. Actually, I see a lot of my favorites here.

I love grapefruit juice anything. Do the GF fans know that both grapefruit and Valencia ? oranges contain a substance that can interfere with some medications? I looked this up once, years ago, but I seem to recall it used the same metabolic pathway as many medications. (?P53). I once had a reaction — sudden hives and something else.

I love ice cold beer. I love Pinot Grigio; gin & tonic. Last summer and earlier I was making my own mojitos with muddle fresh speramint from our garden.

Iced coffee is delicious, but I will have to carry a toilet with me.

This year we both got goon inexpensive and simple 32 oz water thermoses that keep water cold for a long while. DH likes only cold water wo ice.

I just made myself a Mai Tai — with lots of ice. Last year we bought a simple icemaker on sale to supplement the icecube trays. An ”ice maker” unit came w our fridge, but DH prefers not to used that and it is easy to just refill the cube trays or use the stand-alone ice maker.

I also like club soda with ice.

PS And we are putting out lots of fresh water for birds and wildlife

I like making iced passion fruit tea...just put the bags in the water in the fridge and it's ready the next day.

I also like raspberry/lime flavored seltzer with a twist of lime and a splash of cranberry juice.

I also like Hint water...it's water with a hint of natural fruit flavor...no chemicals or artificial sweeteners which I can't have.

Faftris, saw that on Instagram today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9OAG5YT_Nh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

An Arnold Palmer is always a treat! And I'm looking forward to a shandy tomorrow on an outing. The best one I had was house-made in Vienna, but tomorrow a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy will do just fine.

Actually, any beer outside on a warm day. Especially after some work, is perfect.

Anxiety's

I prefer unsweetened drinks, mostly flavoured seltzer - lime, strawberry, blackberry or grapefruit. We rarely drink alcohol any more. The last time I had any was a couple sips of the beer I was using to steam hotdogs on July 4th.

I make iced green tea with fresh spearmint from my yard and have it with lunch every day and I also steep it overnight in the fridge - no need to heat water at all.

Strawberry lemonade with seltzer is a good one I haven't made in a long time, and right now I have a lot of Key limes - and frozen strawberries - so I've been thinking about making strawberry limeade with them. Usually, when I have a lot of limes, I make lime cordial - simply equal parts fresh lime juice and sugar with some of the peels, macerated in the fridge for several days until the sugar dissolves. It becomes a syrup for yummy limeade - with seltzer too. Of course it could be used in alcoholic drinks too.

Sound delicious! Passionfruit tea! Strawberry limeade! I should walk down the selter aisle. I love blackberry anything.

I made some elderflower cordial a few days ago. I need to strain it tomorrow. First attempt. Hot simple syrup poured over elderflowers, sliced lemon and lime and a little raspberry puree. Plans are to add it to cold seltzer.

Years ago I ’discovered’ an elderflower fizzy drink being clearanced at my local Shoprite. I bought a 6 pack - shared some with a friend. We both really liked it and went back for more. Floral, citrusy, not too sweet and fizzy. We spent a few weeks buying and sharing until we had a tiny local fad and then it was gone.

Would love to have a gathering with ALL of you!🍷🍹🍸😃

The elderberry drink sounds delicious. My elderberry ”tree” is getting mugged by encroaching trees.

agmss, did you happen to see the Spoonmaker episode on PBS Craftsman _______?

I thought of you.

chloebud, and right back at you!

I make a quart of lemonade almost every day -- juice of 3 or 4 lemons, honey, water. My husband drinks it mixed with diet tonic water or seltzer. I mostly like water, no ice. Lately I've developed an expensive habit of Mamma Chia drinks, any flavor. Fortunately, there's only one store near me that carries it, and they run out frequently, so it keeps my consumption in check.

Chilled Prosecco. Aperol spritz. Campari spritz. Campari soda. Campari and orange juice. Sangria. Iced coffee. Ice water. Radler (beer and pink grapefruit juice). Chilled rose wine, ideally Tavel. Chilled white wine, ideally Sancerre. Mexican Coca Cola. Blue Gatorade. Cold water from the hose. All over my head and fill my cap with it too.

Incidentally, I used to be a Campari snob and grumbled that upstart Aperol was taking venerable Campari’s sales with a sweeter, cheaper, dumbed down product. In Venice, DD and I insisted on drinking only Campari spritzes while DS and SWMBO enjoyed the Aperol. Then I learned that Aperol is made by Campari, and it all became chillingly clear. Aperol is the gateway drug, made sweeter and cheaper to entice teens and twenties, and when the tots are addicted you move them to the hard drug with more alcohol at a higher price. I fully expect to see a sweet, tart Italian brand of soda pop, then an even sweeter Italian brand of candy or baby food, as the Campari empire hooks its customers younger and younger.

I brew unsweetened iced tea. Once in a while I'll add a splash of OJ or grapefruit juice to a glass. I usually make it an Arnold Palmer by making diet lemonade

6 1/2 cups water

1 cup Realemon juice

24 pkts or 1 cup minus 1 TSP Equal

Always a fresh lemon slice in either the tea or Arnold Palmer!

Cold water - plain and fizzy. For wine, Rosé. I"m ashamed to admit that at the moment I'm enjoying Spanish Rosé wine ( don't tell the neighbours!). They make lighter wines than the French - very refreshing with less alcohol.

Oh Islay. Dites non!

Lots of fizzy water and regular water. Unsweetened iced teas (usually sun made), tart citrusade. Sometimes mint or cucumber ends up in water, sometimes honey ginger crystals. Stuff picked from the garden and yard frequently ends up in water. Sometimes cold veggie juice, cold pickle juice shots, or warm sipping pho if I need to. Sometimes a sugar soda.

My son introduced me to Mojitos using fresh mint. So delicious and refreshing!

Islay, Spanish rosé? I love my French rosé! I'll give the Spanish a try!

St Germaine, is that the cocktail MtnRd had in NYC?

Oh gosh, mojitos are awesome. So is sangria. Flavored seltzer, heck even very cold "good" water is fine. What constitues good water to me is another topic entirely. 😄

I just shopped at Trader Joe’s and was reminded of another favorite: Ginger Lemon Probiotic Sparkling Beverage. It has a bit of sugar, just a touch, I think 30 calories per can. It’s really refreshing and the ginger and probiotics are great if you have any tummy upset.

Scrap my previous post about cool water. 🤠

We had left over grilled chicken for dinner today. My husband made it into chicken salad sandwiches (yum) and then we went for an evening drive. We stopped at A&W and had a frozen rootbeer with sweet cream. Oh my gosh, it was so good.

Okay, maybe one couldn’t have one every day, but boy was it good.

I switched from drinking ice cold water to room temp a few years ago. I find it so much more satisfying to be able to chug it and not be slowed down by the coldness.

My latest refreshing drink is ginger beer mixed with anything. I could never drink juices or sodas in any quantity so mixed drinks have varied over the years. My favorite alcoholic drink is actually amaretto but I get hammered drinking it on the rocks. But I have discovered that amaretto/ginger beer in a tall glass is like nirvana 💜 What a perfect mixer 💜