dear cooks,

Summer is heating up, and nothing will cool you down faster than these delicious cocktails. As they toast in Mexico: Salud, amor y pesetas—y tiempo para gustarlos! That’s: Health, love, and money—and the time to enjoy them!

ipanema punch

Makes 12

Glass: Tall or punch cup
Garnish: Mint leaves and 12 pineapple wedges

All of the flavors of the tropics make an appearance in this sensational, lemon-hued punch—banana, rum, pineapple, and orange. Serve this at a BBQ featuring great pork ribs.

• 1⁄2 cup Cointreau
• 2 cups light rum
• 3 ounces crème de banane
• 1 cup pink grapefruit juice
• 2 cups fresh orange juice
• 1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 36 frozen whole strawberries or raspberries
• 3 to 4 cups ginger ale

In a large bowl, combine the Cointreau, rum, crème de banane, grapefruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, and pineapple juice. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Pour the mixture into a punch bowl or large pitcher. Add the frozen berries   (as “ice cubes”).

Top with ginger ale and stir gently to blend. Garnish each glass.

	Recipe From: The Backyard Bartender by Nicole Aloni

black tea martini

Makes 1 cocktail

Make these one at a time, to order, for your guests. Brew and chill the tea in advance.

• 1⁄4 cup (2 ounces) vodka
• 1⁄4 cup (2 ounces) brewed black tea, chilled
• Ice
• Chopped black tea leaves
• Sugar

Shake the vodka and tea together in a cocktail shaker with ice. On a shallow plate, mix together enough tea leaves and sugar for the rim of a martini glass. Moisten the rim of a chilled martini glass with water and then dip it into the tea leaves and sugar. Strain the martini mixture into the prepared glass.

	Recipe From: Tea Party by Tracy Stern and Christie Matheson

sangria granita with cold spiked fruit

This recipe was a huge hit when we tested it. It seemed a little complicated in theory but once we put it together it was nothing more than a flavored slushy. The spiced sangria gets poured into a lasagna pan and frozen overnight and the fresh fruit, tossed with Cointreau and sugar, gets frozen as well.

For a sleek presentation I serve this in a glass. The frozen fruit goes in the bottom and acts like ice cubes to keep the granita colder longer. On a summer day, there’s nothing more refreshing.

Serves 6 to 8

Sangria Granita

• 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup Cointreau
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1⁄2 lemon, seeded
• 1⁄2 orange, seeded

Cold Spiked Fruit

• 2 peaches, pitted and quartered but not peeled
• 2 cups red or green grapes, halved
• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1⁄2 cup Cointreau
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Fresh mint, for garnish

For the granita, combine the wine, sugar, Cointreau, and spices in a large saucepan. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange halves; add the juice to the saucepan and throw in the squeezed halves, too. Warm for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Strain into a bowl and put the mixture in the fridge or over an ice bath to chill.

Pour the chilled mixture into a shallow baking pan and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight, until the mixture is frozen. Using a fork or a couple of chopsticks, break up all the ice crystals on the bottom and sides of the pan. (This aerates the mixture so that the finished granita will melt in your mouth.) Freeze for 3 to 4 more hours, until the mixture is frozen but still granular.

Meanwhile, combine the peaches, grapes, and strawberries in a bowl, add the Cointreau and sugar, and toss. Cover and put the bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours; the fruit will absorb the sugar and liqueur while it freezes. Serve the frozen fruit with the granita and garnish with mint.

	Recipe From: Tyler's Ultimate by Tyler Florence

mango saké

Serves 12

• 1.8 quarts Hokusetsu saké (pure rice)
• 7 ounces sugar syrup
• 10 ½ ounces mango flesh
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon mango syrup
• 10 drops ginger juice, squeezed from the root in a ginger press

Combine a little Japanese saké, syrup and fresh mango in a blender and blend.

Add the mango syrup and ginger juice, then strain through a cloth. Add the remaining saké and store in the refrigerator.

	Recipe From: Nobu Now by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa

tangerine scream

• Juice of 3 medium tangerines
• 2 ounces rum
• ½ ounce Triple Sec
• Splash of sweet-and-sour mix
• Tangerine segments, for garnish

Pour the tangerine juice, rum, Triple Sec, and sweet-and-sour mix into a cocktail shaker. Strain into a tumbler with crushed ice. Garnish with skewered tangerine segments.

	Recipe from: Small Bites, Big Nights by Govind Armstrong

happy cooking!

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