WHITE HOT SUMMER
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White Sangria
Sangria is an easy to make fruit-based wine punch from Spain, typically made with red wine. This “white” version is an easy, refreshingly crisp, and inexpensive alternative for summer get-togethers.
1 bottle white wine
1 lemon cut into wedges
2 oranges cut into wedges
1 lime cut into wedges
¼ cup sugar in the raw or turbinado sugar
¼ cup white sugar
a splash of liquor – preferably Cointreau
24 oz. (2 cans) lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
ice cubes
Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Add the fruit wedges, sugar, and liquor. Marinate preferably overnight. Add soda and ice just before serving. Serves about 4.
Variations: Add seasonal fruit to the mix. Green apples, peaches, grapefruit, white grapes, and pineapple are best for this recipe to keep the “white” color.
Frozen PiÑa Colada
The piña colada is such a popular drink in Puerto Rico that in 1978 it was declared the national drink of the country. It was invented in 1954 by Ramon “Monchito” Marrero, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan.
4 oz. white, dark or Malibu rum
4 oz. pineapple juice
4 tablespoons sweetened coconut cream
handful of pineapple cubes, plus wedge for garnish
handful of ice cubes
Put the ingredients into a blender and whiz till smooth. Pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple, if desired. Cocktail umbrella optional. Serves 1.
Lychee Martini
This summer, enjoy a vodka Martini with a real twist – the lychee. Indigenous to southern China, it has been a symbol of love and romance for more than 2,000 years.
¼ cup simple syrup*
1 cup drained canned lychees
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 oz. high-quality vodka
1½ oz Cointreau orange-flavored liqueur
cocktail shaker
lychee fruits for garnish
Purée lychees with sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force fruit through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard remaining solids. Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes and add lychee purée, vodka, and Cointreau. Shake until cold and strain into martini glasses. Garnish with lychee fruit on a skewer. Serves 2.
*Simple syrup recipe: Heat ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water in a saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chill syrup before use.
Cuban Mojito
This version is the one Ernest Hemingway himself enjoyed at the Mojito’s place of birth: La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba.
4 mint leaves
juice from 1 lime (about 2 oz.)
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
ice (crushed)
2 oz. white rum
2 oz. club soda
1 sprig of mint for garnish
Place the mint leaves into a tall mojito or collins glass and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. Add the powdered sugar, and then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler, or a long spoon. Add ice, then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda to taste. Garnish with a mint sprig. Serves 1.
Variations: Use “guarapo,” which is a sugar cane syrup, in place of the powdered sugar.
Sangria is an easy to make fruit-based wine punch from Spain, typically made with red wine. This “white” version is an easy, refreshingly crisp, and inexpensive alternative for summer get-togethers.
1 bottle white wine
1 lemon cut into wedges
2 oranges cut into wedges
1 lime cut into wedges
¼ cup sugar in the raw or turbinado sugar
¼ cup white sugar
a splash of liquor – preferably Cointreau
24 oz. (2 cans) lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
ice cubes
Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Add the fruit wedges, sugar, and liquor. Marinate preferably overnight. Add soda and ice just before serving. Serves about 4.
Variations: Add seasonal fruit to the mix. Green apples, peaches, grapefruit, white grapes, and pineapple are best for this recipe to keep the “white” color.
Frozen PiÑa Colada
The piña colada is such a popular drink in Puerto Rico that in 1978 it was declared the national drink of the country. It was invented in 1954 by Ramon “Monchito” Marrero, a bartender at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan.
4 oz. white, dark or Malibu rum
4 oz. pineapple juice
4 tablespoons sweetened coconut cream
handful of pineapple cubes, plus wedge for garnish
handful of ice cubes
Put the ingredients into a blender and whiz till smooth. Pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple, if desired. Cocktail umbrella optional. Serves 1.
Lychee Martini
This summer, enjoy a vodka Martini with a real twist – the lychee. Indigenous to southern China, it has been a symbol of love and romance for more than 2,000 years.
¼ cup simple syrup*
1 cup drained canned lychees
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 oz. high-quality vodka
1½ oz Cointreau orange-flavored liqueur
cocktail shaker
lychee fruits for garnish
Purée lychees with sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force fruit through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard remaining solids. Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes and add lychee purée, vodka, and Cointreau. Shake until cold and strain into martini glasses. Garnish with lychee fruit on a skewer. Serves 2.
*Simple syrup recipe: Heat ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water in a saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chill syrup before use.
Cuban Mojito
This version is the one Ernest Hemingway himself enjoyed at the Mojito’s place of birth: La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba.
4 mint leaves
juice from 1 lime (about 2 oz.)
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
ice (crushed)
2 oz. white rum
2 oz. club soda
1 sprig of mint for garnish
Place the mint leaves into a tall mojito or collins glass and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. Add the powdered sugar, and then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler, or a long spoon. Add ice, then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda to taste. Garnish with a mint sprig. Serves 1.
Variations: Use “guarapo,” which is a sugar cane syrup, in place of the powdered sugar.