As the weather continues to warm up through Spring and we head into the hot, hot heat of Summer, it’s more important than ever to make sure we stay hydrated. We all know we’re supposed to be drinking our eight glasses of water a day, which is a tall order! Dieticians agree we can get this vital hydration from drinks aside from just plain old water. Incorporate the following list into your summertime get-togethers, or just sip them solo on your porch or hammock.
Stylish Shrubs
We’re not talking about landscaping here, though this is the time of year to get that into full swing. You could even sip these while gardening, but we are talking about shrubs–the drinking vinegar. Shrub syrups have really been having a moment the last few years and with good reason! Shrubs are so easy to make on your own, which is a fun project, and you also know your ingredients are clean – often even homegrown. They consist of just vinegar, fruit, and sugar. You can easily search for your own recipes or watch shrub-making classes online for free. After you make your shrub, you just add it to the cocktail (or mocktail) of your choice! Sparkling rose and berry shrub syrup? I can’t think of a more perfect summer combination. You can have a lot of fun and get creative with this, too, so turn it into a fun girl or date night, win, win.
Green Thumb Goodness
Do you have a green thumb? Is your beautiful garden just overflowing with gorgeous fruits and vegetables? What about herbs? That’s right, pick straight from the garden-fresh herbs to garnish all your drinks to elevate them to Summertime Status instantly. Mint Julep? Mojito? Margarita? Going non-alcoholic? Your smoothies, your seltzers. It’s limitless what you can do with these, and they bring a level of sophistication, not to mention fun, to whatever you’re sipping.
Morning Magic
What’s better than a warm cup of your favorite coffee on a snowy winter morning? The answer is obvious – the perfect cold brew or iced coffee on a sunny Summer morning. You’re not limited to cold coffee with cold brew. You can use it as a concentrate for hot coffee; you can use it as a base for ready-to-drink beverages or, of course, the old faithful cold brew coffee served, you guessed it – over ice. Have you ever heard of New Orleans-style cold brew? The Big Easy has its own take on cold brew that involves chicory and many cream and sweeteners – in short, heaven. Whichever direction you decide to go with, you’ve simply got to incorporate it into your morning routine.
Festive Fruits
So, we’ve utilized our herbs and our fruits in our shrub syrup, but what if you want to see the rainbow in your drinks? You can easily make Sangria with or without alcohol, and it’s just plain pleasing to see in a pitcher. Strawberry lemonade tastes that much sweeter with fresh chunks of the whole strawberry in the glass. Are there kids in your home, or will they be at the party you’re hosting? What child doesn’t feel super grown up with a Shirley Temple in their hand? Don’t forget that maraschino! Glow Water is just as delightful as it sounds and something you should incorporate into your daily routine. Simply slice a cucumber and lemon into 1/4″ rounds and dump in a glass of ice and seltzer water. Garnish that glow with some mint, and you will feel as luxurious as you look sipping on it.
Go Hard or Go Home
All of the above-mentioned drinks are easy to make, virgin or hard. But now it’s time to bring out the big guns. After the year we’ve all had, sometimes it’s just lovely to relax and unwind with a cold, hard beverage at the end of the day, or maybe even mid-day on the weekends. It’s easy to go with our well-known standbys, but Summer is all about having fun. So, get online or chat with your local bartender to learn some new drink recipes you can add to your rotation. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.
