I’m taking Memorial Day off to enjoy some offline time with my family. Enjoy this post from the archives, which is perfect for a hot holiday weekend. (It’s supposed to be 93 where I am!) I’d love to hear what your favorite cold drinks are in the comments.
I don’t know about you, but it has been hot where I live this month. With the heat index firmly in 3-digit territory in much of the country and no relief in sight, I’m very grateful for air conditioning–and cold beverages.
Do you crave cold drinks when the temperatures soar? I sure do. These are my favorite drinks to beat the heat. Or, at least, to make it more tolerable.
Perfect Iced Coffee
I love iced coffee. My usual method is to brew a double espresso in my trusty AeroPress, dilute with just enough water to make a really strong Americano, and pour over ice. This method makes excellent iced coffee, and I highly recommend it.
However, this summer I discovered the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Perfect Iced Coffee. She uses the cold-brew method, and I got very good results following her directions. But what really makes her recipe perfect is that you can brew up a big batch and have it at-the-ready in your fridge, just waiting to be poured over fresh ice.
Ree’s recipe makes 24 servings and keeps in the fridge for three weeks. But if you don’t need that much, the recipe halves or quarters easily and your results won’t suffer a bit.
15 Minute Iced Tea
I’ve been using Pam Anderson’s microwave iced tea recipe since I came across it in her CookSmart cookbook ten years ago. So I was beyond excited to see the tea recipe featured on her excellent blog last week with the added bonus of flavored tea variations: lime and mint, ginger, and (my personal favorite) orange and clove.
And truly, it takes 15 minutes from an empty pitcher to cold iced tea, and could not be any simpler. I use plain-old Lipton tea bags and my results are fantastic.
Sangria
This summer wine punch is excellent party fare. My recipe is inspired by the wonderful sangria at my local Cuban restaurant.
- 1 bottle red wine (I use Trader Joe’s two-buck chuck if I have any on hand)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- 1 tablespoon triple sec
- Sparkling water, to taste
Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar, water and the end fruit slices in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
Combine remaining sliced fruit, wine, brandy and triple sec in pitcher. When cool, add simple syrup mixture, including fruit slices.
Refrigerate for several hours to chill and allow flavors to meld.
Serve over ice, adding sparkling water to taste.
This recipe is very adaptable: feel free to go nuts with whatever fruits or juices you have on hand: sliced peaches, berries, pineapple juice and orange juice are especially good additions.
It’s easy to make a non-alcoholic sangria: substitute a combination of grape, apple, orange and cranberry juice for the wine, and proceed as directed. (My favorite combo is 3 cups grape juice, 1/2 cup orange juice, and 1/2 cup cranberry juice.)
Summer Spritzer
I’ve been drinking these simple spritzers on hot days ever since I first decided to kick the Diet Coke habit many years ago. They couldn’t be easier to make: pop open a can of sparkling water and flavor as desired. I find a simple spritzer flavored with a big hit of lime juice is most refreshing on a hot day, but the options are really endless.
Here are some variations to get you started; suggested portions are to add to 12 ounces of club soda or sparkling water:
- 1/4 cup cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime
- 1/4 cup orange juice and a squeeze of lemon
- Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- A shot of one of the numerous flavors of Italian syrup–peach, strawberry, lime, lemon, raspberry, pomegranate, cherry, black currant–and that’s just the beginning.
These drinks may not be enough to beat this unrelenting heat wave, but they’ll sure make it more tolerable. (And if you’re in Seattle, San Francisco, or some other pleasantly-climated locale, go ahead and enjoy a cold drink anyway. Those of us melting away won’t hold it against you.)
What’s your favorite drink for a hot summer day?
photo credits: iced coffee, iced tea, sangria, spritzer
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My favorite on a hot summer day (we have had 41 days of 100 degree weather!) is my homemade lemonade. It is delish
I’ve been drinking a ton of ices coffee. I can’t get enough.
I love the idea for spritzers. Sounds so refreshing! I love to blend up ice cold smoothies when it’s hot out.
I love having a pitcher of iced tea ready in the fridge. I use liquid stevia for sweetness (trying to avoid the extra sugar) and sometimes put in a little vanilla. Yum.
My father is an Ocean Spray Cranberry grower, so I will definitely try the summer spritzer!
I do like a good, tall glass of iced tea in the summertime. Lemonade too, from scratch.
) But we have very, very good water at our place, so most often that is the beverage of choice around here….even with the kids.
I’ll have to give that Sangria recipe of yours a try…it sure looks tasty. Thanks for sharing it!
Brenda
All those sound very refreshing, but when you’re REALLY hot, caffeine or alcohol will likely make you feel worse. Try this homemade electrolyte replenisher for those really hot, sweaty times!
One of my favorite hot-weather drinks is iced peppermint tea. I get bulk dried peppermint from the health-food store and put it in a paper coffee filter.
Ooooh, I love peppermint tea but have only ever had it hot. I’m definitely trying that!
I’ve been living off PW’s iced coffee recipe ever since she posted it! I use about half coffee half raw milk and sweeten with stevia. Healthy, but still decadent. I will occasionally add a squirt of lime to a club soda, but most often I just grab a can from the fridge and drink it plain. It’s so refreshing!
There is a local tea called Peppermint Jack I just discovered that is peppermint, spearmint, and vanilla and it’s perfect iced!
I just made an iced coffee, and it wasn’t even 10:00 yet here! I use my Keurig machine and just brew it straight into a tall glass filled with ice. Yummy yum yum!
Tim
P.S. Leslie Keeney just posted another guest piece I wrote. This one is concerns an errant dentist and the gospel truth: http://www.theruthlessmonk.com/too-good-to-be-true/
Tim, I LOVE how in the summertime I don’t even have to wait for my coffee to brew–I can just pour a pre-made iced coffee at 6am! (So 10:00 is fine by me
)
(I hope I’m not double commenting!)
My favorite is Pimms Cup, a British cocktail I learned about in Oxford with cucumber, berries, mint, and citrus fruit.
My husband and I also love to share a mimosa on a warm summer day.
I love that Pioneer Woman cold-brew coffee recipe! It makes it so easy to pour into a travel mug and run out the door with a gourmet beverage even on the busiest mornings. I’ve found that cold brew is also a great way to improve the quality of not-so-great (dry, a flavor you don’t love, or just not fabulous) coffee grounds. It seems to be more mellow than drip coffee while still pretty strong. And summer spritzers with fruit ice cubes sound like the perfect drink for a patio party! Great ideas.
Yep, I love that about iced coffee, too. I also love how when I make a giant batch of cold-brew iced coffee, fresh coffee beans don’t have a chance to go stale.
Hey Anne! I love sangria and it’s so fun to try new recipes. I recently bought a travel-safe carafe, so I can bring sangria to picnics and backyard barbecues. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
PS — Excited to meet you at Influence this fall!
A thermal carafe is a great idea! You’re going to be one popular party girl
And yay for Influence! I’m so glad I’ll get to meet you there.