Summer Spritzers

About author / Rebecca Michaels

Queen of the desserts and pastry chef extraordinaire; graduate French Culinary Institute; Golden Scoop Award winner; Flying Monkey Bakery founder

I thought I would share some of my favorite summer drink recipes with you this week. I'm not much of a fan of the super-alcohol style drinks (read single malt scotch and the like). My self-designed mixed drinks tend to be fruity and sweet without being syrupy or cloying. In fact, for those of you watching your carb belts, I substitute diet lemon lime or ginger ale soda in place of regular in my own drinks.

I don't have a huge stock of liquor on hand, but I do keep several staples around for mixing drinks impromptu-style for the summer season. My bar pantry includes plum wine, white Lillet, Riesling, wheat beer like Hoegaarden, orange juice, diet or regular lemon-lime soda, seltzer, angostura bitters, lemons, limes, and oranges.

I'm a huge fan of plum wine. In addition to it being a great soak for a butter or olive oil cake, I like to drink it chilled with ice. It's also fabulous mixed with some citrus soda or seltzer and a drop of Angostura bitters. There are many varieties of bitters, but perhaps the most famous is Angostura, developed by a German doctor in 1824 to relieve seasickness. It is a highly concentrated tincture of herbs and plants. Doesn't sound incredibly appealing, but it makes lighter drinks more adult by adding an extra dimension of taste. Beware, though. A little goes a long way. "A couple of drops" means a couple of drops. I drink bitters with orange juice and seltzer as a morning virgin cocktail. It's delicious.

Lillet is a light floral liqueur from Bordeaux. It is absolutely luscious on the rocks, or mixed with some orange juice, seltzer, bitters and a twist of lime. It comes in white and red varieties. I generally use the white.

Many people think of Riesling as a sweet wine, but on the whole, it is slightly acidic, yet not as dry as a Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay by any means. The sweetness/acidity relationship really depends on the region in which it's produced. For example, true Rhine Rieslings tend to be sweet, whereas Californian ones tend to be dry. Riesling makes a delightful refreshment on its own, but add a little seltzer and a spritz of lime juice and you've got a bubbly beverage that will do you good in the steamy summer heat.

Another of my favorites is a beer-soda concoction that supposedly has its origins in Germany. My mother calls it a Hamburgweizen. Take equal parts wheat beer and citrus soda (growing up in Chicago, we used Canfield's 50/50, a grapefruit soda, but Fresca is a good substitute), add a 'capful' of Rose's Lime Juice, and a dash of bitters. I'm not a big beer drinker, but this drink lacks that yeasty taste that I dislike in most brews. Don't save it for Oktoberfest!

Experiment with the items I've suggested. You can't go wrong with any combination of them. Keep everything in the fridge and keep plenty of ice on hand. Keep your glasses chilled too. Slice citrus fruit into wedges in advance and keep them in the fridge covered in plastic wrap for a couple of days. And if you can find those cute little paper umbrellas, use them by all means. They add a touch of kitsch to what might be an otherwise blasé barbeque. I guarantee someone will say, "I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these! Excellent!"