Sipping trends to celebrate summer
The warm weather has finally come to stay and, officially, so has summer. It’s time for me to start living on the front porch or patio and enjoying the great, but limited, summer weather.
Staying cool is a priority of mine and there’s no better to do that than enjoying a cold drink outside. This summer, I’m looking for a few chilly beverages to help celebrate the upcoming festivals at home; drinks that are more interesting than my standard iced coffee or vodka sodas.
I’ve looked into some of the summer drink trends and decided to celebrate Canada Day, Pride and a few other festivals with some refreshing and on-trend bevies to alleviate the backyard boredom; clink-clink to summer!
WHIPPED COFFEE
As always, the internet and social media are great places to find out what the cool kids are doing. This spring, the Dalgonia coffee trend (whipping instant coffee into foam) blew up on social media and has intrigued me; it’s now one of my fave cold coffee summer drinks and is very simple to make.
Add two tablespoons of each to a small bowl: hot water, sugar and instant coffee (Quebec’s Van Houtte Columbian Light is excellent for this recipe for its light and fruity tastes). Beat with an electric hand mixer for five minutes (it will seem like forever).
The mixture turns foamy and glossy; similar to the consistency of meringue. Spoon a large dollop over a glass of milk with ice in it. It’s like an upside-down iced latte! I like adding a tablespoon of Canadian maple syrup for a true Canada Day sweet sensation in the mornings.
G&T, SPIRITS FREE
One trend you will see on restaurant menus is low/ no-proof cocktails, especially since people want to be able to drive their bikes or cars home and are hesitant to use public transportation or ride sharing.
My new refreshing sober friend is B.C. made Lumette London Dry, a non-alcoholic distilled spirit with all-natural flavours of gin, including botanicals with notes of juniper and citrus.
Use as you would regular gin: mix with tonics and lime for the refreshing taste of a G&T with zero alcohol. I plan to be making non-alcoholic G&TS on a stick (popsicles) to cool me down on those hot days in the backyard — a little tonic, some lime juice and a wooden stick and I am keeping cool!
SIP AND SUPPORT
June, of course, not only represents the beginning of summer, it’s also the launch of Pride Month around the world. Without parades and street parties, I’ll be hosting smaller groups of friends and family to celebrate the many colours that make up our great country.
In order to help celebrate, the fizzy watermaker company Sodastream has released limited-edition For the Love of Tomorrow Pride kits ($29.99), filled with ecofriendly reusable items like stainless straws, a Pride tote bag and a .05 litre reusable fizzy water bottle.
All proceeds will be donated to Pflag Canada, a national charitable organization founded by parents who wanted to help themselves and their family members understand and accept their LGBTQ+ children. Celebrate, keep cool and support a great charity; they’re on sale only until the end of June, so order and support a great cause while stylishly sipping throughout the summer.
Looking to do some summer entertaining?
Here are a few ways to impress your guests; especially if serving up non-alcoholic bevies:
• Serve up more flavour that complements your cocktails. For instance: lemon drinks with seafood hors d’oeuvres; muddled mint cocktails with chocolate or fruit desserts.
• Up your presentation. Summer drinks always seem to taste better when served in attractive glassware. Look for high-style acrylic to use safely on the terrace.
• Drinks to go. Prepare to impress with cocktails for picnics and outings. Pre-mix fancy mixes (sans alcohol) and add your spirits when you arrive at the party.