Easy ideas and new ready-to-serve options for summer cocktails
Dreaming of summer cocktails? When it comes to the perfect refreshing summer drink, Kris Smith wants something simple and easy to prepare.
“I want a quick cocktail that I can batch up for a crowd, or something with just a few ingredients so I can spend more time in the sun and less time in the kitchen or at the bar,” he says.
“Ideally, it’s light, balanced between sweet, sour, and bitter. I want it all. And it needs to be a little fizzy.”
Smith knows his drinks. He’s the co-founder of The Third Place Cocktail Co. in St. John’s, which produces a line of non-alcoholic cocktail concentrates that can be purchased across Atlantic Canada and through their website.
For a great cocktail, he recommends mixing one ounce of tonic with two ounces of gin and two ounces of any fizzy water in a glass, pouring it over ice, and then stirring.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” he says.
ICE, ICE, BABY
A good cocktail isn’t just about what goes into it, says Smith. For him, the key is all about the ice.
“You want large, hard ice cubes, not brittle small pieces from the freezer at a gas station,” he says.
“Grab an ice mold, or even a muffin tin, and make cubes that nearly fill a glass. Large ice melts slower, which means that drinks won’t get too warm, or too watery, as the mercury rises.”
But not all cocktails need ice, so know what you want to make beforehand. Ayngelina Brogan, from Kentville, N.S., is a culinary travel blogger and has featured various drinks from around the world on her blog, Bacon is Magic. One of her favourites is a chelada beer cocktail from Mexico, which she describes as being refreshing with just a hint of saltiness to keep you cool.
“A chelada beer drink uses a light lager, and combines it with fresh lime juice and a pinch of sea salt, all mixed and served a rimmed glass,” she explains.
“Purists say that ice should not be added as the beer and lime juice should already be cold. Besides, ice dilutes the flavour.”
CHANGING TASTES
It’s not just about a cold beer anymore — what Atlantic Canadians are looking for in terms of their summertime alcohol is changing.
According to Leslie Malcolm, a brand director at Molson Coors Beverage Company, research has shown that North American drinkers are searching for new beverages other than beer and traditional sodas.
Consumers also want to see their drinks include nutritional elements — that’s something that’s becoming increasingly important to consumers, she adds.
“There is a massive demand for products that are lower in calories, carbs and sugar while delivering on three main consumer needs: taste, flavour and worth,” says Malcolm.
This all points to why hard seltzers are growing at over 300 per cent year over year in North America, she says.
“Hard seltzers are cool, refreshing, and full of flavour without being too sweet or high in calories,” she says.
Molson Coors has two new hard seltzer product lines available this summer including Vizzy, which she says is the first hard seltzer to include a superfruit that’s full of antioxidants called acerola cherry. Although you can’t taste it, the superfruit is packed into each can. There is also a Coors Hard Seltzer line.
While both products are considered ready-to-drink seltzers, they offer different flavours and properties that appeal to different palates, she says.
Moosehead is also coming on board with two new products in the Maritimes: a flavoured vodka beverage called Twisted Tea and a hard seltzer called Truly.
Truly mixes sparkling water with a natural sweet lemonade taste, and has the benefit of only 100 calories per can, one gram of sugar and zero artificial flavours or sweeteners. Twisted Tea mango, meanwhile, is a release of a new flavour in an existing line, made with real brewed tea.
SAFE CONSUMPTION
When consuming alcohol this summer, keep in mind that it’s a diuretic, meaning it dehydrates the body when we drink it.
Plan to alternate drinking a glass of water with every alcoholic beverage you consume, says Samantha Blizzard, the registered dietitian working for the Atlantic Superstore in Charlottetown and Montague, P.E.I.
“It is important if you choose to consume alcoholic beverages that you stay hydrated as well to avoid dehydration of the body, especially in the summer when it is hot outside,” she says.