LEMONADE:

A punch is great for summer parties

Adagio For Summer

Note: Craig Schoettler, formerly executive chef beverage director at The Aviary in Chicago, recommends a punch rather than separate drinks.

“It’ll be great for summer parties and barbecues,” he says. Schoettler calls for Paul Beau VS cognac, Elijah Craig 12-Year-old bourbon, Smith & Cross Jamaica rum and Pierre Ferrand dry curacao in this recipe. You may sub with other brands.

6 oranges

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced

2 bottles (750 ml each) Chardonnay, Burgundian style

9 oz lemon shrub, see recipe

3 oz each: cognac, bourbon

1 1/2 oz each: dark rum, dry orange curacao

2 bottles (750 ml each) Champagne or other sparkling wine

2 bottles (1 L each) seltzer

1. Peel the oranges. Put the peels in a large, sealable container; muddle them with the sugar. Let sit overnight at room temperature; add the pineapple. Muddle thoroughly.

2. Juice the peeled oranges in a juicer. (Or use a blender: Remove any seeds. Place orange segments in blender. Process until liquefied.) Add unstrained juice to pineapple/sugar mixture. Stir until dissolved. Strain. Add wine, lemon shrub, cognac, bourbon, rum and curacao. Combine well.

3. Place a block of ice in a large punch bowl or other serving container. (Schoettler likes filling a 4-quart container with water and freezing overnight to make a massive block.) Pour in the punch mixture; top with sparkling wine and seltzer before serving.

Lemon shrub: Peel 6 lemons. Muddle peels with 1 1/2 cups sugar in a large container; let sit overnight at room temperature. Add 1 1/2 cups water; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes 12 servings.

Bitter Blossom

A cocktail developed by Briar Brackney when she was beverage director at Vincent restaurant in Chicago, along with Michael Bransford, Vincent’s owner.

Now manager and beverage director at Dale Levitski’s new Frog n Snail Restaurant, Brackney prefers Right gin from Sweden for this drink. It has “a bold peppery flavour that is beautiful with lemon,” she says. Use it or your favourite dry gin.

She calls for Bittermens Citron Sauvage liqueur for its bitter grapefruit note; use Campari or Aperol as a substitute. Brackney also uses Bittermens Orange Cream Citrate for its concentration and complexity, but any orange bitters could be used. The hibiscus flavoured simple syrup can be omitted if necessary.

2 oz gin

1 oz hibiscus simple syrup, see recipe

3/4 oz grapefruit liqueur juice of 1 lemon

3 drops orange bitters lemon twist

Pour all the ingredients except the lemon twist into a pint glass filled with ice. Top with water; stir until drink is blended. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Hibiscus simple syrup: Combine 2 cups each water and sugar with 1/4 lb dried hibiscus flowers (generally found in spice stores and ethnic markets) in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves.

Transfer the syrup to a heat safe container; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, up to 1 week.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Muddle: This cocktailmaking term means to mash ingredients together gently, to extract their flavours, with a muddler, a cocktail tool, usually wood, that looks rather like a small baseball bat.

Use a strong wooden spoon if you have no muddler.