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OxfordPress.com

Summer drink recipes

By Meridith Ford

Dayton Daily News

THE EL MESON MOJITO

Makes 2 drinks
Fresh mint
4 ounces white rum
3 ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice
3 ounces simple syrup (instructions follow) *
2 ounces club soda

Muddle 3 mint leaves in each glass. Combine the rum, lime juice and simple syrup.

Fill the glasses with ice and divide the rum mixture in the glasses. Top each with 1 ounce club soda.

Garnish with sprigs of mint.

* To make simple syrup, combine equal parts of granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool and bottle to keep on hand.

ISLAND COSMOPOLITAN

Makes 1 drink

3 ounces Pineapple Vodka (recipe follows)

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 splashes cranberry juice

4 splashes of Triple Sec

Mix the vodka, lime juice, cranberry juice and Triple Sec in a blender or shaker. Shake with ice until well chilled. Though the restaurant serves it straight up, for a long, cool one, pour it over ice in a tall glass.

PINEAPPLE VODKA

1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces *

1 liter premium brand vodka

Combine the pineapple and vodka in a glass container; cover and refrigerate for three days. Strain the vodka, discarding the pineapple, and store the vodka in the refrigerator.

* For maximum flavor, follow the suggestion of former chef/bartender George Sideras, and grill pineapple slices briefly to carmelize the sugars.

(Recipe adapted from Louie's Backyard Cooking by Jane and Michael Stern.)

When I was shopping for ingredients to test tropical drink recipes, one fellow had to tell me about a drink he'd had, from a Florida cookbook he couldn't quite remember. But he remembered the Peroxide Blonde drink. It went down so well he decided to bleach his hair and did so on the spot.

Call that a recommendation. Or a warning.

It struck me as funny because the recipe was one I had chosen to try. It's from Norman's New World Cuisine by Florida chef Norman Van Aken.

Serve it in a tall champagne flute.

A PEROXIDE BLONDE

Makes 4 drinks

1 cup champagne *

1 cup Absolut Citron vodka

8 melonball scoops of lemon sorbet

4 teaspoons whipping cream

4 to 6 ice cubes

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

4 lemon slices for garnish

Combine the champagne, vodka, sorbet, cream and ice cubes in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the champagne glasses and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top.

* Use extra-dry champagne, not the perversely drier brut champagne for this drink.

Spiked lemonade promises a little buzz with the refreshment of lemon. This recipe is from Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook.

To add color and flavor make ice cubes by filling a tray with 2 cups of fruit juice. Consider nectars such as raspberry, blackberry or strawberry.

SPIKED LEMONADE

Makes 1 quart

Juice of 4 lemons

1/2 cup superfine sugar

2 cups water

1 lemon, sliced thin for garnish

Sprigs of fresh mint for garnish (optional)

1 1/2 cups raspberry vodka

In a large pitcher stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the water, stir and taste. Add more sugar if necessary, for sweetness.

Fill individual glasses with ice and add the lemon slices and mint.

Mix the lemonade with the vodka and pour it over the ice.