One of the best things about summers in Maine is getting to participate in all the fun outdoor activities you can’t do during the winter (and I don’t just mean conducting daily tick checks). While a nice cold beer is many people’s go-to during the summer months, cocktails are also a fun way to enhance your enjoyment. Here’s your ultimate guide to which cocktail pairs best with (or, in most cases, after) each common summer activity:

Biking: The Bicicletta is an Italian aperitif named for the elderly Italian men who swerve erratically when bicycling home after too many drinks. Mix 2 ounces of Campari with 2 ounces dry Italian white wine, pour in a tall ice-filled glass, top with club soda, and garnish with an orange wheel (you knew the garnish had to be a wheel, right?).

Boating or sailing: The Sea Breeze: 1.5 ounces vodka, 1.5 ounces grapefruit juice, and 3 ounces cranberry juice. It’s diluted enough that you won’t get (ship)wrecked.

Camping: The obvious choice is a S’moretini, a $13 drink I first discovered at The Lounge at Sea Glass, the bar in Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth. The main ingredients are Godiva chocolate liqueur and vanilla vodka, but the roasted marshmallow skewer garnish steals the show.

Chilling by the pool: It’s time for the classic tiki Swimming Pool cocktail, the gorgeous blue color of which resembles an inviting pool. Combine 1 1/3 ounces white rum, 2/3 ounce vodka, 1/3 ounce cream, and 1 1/3 ounce pineapple juice and pour into a tall glass filled with crushed ice, then float (it’s a pool, after all) 1/3 ounce Blue Curacao on top.

Enjoying a summer romance: Sex on the Beach, of course! One part peach schnapps, two parts cranberry juice, two parts orange juice and two parts vodka. For a mocktail version, have a Safe Sex on the Beach: one part peach nectar, 1.5 parts grapefruit juice and 1.5 parts cranberry juice.

Gardening: You know you’re getting Poison Ivy. The variations of this vibrant green drink are all pretty but dangerous: 2 ounces vodka, ¾ ounce lime juice, ¾ ounce simple syrup, ¼ ounce absinthe and four basil leaves.

Golfing: Go for a light and fruity Scottish Links: 50 milliliters Glenmorangie (or as I call it, Glen MORE ANGIE!), ½ ounce lemon juice, ½ ounce grapefruit juice, 2/3 ounce honey and 1/3 ounce Manzanilla sherry, topped with club soda.

Grilling: Fire up a BBQ Smoked Margarita: 2 ounces tequila, ½ ounce lime juice, ½ ounce agave syrup and three drops of liquid smoke. Rim the glass with a 1:1 mix of salt and BBQ rub.

Hanging out at Kettle Cove: Anything made using Ketel One vodka. Bonus points if you also bring Kettle chips.

Having a picnic: Bring your own Mosquito Bite! Combine 1 ounce vodka, 1 ounce Sour Apple Pucker and a splash of melon liqueur. Pour into a shot glass and add a drop of grenadine.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail: Pour yourself an Appalachia Cider Cocktail (or should I say CockTRAIL?): 1 ounce bourbon, 2 ounces apple cider and 2 ounces ginger ale.

Kayaking: Google “extreme cocktailing whitewater” for a Stoli vodka ad in which a kayaker makes a Stoli Blueberi Lemon Drop by carrying the shaker over some serious rapids. Make a similar drink from the safety of your couch: Muddle 14 blueberries in a shaker and add 2 ounces blueberry vodka, 1 ounce lemon juice and 1 ounce simple syrup. Shake, strain and serve ice cold in a martini glass.

Playing beach volleyball: Something you can spike, like a punch.

Finally, if your favorite summer activity is hugging your air conditioner, you clearly need something frozen. Why not a frozen G&T using tonic syrup instead of tonic water? Combine 3 ounces gin, 1 ounce tonic syrup, 1 ounce simple syrup, two dashes orange bitters and 1.5 ounces lime juice. Freeze mixture for at least one hour and then combine with ice in a blender.

Angie Bryan is a former diplomat who is enjoying getting acquainted with her new home in Portland, one cocktail at a time.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Can shortage concerns local breweries

Next »

The Wrap: Reservations, renovations and reopenings