Cold, No-Sweat Summer Drinks for a Crowd

“The summer party is its own breed, dressed down and relaxed, and summer drinks should take a similarly seasonal approach. Especially for a crowd.

 

The hot-weather aim is to cool, refresh and energize, which means home bartenders, who want to relax themselves, must take care not to overburden drinks with too many ingredients or too much alcohol.

 

Light and easy are the guidelines. One of the best ways to achieve this is to make drinks largely in advance and in quantity, so all that’s required once guests arrive are a couple of simple finishing steps.

 

I spoke to beverage experts in New York to get their collective wisdom on best practices for serving summer drinks to a crowd.

 

Lighten Up

 

Moe Aljaff and Juliette Larrouy own Schmuck, a much-lauded cocktail bar in the East Village. Mr. Aljaff spent seven years in Barcelona, which gave him insights into outdoor environments. “There is a real culture around terraces,” he said.

 

Among the things he learned, he said, martinis don’t do well in the heat. Served up, without ice, a martini quickly warms and becomes heavy. For an outdoor party, he instead recommends a dirty martini and tonic.

 

“It’s based on martini principles,” Mr. Aljaff said, “but is tall, fizzy and full of ice.”

 

He described the drink as somewhere between a martini and a gin and tonic, and easy to make in advance. Just blend equal parts London dry Gin with dry vermouth, olive brine and a little apple brandy. Do this in advance and store in the fridge. When ready to serve, pour over ice and top with tonic.

 

Won’t ice dilute the drink? Yes, and Mr. Aljaff said that’s perfectly fine.

 

“On a snowy day in New York, you do want a sharp manhattan,” he said, “but when it’s warm, you don’t want the heavy alcohol.”

 

Look to Spain

 

Spain, particularly in Madrid, has a thriving plaza culture. In outdoor spaces in the late afternoon, tables and chairs seem to appear from nowhere and the party is on. Vermouth or beer is often the drink of choice, but for crowds, Jopus Grevelink, the senior beverage manager for the José Andrés Group, suggests sangria, the wine-based punch served with cut fruit.

 

“The only sangria recipe is one for a crowd,” he said.

 

Recipe: Sangria

 

Sangria may dredge up some painful memories for those who recall cheap, prefabricated versions of the 1970s and ’80s, but the real thing, made with care and good ingredients, can be delightful. The ingredients are crucial.

 

“The quality of the ingredients, the same care should be taken with beverages as with cooking,” Mr. Grevelink said. That means good, though not expensive, wine, and seasonal fruit.

 

Sangria comes in many shades. You can make it with red wine or white wine, but in the summer, Mr. Grevelink recommends cava sangria, made with Spanish sparkling wine. “It’s a fun, effervescent, cool-you-down cocktail,” he said.

 

To prepare cava sangria, he likes to macerate the fruit in gin, vermouth and a little sugar for a day. He then adds cava to the macerated fruit and serves over ice, garnishing modestly with mint and an orange wheel. “Not too much crowding,” he said. “I can’t stand drinks where you’re poking your eyeball when you are taking a sip.”

 

Thomas Thompson, the beverage director for Ernesto’s and Bartolo, two Spanish restaurants in New York, recommends a different Spanish specialty: the yayo blanco, simply a blend of gin, sparkling lemonade and red vermouth that’s become a popular cocktail in Madrid. “It’s such a great summer crusher,” he said

 

Mr. Thompson tweaks the recipe a bit, infusing white vermouth with oolong tea, which he says adds tannins and gives it an “Arnold Palmer vibe.”

 

His colleague, Daryl Coke, the wine director at Ernesto’s and Bartolo, suggested a wine cocktail, tinto de verano, made with equal parts red wine and lemon-lime soda or sparkling lemonade. “The best part is, it’s incredibly simple,” she said.

 

Make the Most of Fruit

 

Ignacio Jiménez, the owner of Superbueno, an excellent bar in the East Village, beats the heat with an agua fresca. The Mexican fresh fruit drink is simple to make and highly refreshing in a cocktail.

 

“As Mexicans, we live in constantly hot weather,” said Mr. Jiménez, who’s known as Nacho. “Agua frescas lower the a.b.v., so you can drink more without getting too intoxicated.”

 

He suggests a fresca royale, made with rum, lemon juice and strawberry agua fresca, which can be done in advance and topped with sparkling wine when serving, or a fresca tonic, made essentially with gin, St. Germain and cucumber agua fresca, and topped with cucumber tonic.

 

Go for Punch

 

Rafa García Febles, the general manager at Kabawa and Bar Kabawa in the East Village, recommends a rum punch for a crowd. It’s simply a blend of five ingredients: rum, lime juice, cane syrup, Angostura bitters and distilled water, which can be kept refrigerated. Pour over ice and serve.

 

Recipe: Kabawa Rum Punch

 

The beauty of the rum punch is its simplicity, and it can have many variations, with added spices or various juices, for example.

 

“Start simple, but you can get culinary with it,” he said. “If you like what you’ve done and it’s a hit, there’s a whole world to explore.”” [1]

 

1. Cold, No-Sweat Summer Drinks for a Crowd: The Pour. Asimov, Eric.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Jul 31, 2026.