Summer Sippin’
The sun is hot and vacation time is near. Garden parties and barbecues will fill out the weekends. Women will attempt to stave off the heat with Japanese folding fans made of silk, and men will unapologetically wear their best seersucker to evening weddings. The summer unites the South in some kind of sweat-tinged, humidity-drenched haze. It is the time for a cool drink and cordial conversation because, let’s face it, Southerners just drink better. Whether they are sipping a mint julep from a pewter cup or cracking open a High Life inserted into a neoprene camouflage koozie, the South does it with a flair the rest of our country just cannot understand.
These four offerings embody the temperament of the South in the summer. They can be easily made in the home, but all possess a certain sophistication. There is a thoughtfulness in each of them. A friendly bit of caution—imbibing these local flavors in the extreme heat might impede the full effects of the fever dream that is July in South Louisiana.
Sweet T Sway
I really don’t think a drink could be more stereotypically Southern than Lock & Key Whiskey Bar’s Sweet T Sway. It is the type of drink I make when I like to pretend I am a slightly off-kilter, but delightfully beautiful, debutante from old money who is trying to decide if she should marry a polo-playing banker or a penniless foot soldier.
The drink finds its roots in the classic mint julep, but just a hint of sweet tea and pomegranate liqueur adds a complex sweetness that is a little easier on the tongue. The mint and tea are muddled together, leaving guests to believe their host is a veteran mixologist, not a novice bartender. It will leave even the most diehard Louisianans dreaming of an old Kentucky home. Serves 1.
Ingredients: 1 oz. sweet tea • 7 mint leaves • 1.5 oz. of Sam Houston Bourbon • 1 oz. Pama Liqueur
Method: Muddle 6 mint leaves with sweet tea in a rocks glass. Add bourbon and pomegranate liqueur. Fill with crushed ice and garnish with a mint leaf.
Strawberry Swamp Pop & Creole Cream Cheese Ice Cream Float
The idea of the ice cream float takes us back to the time of soda jerks and drugstore fountains, where two straws are inserted into one parfait glass and the drink is shared with a paramour. Unfortunately, most of us suck them down in the back seat of a car while sitting at the Sonic Drive-In after soccer practice; but for once, with just a little care and a trip to a grocery store that believes in stocking Louisiana products, nostalgia can actually live up to its hype.
After trying New Orleans Ice Cream Company’s creole cream cheese ice cream for the first time, I vowed never to eat plain vanilla again. Also, the boys at Lafayette-based soda company Swamp Pop have taken strawberry soda to a new level with their newest creation Ponchatoula Pop Rouge. When the two combine, the creamy elegance of the creole cream cheese ice cream and the mild bubbles from the naturally flavored strawberry soda form a light, but decadent, ice cream soda even the most culinary cultured adults will love. Serves 1.
Ingredients: 2 scoops of New Orleans Ice Cream Company’s creole cream cheese ice cream • 1 bottle of Swamp Pop’s Ponchatoula Pop Rouge Strawberry Soda • 4–5 fresh cut strawberries, macerated in sugar
Method: Place ice cream in a tall, clear glass. Add a spoonful of sliced strawberries. Fill with strawberry soda. Garnish with a sipping straw (preferably one made of paper).
Watermelon Mint Rum Punch
Not too long ago, the cast of MTV’s reality show The Jersey Shore introduced the world to a watermelon purée cocktail called Ron Ron Juice. This lowbrow concoction was meant to be slurped out of red plastic cups at suspect beach houses while the sun went down and the dance music fired up; and even in this rudimentary form, it is a winner. But if you use Washington Parish watermelons and add other fresh fruits, it is an energizing and refreshing cocktail that can easily blur the line between day drinking and late-night fun. Take away the rum, and even teetotalers will find the virgin version of this recipe a fruity, yet crisp, delight. Serves 4 .
Ingredients: 1 small “personal-sized” watermelon • 1 lime • 1 lemon • 10 mint leaves, finely chopped • 6 oz. light rum • 1 tbsp. sugar
Method: De-seed and chop watermelon, then place the pieces in blender. In a separate container, muddle mint, sugar, and the juice from the lemon and lime. Add to blender along with the light rum. Purée. Serve over ice.
Sun Tea
My mother did not allow us to use the stove or the oven in the summers. “You’ll heat up the whole house,” she would say. Unfortunately this meant that the microwave—the bastard child of major kitchen appliances—becomes a necessity for iced tea making. When I left home to fly the friendly skies for an iconic Southern airline, my favorite pilot and frequent traveling companion and I decided to regress to olden times, making sun tea in the cockpit on return trips from Europe. After takeoff, Captain Terry would throw the large water bottle filled with tea bags on the dashboard of the Boeing 767-ER, and a few hours later, we were standing in the first-class galley eating leftover crêpes and squeezing lemons over the one thing ingested on the plane that didn’t come from an EZ Bake Oven or a refrigerated meal carrier.
Anne Milneck of Red Stick Spice Company recommends black tea with hints of apricot, ginger, or peach. She cautions that sun tea never comes to a boil, which means it could harbor bacteria. After brewing, refrigerate immediately and drink within two days. Serves 1.
Ingredients: 2–4 teabags • 1 qt. glass jar with a lid • the sun • 4–5 hours
Method: Fill the quart jar with water. Add tea bags. Place on the patio on a sunny day. Wait about five hours. Pour over ice.