Savoring Summer Cocktails

Summary

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Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Savoring Summer Cocktails"

Date: July 18, 2024
Host: Koosha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guests: Kerry Jones (food & spirits writer), John McCarthy (mixologist, co-authors of Every Cocktail Has a Twist)

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Overview

On this scorching NYC summer day, guest host Koosha Navadar welcomes spirits writer Kerry Jones and mixologist John McCarthy for a vibrant conversation on summer cocktails and mocktails. Exploring everything from classic spritzes to innovative veggie-based drinks, they share recipes, tricks, and listener favorites while highlighting what makes a drink perfect for hot weather: low ABV, fresh flavors, and lots of ice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Makes a Great Summer Cocktail?

[02:10]

• Kerry: Summer cocktails should be “bright and overall refreshing,” typically lighter in alcohol. Classics include the Aperol Spritz, Tom Collins, and Pimms Cup.
• John: Favors “drinks that have more volume, more ice, take longer to drink and are cold.” Lower alcohol (low ABV) is key, since summer day drinking often starts earlier.

Notable Quote

“If it’s a hot day, you probably don’t want to be loading yourself up with a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned.” — Kerry Jones [02:15]

2. Favorite Spirits & Cocktail Trends

[03:12]

• Summer leans to gin, blanco tequila, amari, Pimm’s, and Prosecco. Darker spirits (like whiskey) are best left for winter.
• Low ABV cocktails are both on-trend and practical.

Notable Quote

“For some reason, the drinking starts earlier in the day in the summertime than in the winter.” — John McCarthy [03:39]

3. Spritzes and Current Trends

[06:03],[07:03]

• Listener Jose: Recommends the Hugo (elderflower liqueur, prosecco, club soda, mint).
• Spritzes are “inherently fun,” easy to assemble, festive, and forgiving. They’re perfect for gatherings—just build in the glass and enjoy.

Notable Quote

“It’s a drink you can have at the beach or at brunch or, you know, at sundown in Italy, if you’re lucky enough to be there.” — Kerry Jones [07:03]

4. Summer Drink Ideas from Listeners

[08:25]–[23:11]

• Honeydew cocktail at the US Open, Lillet & tonic, Gin Negroni, Rosé recommendations
• Miss Linda: Vodka, cold seltzer, Rose’s lime, fresh lemon juice. [13:12]
• Lauren: Frozen watermelon, lime, and mint blended for a simple mocktail (or with rum). [14:09]
• Shrub cocktails: Noted for being full of electrolytes and flavor.
• Porto Tónico: White port, tonic, citrus.

5. Veggie-Based & Garden Cocktails

[10:39]–[11:27]

• The Garden Club Gimlet uses fresh sugar snap peas juiced, plus gin and lime. The freshness “just explodes” and must be drunk within an hour.
• Experiments with farm-fresh produce bring Summer flavors alive in mixed drinks.

Notable Quotes

“We just run fresh sugar snap peas through a juicer... then just gin and lime. It’s a take on the classic gimlet but the vividness...is just amazing.” — Kerry Jones [11:18]
“Make it and drink it because it’s going to start to degrade really, really quickly. You want to use it within an hour of making it for sure.” — John McCarthy [11:59]

6. Mocktail Recipes and Tips

[15:26]

• The Portside Punch: Cucumber, lime, basil, club soda. “Great for pitchers,” refreshing, and easily spiked if desired.
• Fresh juice (cucumber, watermelon) should be used same day for peak flavor.

Notable Quote

“It was perfect, because those who didn’t want to drink alcohol could have a really lovely, refreshing green drink. And those who wanted to pour a little vodka or rum in it, they could do that too.” — Kerry Jones [15:26]

7. Working With Summer Produce

• Cucumber: Incredibly versatile (cucumber Collins, margaritas, or just slices added to drinks); brings a “cooling” sensation. [19:30–20:24]
• Avocado Margarita: Avocado, pineapple juice cubes, lime, orange liqueur, served slushy and salted. [20:52]
• Smoothie Cocktails: Pair smoothies (cucumber, pears, ginger, etc.) with white spirits; vodka for a neutral base; gin or rum for complexity. [17:39]
• Spicy Mocktails: Grapefruit juice, muddled sage, spicy bitters. [21:58]

Notable Quote

“When you drink cucumber juice, it feels cooling almost.” — John McCarthy [19:30]

8. Garnishes

[23:25]

• Mint is the hands-down favorite: cooling, aromatic, and simple.
• Tip: “Gotta activate them. Give a little tap on your hand to break up the cells so that it releases the aroma.” — John McCarthy [23:30]

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Listener Contributions & Memorable Moments

The Hugo Spritz [05:19]

• “Elderflower liqueur, basically St. Germain, some Prosecco, club soda, and a sprig of mint...over ice. It’s delicious. Best thing ever.” — Jose in Astoria

Cucumber Versatility [18:26],[19:30]

• Slices, juice, in a Collins or margarita, or just in a vodka soda.

“Miss Linda” Cocktail [13:12]

• Personal favorite with vodka and citrus; so beloved by friends, it got named after the original creator.

Frozen Watermelon Mocktail [14:09]

• Simple, creative way to avoid food waste and stay cool.

Cantaloupe Paloma [22:52]

• Cantaloupe with tequila, Topo Chico, and saline, as a late-summer twist.

Smoothie Spirits [17:39]

• Use “white spirits” like vodka for subtlety or gin/rum for additional flavor notes in fruit/veg smoothies.

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Useful Timestamps for Segment Highlights

• [02:10] — Defining the ideal summer cocktail
• [05:19] — Listener introduces the Hugo spritz
• [07:03] — Why spritzes are so popular
• [10:39] — Story of the Garden Club Gimlet
• [13:12] — “Miss Linda” summer vodka cocktail
• [14:09] — Frozen watermelon mocktail tips
• [15:26] — Portside Punch: the perfect mocktail party drink
• [17:39] — Spirits to add to healthy smoothies
• [18:26] — Cucumber's versatility in summer drinks
• [20:52] — Avocado margarita recipe
• [21:58] — Grapefruit-sage-spicy bitters mocktail
• [22:52] — Cantaloupe Paloma bar inspiration
• [23:25] — Favorite summer cocktail garnishes

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Conclusion

This spirited, interactive episode celebrates summer’s bounty, encouraging listeners to experiment with fresh produce, lower-alcohol spirits, and both classic and creative combinations. Whether you prefer a fizzy spritz, a lively mocktail, or inventing new recipes with farmers market finds, the message is clear: summer cocktails should be refreshing, easy, and fun to personalize.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Koosha Navadar. I'm in for Alison Stewart. You probably know that New York City just went through its third heat wave this summer. So today we're talking about some refreshing cocktails to help you relax and stay cool. From classic favorites like the Margarita and Mojito to trendy newcomers like the Aperol Spritz, we're going to explore the best concoctions to sip by the pool at a beach party. Or I don't know, maybe you listen to our last segment and you want something to drink while you read one of the best books of the 21st century. Our guests today have a few suggestions to elevate your summer gatherings, including recipes for a Dirty Monty Spritz, Pimm's cup and Pimm's Cups, and a hibiscus Mojito. Food and spirits writer Kerry Jones and mixologist John McCarthy have been collaborating since they met in 2020, 2012 and since the the two have become partners in work and life, co authoring books such as Be youe Own Bartender and most recently, every Cocktail Has a Twist. Carrie, John, welcome back to all of it. Hey, can you guys hear me?

[C]

Thank you. We're thrilled to be back.

[D]

Hi. Thanks.

[B]

Yeah, wonderful. Thanks for. Thanks for stopping by. And listeners, we would love for you to participate in this conversation. What's your favorite summer cocktail or or mocktail? Do you prefer a classic Negroni with a blood orange garnish, a spicy paloma or maybe an Aperol Spritz? Or do you prefer to stay sober? And if so, what are your favorite non alcoholic beverages to make during warmer months of the year? Share your suggestions, give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212433, WNYC. Okay, so Keri, what actually qualifies as a summer cocktail are some classic summer cocktails that come to mind for you?

[C]

Well, to us, a perfect summer cocktail is something that's bright and overall refreshing and also something that's usually on the lighter side alcohol wise. Because if it's a hot day, you probably don't want to be loading yourself up with a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned. So things like Aperol spritzes are very popular right now. Something like a Tom Collins, a Pim's cup is one we love, kind of anything that's on that lighter side.

[D]

Drinks that have more volume, more ice, take longer to drink and are cold. Definitely. Like those are big winners you know.

[B]

John, the last time that you two joined, all of it, you shared recipes from your book titled Every Cocktail Has a twist master 25 classic drinks and craft more than 200 variations. How have, have you mixed things up a bit for the summer? What kind of spirits work best for those summer cocktails that you're describing? Where there's more ice, it takes a little more time to get together.

[C]

We do believe that anything can make a summer cocktail if you do it well. But usually we leave darker spirits like whiskey and dark rum for the winter months. And, you know, during the summer, we love to move into the gins, the blanco, tequilas, things like that. And we also have a lot of fun with even lower alcohol drinks like Amaro's or Pimm's, which is a British classic that we absolutely adore in the summer.

[D]

In the summertime, we get a little more low ABV because for some reason, the drinking starts earlier in the day in the summertime and in the winter.

[B]

And can you explain ABV for listeners?

[D]

Alcohol by volume. So how much booze is in the liquid? Right.

[B]

And what you're saying is that you want something that has a little bit lower ABV so you can enjoy it a little while longer and you don't need to wear as many floaties when you're by a body of water like the pool.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

That.

[D]

That Manhattan in the winter that you're slowly sipping is full of booze. But now let's switch the alcohol, lighten it up, add more ice. Let's add some club soda or some bubbles to it.

[C]

I think we'd say more gin and tonic, less martini.

[D]

Yes. There you go.

[B]

There you go. Listeners, we would love for you to participate in this convers. What is your favorite summer cocktail or mocktail? What is your better gin, less martini for you? Do you prefer a classic Negroni with a blood orange garnish? Spicy Paloma? I'm especially interested in folks who maybe don't drink as much. I include myself in that list. And I'm always on the hunt for great mocktails. What do you do? Where do you go? What do you love to see in your mocktail? Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 2123-433 wnyc. I see we got our first caller. Let's go to Jose in Astoria. Jose, hey, welcome to the show. Oh, I think we just lost Jose. Can we get him back? Potentially. Jose, hey, are you there? Can you hear us?

[A]

Yeah. Can you hear me?

[B]

Hey, Jose. Hi. Welcome.

[A]

Hey. Sorry about that. Yeah. So the summertime cocktail that me and the wife enjoy and all of our friends recently has been the Hugo. I don't know if you ever heard of it. It's. It's popular in Europe, I believe, during the summer, but we never had it here. I made it the past couple months, and we've been loving it.

[B]

And what goes into. It's an elder flower.

[A]

Yeah. Elderflower liqueur, basically Saint Germain, some Prosecco, club soda, and a sprig of mints. That's it. And over ice, of course. It's. It's delicious. Best thing ever.

[B]

Jose, thanks so much for calling. That does sound good. Are either of you too familiar with the Hugo?

[C]

Absolutely. It's been very popular this summer, last summer as well, and it falls into the broader category of what we call spritzes. So in composition, it's very similar to an aperol spritz, which is also quite popular. The idea is you take something very flavorful and then add some sparkling wine, club soda, a garnish. They're very easy to put together, very refreshing, and great for parties, which is another great summer.

[D]

It's great to have drinks that you can just make in the glass. We say build in the glass. You can just put ice in, add your liquid, give it a quick stir, and you're ready to go. Not a lot of elbow grease involved.

[B]

I'm so happy that you two brought up that idea of the spritz, because each year there seems to be a new summer cocktail. And last summer, for some reason, everyone was into spritz. Earlier this summer, food and wine declared the lemon drop as the cocktail of the summer. Why do you think spritzes have become so popular? And beyond that, which trends do you find especially exciting for this summer?

[C]

I think that the spritz is just an inherently fun drink. It's served in a big, festive glass. They're usually brightly colored, and it's a drink you just have in fun occasions. It's a drink you can have at the beach or at brunch or, you know, at sundown in Italy, if you're. If you're lucky enough to be there. So I think part of the appeal is just that it's a genuinely fun drink and not too complicated. As John said, in the summer especially, we don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen or our home bar kind of making something overly complicated. We want to pour a couple things in a glass and Enjoy as quickly as possible. So I think that just the spritz is very user friendly and very forgiving.

[D]

And the thing about spritzes as well is they usually like the. The Hugo is using elderflower liqueur, which is a liqueur, but usually it's using amari. So an amaro which is using it tends to be herbaceous and a little bit bitter, but it still has a sweetness to it. So when you have that slight little sweetness, you have this herbaceous, then you put it over ice, then you add sparkling wine and it kind of gives you the full experience of a cocktail. You get a little sweetness, you get a little bitterness so that you want to have that next sip. There's nothing cloying about it. It's refreshing and it lightens the mood, enlightens the day.

[C]

And bubbles.

[D]

And bubbles.

[B]

And bubbles. Of course. We've got a text here that I love. It says to me the peak summertime cocktail is the honeydew served at the US Open. Shout out to the US Open. I'm sure anyone who's been there before probably is familiar with it. We've also got another call out for a kind of spritz. Let's go to Joanne in New Jersey. Hey, Joanne, welcome to the show.

[A]

Hi. Thanks. I was just at a summer party and they had a Lillet cocktail with half Lillet, the white and half tonic. And then you could dress it with mint or cucumber or lime. And when I got home to check on and put it over ice, when I got home to look at the bottle on proportions, probably only the French could complicate something that simple. It says take three parts of Lillet and three parts of tonic.

[B]

Wow, Joanne, thank you so much. I appreciate that call. Let's go to Howard in Forest Hills. Hey, Howard, welcome to the show.

[A]

Hi. I have a cocktail and I have a. I recommend. So the cocktail I drink really year round is Gin Negroni that I like a lot. It has gin Campari and sweet vermouth. And the rose I like is dormant Tempier because a lot of roses are either too sweet or too bland. But Domain Tempeh has a backbone to it. It's really good.

[B]

Oh, wonderful, Howard. Thank you so much. Rose is perfect to sip on during the summer months here, listeners. If you have a summer cocktail that you love, give us a call, send us a text. Or if you have a question for our experts about how to make a great summer cocktail, we're here for that, too. Give us a call. We're at 21243-39692. We're talking to Kerry Jones, the food and spirits writer, and John McCarthy, the Mixolog author. We're talking about summer cocktails. 212-433-9692. Part of the work that you two do that I find especially interesting is with your veggie based cocktails. And I wanted to talk about the garden club gimlet a little bit. Carrie, you have a recipe for a garden club gimlet which you said you think of as a cocktail for the farmer's market, which I love. Tell us the origin story of this cocktail.

[C]

Well, I think there's something wonderful about particular kinds of summer produce that just you taste it and you immediately know it's summer. Like a fresh, delicate raspberry. Like really fresh corn. And fresh snap peas are one of those. One of those ingredients where you just bite into it and it's an explosion of flavor. And we thought that would be really, really fun in a cocktail.

[D]

I took a bite of one and I was like, you know, there's a little bit of sweetness here. There's just a little bit of juice. And it was like, could we juice this thing? Could we put it through an extractor? And like, how much can we get? And let's give it a shot and man, is it good.

[C]

So what we do is we just run fresh sugar snap peas through a juicer.

[D]

So you gotta have a juice extract.

[C]

You gotta have a juice extract.

[D]

Bottling isn't gonna work.

[C]

And then just gin and lime. And it's a take on the classic gimlet. But the vividness of the vegetable FL flavor is just amazing.

[D]

Super bright green. It just feels like healthy. I mean, it's got booze in it, but it feels healthy.

[B]

John. John, you talk about how the flavor, you're like, oh, I thought this would taste good. And then it tastes really good. What happens to the flavor of sugar snap peas after you've run them through a juicer? Does it change the flavor in any way?

[D]

Does it change the flavor? Well, it's not crispy anymore. There's no. That loses the snap. But it's still got the pop because it's so. Because it's so bright. The one thing about it is that it has a very short shelf life. Make it and drink it because it's going to start to degrade really, really quickly. You want to use it within an hour of making it for sure.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

We had a fun day of research and development, drinking a lot of garden club gimlets. And it Was amazing. By the time the juice was two hours old, it's. It certainly wasn't bad, but you, you lost that vibrancy of flavor.

[D]

The really like the, the pop of it. But it, man, it's good.

[B]

What happens after an hour? Does it taste more sour or it's just lose that pop that you're talking about?

[D]

It starts, it gets, it gets flat. It gets flat. I mean, it's, it still tastes like you still taste snap pee, but it's not, it's not as bright and it doesn't have the pop to it anymore. Still good, but not great.

[B]

It's really like in the moment, you are using the juicer. From juicer to cup is what you're talking about. Or glass in this case. Let's go to Linda in New Jersey. Hey, Linda. Welcome to the show.

[A]

Hey. Thank you so much. Hi, everyone. Love this topic. I have a very simple but delicious vodka citrus cocktail that I've been making for a while. I use Ciroc vodka, which is made from grapes, which I find is easier to metabolize than vodka from a wheat or potato. And plain seltzer, cold canned seltzer with a splash of roses, lime juice, and freshly squeezed organic lemon juice. And it is delightful. It is light, bright, airy. You could almost argue it's hydrating with the seltzer in it responsibly. And my absolute favorite. Yeah, right. It's a favorite of all my friends and family and they've named it after me. They call it the Miss Linda. But it's delicious.

[B]

Oh, shout out to the Miss Linda. Linda. Thank you so much for that. Let's go to Lauren in New Brunswick. Hey, Lauren. Welcome to the show.

[A]

Hi. Thank you for having me. I'm on to talk about a mocktail of sorts. Also, my favorite thing to do with leftover watermelon. So say you live alone or in a small household. You cut up a whole watermelon and you can't eat it all yourself. Throw the cubes in the freezer and when you're ready for a refreshing drink, you just put that frozen watermelon in the blender with some lime juice and mint. It's sort of an agua fresco, but like a lazy woman's agua fresco. You could add some rum or something if you want, but it's our favorite refreshing summer beverage.

[B]

Oh, wonderful. I might have to try that myself. Lauren, thanks so much. I love watermelon. A few texts here that I want to read. Shrub Cocktails, Refreshing, full of electrolytes, amino acids and Probiotics add to gin and top with club soda. And then we've also got had my first Porto tonico in Lisbon. White port, tonic and citrus. So refreshing. I want to get. We had Lauren, I believe it was, that mentioned some of the mocktail options. I want to go to some of the non alcoholic options that you all bring up. There's the portside punch. And Carrie, I'm going to throw this one to you. Portside punch is non alcoholic and great for pitchers. Tell us a little bit about it, why it's great, what its primary ingredients are.

[C]

This is a drink we absolutely love to make for parties. It is cucumber, lime and basil with some club soda. And so it's a beautiful, vibrant green color. Super refreshing. The first time we made this for a party was the morning after our uncle's wedding. And it was perfect because those who didn't want to drink alcohol could have a really lovely, refreshing green drink. And those who wanted to pour a little vodka or rum in it, they could do that too. So it's a perfect party drink because everyone can have the drink they want.

[D]

That's what happens a lot when you're using these, these fresh, making these fresh juices. The cucumber juice has the cucumber juice you want to drink with that day. You don't have to drink it right away like the snap pea, but the next day it's not going to be as bright. The same goes with the earlier caller that they're freezing their watermelon. But when you make watermelon juice, you're going to want to drink it that day because one, the next day thing, it's not that they're bad, they're just not as good as they or day of.

[B]

How do you actually make cucumber juice?

[D]

Two ways. One is either through a juicer or you can cut it up, put it in a blender with just a little bit of water to cover the bottom of the. COVID the blades and then put that through a fine mesh strainer.

[C]

Blend it and then.

[D]

Yeah, blend it and then put it through a fine mesh strainer thing.

[B]

Just whole cucumbers just laying there in the water. Kind of reverse osmosis.

[D]

And you just push it through the fine mist strain.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Very hard. Let's go. Louise in Ocean County, New Jersey, who I believe has a question. Right, Louise?

[A]

Yes. Thank you, guys. Thank you. I'm on a smoothie kick, healthy kick. I just made like for brunch, cucumbers, pears, apple juice, and I put ginger in it. You know, and just add, you know, flaxseed, stuff like that. What spirit can I put in there that's not going to ruin the total thing? But it is summer, so what, what spirit goes well with smoothies? And I'll take my answer offline. Thank you guys. Have a great day.

[B]

Luis. Thank you. John, do you want to take this one?

[D]

Sure. Well, white spirit would be my first.

[A]

Point.

[D]

Of advice. But then it's like, well, what flavor do you want to do if you don't want to adjust, if you don't want to affect your flavor at all? Vodka, because vodka, vodka is not going to change the flavor. But then if you want to get, if you want to start experimen, you can start experimenting with different gins or different rums. Rum's going to give more body to your smoothie. Vodka will thin your smoothie out a little bit. But for me, just because I want to like experiment, I would be playing with different gins to see what other flavors I could bring into the smoothie.

[B]

Wonderful. And thank you so much for that call. We've also got Beatrice in Astoria. Hey, Beatrice, welcome to the show.

[A]

Hi. Thank you. How's it going? Great.

[B]

What's your, what's your summer cocktail?

[A]

So my summer cocktail is going to be you can either use gin or vodka, but you're going to put gin or vodka, seltzer, lots of ice, and then thinly sliced cucumber, mint and a splash of lime juice. And as opposed to like a cucumber juice, this, this thinly sliced cucumber is going to really nicely kind of infuse in a subtle way into the drink and it's just super refreshing.

[B]

Sounds like you are a big fan of cucumber as well, something you have in common with our guests. Beatrice, thank you so much. Let's talk about cucumber. There's another one that I want to bring up to you too, Kerry and John, which can be alcoholic or non alcoholic, the Cucumber Collins. John, I'm going to throw this one to you. You have a drink called Cucumber Collins, which is made with, of course, cucumber juice. Tell us why cucumber. Cucumber seems to be in so many different kinds of drinks. It seems like it's a pretty versatile element, not just tasty, right?

[D]

Yeah. Well, I mean, it makes a lot of juice first of all, which is really helpful because not all vegetables are going to make a lot of juice. So it makes a lot of, there's a lot of water content in the actual vegetable and the flavor has a cooling like there's kind of when you drink cucumber juice, it feels cooling almost. So when you're having a, a lot of liquid and it feels cooling, then you can start experimenting and making drinks with it. And so I find that it's a very easy ingredient to work with and.

[C]

It also pairs well with a number of different spirits. Just it's flavor. If you want just something crisp and light, you can use vodka with works great with tequila. Cucumber margaritas are very popular for very good reason. It just, it just really is versatile and it's such a summer friendly flavor. We find that everyone gets excited about it.

[D]

And it is true with the previous caller. If you just take, make yourself a vodka soda and put a slice of cucumber in, take a sip and then put a slice of cucumber in the drink. Give it a minute, come take a sip and you're going to have a whole new drink with that, with the cucumber infused into the drink.

[A]

Now.

[B]

I love it. I'm looking at the clock. We got time for some more callers with suggestions. Let's go to Lamour in Astoria. Looks like you've got an idea with avocado, is that right?

[A]

Yes, I love avocados. But I'll say this just to start because I drink even afternoon cocktail a little more frequently during the summer. What I do is I make a erythritol simple syrup to shave some calories off my drink. So I'll infuse it with a little lemon zone. But that's just to, you know, reduce the calories on my cocktails. So I make this avocado margarita and I use pineapple juice cubes, avocado lime juice, a little orange cello and ice. And then I puree it and it becomes like this smooth creamy Slurpee, almost like the real creamy consistency. And I give the salted rim, I do a kefir lime salted rim on it. And that's my.

[B]

That sounds delicious. Lamour. I'm gonna have to pause you there just for time, but what a cool idea. Let's go to Margaret in Montclair, New Jersey, very quickly. Margaret, hi. Welcome to the show.

[A]

Hi there. Yeah, so I make, I'm a musician and when I'm on tour I don't drink. And so we'll make some mocktails. And one that I become fond of is taking grapefruit juice and sometimes I'll muddle sage into it and then I will do. Friend of mine got me some scorpion Bitters, which I actually have no clue what's in it, but it's very spicy. And we'll put some spice on top of that with maybe shake it with ice and then pour it out and it's very, very good.

[B]

Scorpion bitters. That is interesting. I love that, Carrie.

[D]

Sounds hot.

[B]

Yeah, sounds hot. Are you guys familiar with scorpion bitters?

[C]

No, but there are definitely spicy bitters out there, and that sounds like the spicier ones.

[D]

There's been an explosion in the amount of bitters that are available on the market now.

[B]

Yeah. Let's go to Tom in Clinton Hill. Tom, you got about 20 seconds. Go ahead.

[A]

Oh, what's up, guys? Yeah, I love the juicer. A Breville juicer is great. I run a bar in Clinton Hill. I'm opening my own, so I've got all this late summer flavors on my brain. What I really love right now is cantaloupe and tequila. So kind of making a cantaloupe Paloma with topo, chico, tequila, a little saline. It is incredible.

[B]

Love that, Tom. Thank you so much. We're short on time. One more question for each of you. You can answer it in a couple words or less. I want to hear favorite. Go to garnish. Carrie, let's go to you. What's your favorite garnish for summer?

[C]

Let's say mint.

[B]

John, it sounds like she took yours. Is that right?

[D]

That's what I was gonna say. I was gonna. Because it's cooling. The thing about mint sprigs, you gotta activate them. Give a little tap on your hand to break up the cells so that it releases the aroma.

[B]

Wonderful. Love the mint. Love the cucumber. I've been talking about summer cocktails with food and spirits writer Kerry Jones and mixologist John McCarthy. Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions and thank you both for hanging out with us. NYC now delivers breaking news, top headlines.

[A]

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