The Summer Line-up

The summer has officially started. Aside from barbeques and beach trips, this weather also calls for some of the best cocktails around, featuring seasonal flavor profiles and refreshing fruit juices.

I tried Three Olives Mango vodka for the first time at Sick Boys Bad Habit Lounge in Daytona. While this biker bar didn’t maximize the full potential of the spirit (I had mine with ginger ale, and even that smelled like cigarette smoke), it was enough to get me hooked on the mango flavor. I continued working with Three O Mango in Florida and found that it mixes extremely well with almost any other fruit flavor. You really can’t go wrong. It's also sweeter, smoother and not as overpowering as other Three O flavors (Bubble or Root Beer). That said, here are four cocktails to start off Summer 2011.

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1 ½ oz Three O Mango
¾ oz PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1 ½ oz ginger ale

Build ingredients over ice in a rocks glass. Serve with a swizzle straw.

Blue Hawaiian Cosmo
¾ oz Three O Mango
¾ oz Cruzan Pineapple Rum
¾ oz Blue Curacao
1 ½ oz white cranberry juice
¼ oz fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Summer in the Sunshine State
1 ½ oz Three O Mango
¾ DeKuyper Peachtree
1 ¾ oz orange juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Polynesian Sangria
1 part Three O Mango
1 part pineapple juice
2 parts Chardonnay
Slices of strawberries, chunks of pineapple and mango

Combine chilled liquids and fruit in a pitcher and stir. Let mixture sit (covered) in refrigerator overnight to maximize fruit flavors.

“I’ll have a spicy tuna roll and a vodka soda…..actually, make that Skyy Ginger and soda”

I first heard about Skyy Infusions Ginger vodka last April when I read Gail Ciampa’s review of the spirit in the Providence Journal. I was particularly excited for the chance to create cocktails that I could pair with one of my favorite dishes – sushi.

Everyone knows that ginger and sushi go great together, but I usually avoid the pickled pink root when it’s on my plate, finding it to be too strong. Now I can compliment my barbeque eel and avocado with a ginger flavored beverage. Here are five refreshing original recipes.

Sushi With My Girls
Although I don’t have the upbringing or the educational background to be a real sushette, I’m pretty addicted to this site. While a Ginger vodka soda is the obvious choice if you’re counting calories, this recipe will pair perfectly with your California Roll.

1 ½ oz Skyy Ginger
¾ oz sake
1 ¾ oz pineapple juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Cucumber Ginger Martini
At the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom, one of our signature dishes was a cucumber ginger salad. That inspired this cocktail.

1 ½ oz Skyy Ginger
¾ oz dry vermouth
small chunks of cucumber

Muddle cucumber. Add ice, vodka, and vermouth. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh cucumber wheel. (While I am normally a fan of stirring traditional martinis, this needs to be shaken to better release the cucumber flavor.)

Ginger Rogers
Like a Roy Rogers. But with alcohol.

1 ½ oz Skyy Ginger
4 oz Coca-Cola
Dash of grenadine

Build ingredients in a high ball glass over ice. Garnish with a cherry.

Raspberry Ginger Lemonade

1 ½ oz Skyy Ginger
4 oz lemonade
6-8 raspberries

Muddle raspberries. Add ice, vodka and lemonade. Shake and strain into a high ball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with two additional fresh raspberries.

Ginger Gitters

1 oz Skyy Ginger
1 oz X-Rated Fusion liqueur
Champagne to fill

Chill ingredients beforehand. Build in a champagne flute.