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.

535
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.