Beverages

This refreshing beverage makes the most of peak-of-the-season strawberries. Look for the best you can find. You can skip the rose water, but its delicate flavor goes really well with berries and will add something special.

Refreshing! And potentially debilitating, so be careful. Pitmaster Furman uses Lawn Dart ginger-lemon liqueur, but Absolut Citron will work.

Served in a can of ginger beer, this tart, pleasantly bitter drink is as well-balanced as a complex cocktail.

Adding bourbon and Campari to cherry cola makes for a sweet, spicy, and refreshing backyard drink.

This refreshing grapefruit and tequila cocktail, served right in the can, is refreshing, subtly sweet, and salty.

This spin on the gimlet uses shaved fennel and muddled arugula, which gives it an anise-and-pepper flavor that’s ideal for serving with seafood or light pasta dishes.

This easy, gingery cocktail can be made with gin or vodka. No blackberries on hand? Sub in any fresh or frozen berries.

This fragrant and refreshing strawberry-gin drink has a secret ingredient: a dollop of unsweetened Greek yogurt, which gives the cocktail a tangy flavor and subtly creamy texture.

Simplifying the traditional dessert baba au rhum (sweet, yeasted cakes soaked in rum) with store-bought brioche makes it no less an impressive way to end an evening.

The crunchy almond cookies replace soft smushy ladyfingers for a welcome twist on the classic dessert.

This frothy salted Turkish yogurt drink is endlessly refreshing.

This sparkling alcohol-free drink—sweetened with a ginger and coconut-sugar syrup—is the perfect way to feel refreshed on a summer day.

Spicy sausage, farro, and leeks simmer with white wine and herbs. A scattering of fresh radishes and scallions makes this simple dinner feel fresh and springy.