Beverages

This is an impressive three-layered popsicle. Make sure each layer is completely frozen before adding the next, as it looks great when the layers are really well defined.

A Confederacy of Dunces (1980)
By John Kennedy Toole Originally handwritten on piles of paper, A Confederacy of Dunces found life only after its author lost his own; John Kennedy Toole committed suicide, his mother found those secret pages, and she began hawking the thing around their home state of Louisiana, claiming it was the next great American novel. (Sorry, guys: sometimes moms are right.) Now a universally adored Pulitzer-winner starring a brilliant New Orleans nut with a heart of odd, this classic goes best with another: the Big Easy's own Sazerac. Raise a glass to the tragically shortchanged Toole—and everything else he might have written.

Use the whole mint sprigs, stalks included, for a good minty hit.

The recipe for this tiki party crowd-pleaser (and I do mean a crowd!) is courtesy of Martin Cate, owner of Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco. This can be served in several bowls placed throughout a party area or one enormous vessel.

I encourage rolling up your sleeves and using your hands to mix these spices—it helps to capture a feeling of nostalgia for cooking.

If you don't have a punch bowl, do what van Boven does: "Use a big glass vase—it's nice and tall and doesn't take up too much space on your table."

For a zippier, more refreshing cocktail (that's what summer drinks are about, right?), it's all in the wrist. Muddling extracts essential oils to deliver maximum herb impact. Tarragon flavors the boozy lemonade here, but basil makes an excellent sub. And while muddled mint is essential to a Mojito, you won't believe what it can add to a Margarita. Shake up a few and see.

We call this a Persian Kir Royale—and can think of no better way to start a meal. This recipe yields more syrup than you'll need; use the surplus for fruity nonalcoholic spritzers or drizzle it over ice cream.

Spiced tea and sweetened condensed milk are the keys here.

This cocktail is from Ashley Christensen's Fox Liquor Bar in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This lime- and cilantro-infused cocktail will appeal to both Gimlet and Martini drinkers. We like to use Tanqueray for its strong juniper and spice profile.

Why buy bottles of grenadine when it's so easy to make at home, the natural way? This garnet-hued, sweetly piquant syrup is a great addition to any number of beverages for both its color and its flavor—and it makes a delicious soda on its own, too. Use high-quality bottled pomegranate juice, or make your own.

A basic, must-have ingredient for the serious soda crafter, ginger syrup is an excellent starter recipe. Stirred into a glass of icy seltzer, it makes a zingy, invigorating soda with just enough bite to be interesting. As a building block for more complicated drink blends, this syrup adds depth with its warm spice and clean citrus note. For a more traditional ginger syrup that will make a classic ginger ale, omit the lemon zest.

A blend of rums, exotic juices, liqueurs, aromatic spices, absinthe, and trepidation. One from the Soulshakers' greatest hits collection, this drink has been honed to a lethal edge over the past eight years at Gaz's Rocking Blues at London's Notting Hill Carnival and the Glastonbury Festival in southwest England.

The name egg cream is misleading—in actuality, the soda fountain classic contains no eggs and no cream. The three winning elements are milk, flavored syrup, and seltzer. For an icy beverage like top soda jerks used to craft, it's best to frost glasses in the freezer.

Some describe the flavor of lemon verbena as a cross between a very subtle licorice and camphor. I love it for its lemony finish. Herbal and bright, it's sometimes used in cooking as a replacement for oregano. As a soda flavor, lemon verbena is modern and crisp, with an herbal complexity. It's great as a stand-alone drink for cocktail hour and as a complement to light, simple meals.

Not quite so popular these days, this style of cocktail demands a steady hand to layer the ingredients, starting with the densest and ending with the least dense, to create the drink's snazzy colored stripes. The pousse-café glass is a specific vessel, but try it in a champagne flute or another glass you have to hand before you invest in extra equipment.

Legend has it that a bartender at Chasen's, the famous West Hollywood gathering place for entertainment luminaries, created the eponymous cocktail for "Little Curly Top," the star of Bright Eyes, Little Miss Marker, and The Littlest Rebel. Necessarily nonalcoholic, the drink's appeal to children may lie in the brightly colored, candy-sweet maraschino cherry garnish.

This is a twist on the Margarita and uses Japanese matcha for a modern feel. The finely milled green tea brings a touch of Zen to the cocktail ceremony.

If you want a real taste of Cuba, you have to start with a mojito. Rum, lime juice, mint…you've got the drink of Hemingway in your hands. For a delicious spin on the classic, try this version. Sweet, tart, and bursting with fruity flavor, blackberries are an outstanding addition.