Cold Drink

Why you'll make it: Because it's an all-purpose refresher — drink it straight, top with sparkling water, or spike with vodka, gin, or tequila.

Those abstaining from the cocktails will appreciate this equally refreshing use of basil and lemon, two flavors that pair beautifully.

This fragrant twist on the gimlet cocktail gets its clean green notes not from lime juice but from fresh basil. For extra glamour and aroma, tuck small sprigs of additional basil into each glass.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Kimberly Kennedy's The Art and Craft of Entertaining. The first time I made these delicious nonalcoholic drinks, they were a big success — the guest of honor had at least four! For twelve guests, I'd prepare the exact recipe below; it can be halved or otherwise divided for a different of number guests. For twelve guests, it's likely that the fourth bottle would remain in the refrigerator, but it's always better to have more than you need, plus the cider keeps for a long time. If you have time and ripe peaches are in season, pit, peel, and purée peaches to make the sweetest of all peach purées.

This is the easy way to make ginger beer, where the ginger is simply soaked — just slightly fermented — for 24 hours (another method requires up to a five-day fermentation). Ginger beer is one of Jamaica's most popular soft drinks and is sold practically everywhere, from the supermarket to roadside stands. This drink is wonderfully refreshing. If the ginger heat is too much, tame it with more crushed ice and some club soda.

This drink was featured as a Cocktail of the Month.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Andrew Irving's book, How to Cure a Hangover. For those who don't like alcohol the morning after. The Pussyfoot Cocktail contains all the old favorite juices and is a classic hangover cure.

Editor's note: This recipe was created by Erika Lenkert, author of the book, The Last-Minute Party Girl: Fashionable, Fearless, and Foolishly Simple Entertaining. For Lenkert's tips on throwing a last-minute New Year's Eve party, click here. I adore this cocktail recipe because it's refreshing, pretty, and has subtly mint and cucumber flavors that will keep everyone guessing at exactly what's in it. You can dress it up for an evening fete by straining it and serving it up with edible gold or silver flecks as it is done here, or dress it down by throwing everything — mint, cucumber slices, and all — into a serving pitcher. Best of all, you can skip squeezing limes all day by using limeade concentrate. Shhhh. It'll be our secret.

This traditional Italian liqueur looks beautiful in decorative glass bottles that show off its bright-yellow color. For added effect, tuck in some lemon leaves, which are available at many florist shops (just be sure to wash them well before blanching). If you're giving the limoncello as a gift, you'll want to start it well in advance, since it requires a week of steeping. It's best drunk cold, so you may want to refrigerate the bottle before handing it over, in case the recipient wants to crack it open on the spot. It's also delicious poured over fresh strawberries.

A sweet blackberry syrup mellows mouth-puckering limes in an intensely fruity (and kid-friendly) drink.

To call this bracing pink drink a rhubarb-infused ginger ale doesn't do it justice; it's much less syrupy-sweet and more cooling. The slightly tart flavor of rhubarb pairs well with lush picnic dishes.

Don't stress if you can't stop your Self from sipping this lip-smacking shake: One glass provides more than 60 percent of your RDA for bone-building calcium. Another perk: The rich chocolate taste is strong enough to satisfy even your most intense cravings. Milk shakes — they do a body good.

Alicia Silverstone, who follows an organic vegan diet, sips this nutritious elixir, which personal chef and friend Lesa Carlson mixes for many of the star's private affairs. It's a tasty health potion: The mint, fresh peach juice, and honey deliver cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Sunday snack. From Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona. A (barely detectable!) hit of flaxseed oil transforms this smoothie into a treat for your digestive system. (Flaxseed aids regularity.) The oil is rich in healthful omega-3 fatty acids.

This variation on the classic Piña Colada is served at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico; it's finished with a dark rum float for extra flavor.

Lime cordial is a mixture of sweet limeade syrup and beer, club soda, or seltzer, in a ratio of about 3 parts syrup to 1 part beer or soda (the syrup by itself can also be properly called lime cordial). The wonderfully refreshing drink both complements and tames intense spices.