Afternoon
It’s late in the day and you’ve just come in from mowing the lawn. Or shoveling the sidewalk. Or swimming. Or you’ve been snug in a cozy chair, unable to move until you finish reading that book you love. These drinks will refresh you, soothe you, or pick you up when that late-afternoon slump hits.
Cherry, Ginger & Coconut Cream Ale
U-Me & Everyone We Know
Gabriella Mlynarczyk — author of Clean and Dirty Drinking
As I wrote in the introduction, Gaby Mlynarczyk made a version of this drink for me in her Los Angeles kitchen. (She has since moved back east. Lucky me!) As I drove out of the city the next morning, my tongue watered as it re-registered the salinity of umeboshi vinegar and how it intensified the watermelon juice she had pressed. It was one of the first drinks I tasted during my trip that made me think, “We have a winner!” Gaby tends to lean on her pantry: coconut butter, pumpkin seed oil, and vanilla extract are just a few of the ingredients that find their way into her drinks. “I go bonkers for anything aromatic,” she says. Me too.
Commitment LEVEL 
Serves 1
3 ounces Tomato-Watermelon Juice (recipe follows), well shaken
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoon umeboshi vinegar
½ ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
1 watermelon slice or 2 or 3 watermelon balls, for garnish
Combine the juices, vinegar, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, seal the shaker, and shake just to combine, about 3 seconds. Double-strain into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with a watermelon slice or watermelon balls.
Note You can find umeboshi vinegar, also called ume plum vinegar, at many major supermarkets (I like Eden brand), but ¼ to ½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar also works.
Tomato-Watermelon Juice
Makes 3 to 4 cups, enough for 8–10 drinks
4½ cups cubed watermelon
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, quartered
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Pass the watermelon, tomatoes, and basil through a juicer. Fine-strain the liquid into a container with a lid and discard the pulp. Cover and refrigerate the juice to chill thoroughly. (It will separate; this is okay. Just shake well before using.) Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Batch for 6 In a pitcher, stir 2¼ cups Tomato-Watermelon Juice, 3 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons umeboshi vinegar, and 3 ounces simple syrup to combine. Refrigerate to chill thoroughly (the mixture will separate; this is okay). Just before serving, stir well to combine. Serve over ice and garnish each with a watermelon slice or balls.
Grapefruit Radler
Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Clyde Common, Portland, Oregon
I’ve known Jeffrey Morgenthaler for quite some time now, and the way both of us drink has changed over the years. (Namely, we drink a lot less, if at all.) These days, Jeffrey’s post-shift reward is a nonalcoholic Radler, typically a mixture of beer and something citrusy such as lemonade. As for the beer: “I have tried them all, and I can say the greatest nonalcoholic beer in America is Busch NA.” Fighting words, but I won’t fight with Jeffrey here. That’s for the sidebar (this page).
Commitment LEVEL 
Serves 1
1½ ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce Rich Simple Syrup (this page)
1 ounce soda water
4–5 ounces nonalcoholic lager-style beer, such as Busch NA
1 lemon wedge, for garnish
Combine the juices, simple syrup, and soda water in a pint glass and fill with ice, then top with beer. Dump the mixture into either one half of a cocktail shaker or a fresh pint glass. Pour back into the first pint glass. Garnish with the lemon wedge.
Batch for 6 This works well as a pitcher drink. Rather, a two-pitcher drink, if you’re serving 6 people. A standard pitcher holds 1 quart, and since this batched version makes about 1½ cups more than that, you’ll need more than one vessel. Otherwise, just multiply the ingredients by 6 (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, 3 ounces lemon juice, 3 ounces rich simple syrup, ¾ cup chilled soda water, 3 cups nonalcoholic lager-style beer), combine them in pitchers with ice, and stir. Serve immediately.
Cherry, Ginger & Coconut Cream Ale
Melissa and Frayser Micou — Pomona, Richmond, Virginia
Pomona is the sweetest little café in Richmond’s Union Hill, owned and operated by wife-and-husband team Melissa and Frayser Micou. They serve salads, toast with chutney—and some fun, soda shop-style drinks like this one. Choose a good-quality ginger beer with some bite to balance the sweetness. See “Dairy and Dairy-ish,” this page, for more information about buying and working with coconut cream.
Commitment LEVEL
Serves 1
3 ounces ginger beer
4 ounces tart cherry juice
¼ cup Vanilla-Coconut Cream (recipe follows)
Fill a collins glass with ice, then add the ginger beer and cherry juice. Carefully spoon the coconut cream on top.
Vanilla-Coconut Cream
Makes about 1½ cups, enough for 6 drinks
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup chilled coconut cream
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, vanilla extract, and ¼ cup water and warm over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. (You should have ⅓ cup syrup.) Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ¼ cup of the vanilla syrup (save the rest for another use, such as sweetening coffee) and the coconut cream. Whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens and gets frothy, like cold pancake batter (sounds weird, but that’s what you want), about 2 minutes. (Well, it took my friend Mindy 2 minutes, but it took me 5. She’s strong!) Use immediately.
Verjus Spritz
Adam Chase — Corvino Supper Club, Kansas City, Missouri
I hate to play favorites, but this is one of my go-to recipes because all it requires is the opening and pouring of three ingredients. Plus, I’m a sucker for the soft acidity of white verjus (buy Fusion brand at chefshop.com). Since I’m being opinionated here, now might be a good time to share that I detest thin, stringy lemon twists. This garnish has been manicured: It’s peeled with a Y-peeler in order to get some real width, then trimmed on all sides, the top and bottom cut on a bias. Très chic.
Commitment LEVEL
Serves 1
2 ounces white verjus
2 ounces soda water
2 ounces tonic water
1 lemon twist, for garnish
Combine the verjus, soda water, and tonic water in a wine or spritz glass filled with ice. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Batch for 6 Combine 1½ cups verjus, 1½ cups soda water, and 1½ cups tonic water in a pitcher filled with ice. Divide among 6 wine glasses and garnish each with a lemon twist.
Get Well Soon
Jim Meehan — author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual
Jim Meehan was my first-ever boss out of college. He is a legend in the bartending world, and I had the privilege of being his assistant on Food & Wine’s 2007 cocktail guide, a book of drink recipes the magazine used to publish annually. He’s remained a supporter and a friend ever since, and now here I am, writing my own book, to which he so graciously contributed. Jim’s drink is a toddy inspired by the Master Cleanse (!), and he calls it “a post snow-shoveling cocktail.” If the flavor is too concentrated for you, simply add another ounce or two of hot water.
Commitment LEVEL
Serves 1
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ ounce Turmeric-Ginger Honey Syrup (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 clove-studded lemon wheel, for garnish
Fill a mug with hot water and let it stand for 1 to 2 minutes to warm it.
Empty the mug and fill it with the lemon juice, syrup, vinegar, pepper, and 5 ounces hot water. Stir to combine. Garnish with the clove-studded lemon wheel.
Turmeric-Ginger Honey Syrup
Makes just over ½ cup, enough for 6 drinks
1 ounce fresh turmeric juice
1 ounce fresh ginger juice
⅓ cup honey
Whisk together the juices and honey until well combined. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Batch for 6 Fill a 6- to 8-cup thermos with 3¾ cups hot water. Add ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon syrup, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Stir to combine, then divide among 6 pre-warmed mugs. Garnish each with a clove-studded lemon wheel.
The NYC Special
Lainey Collum — Pass and Provisions, Houston, Texas
Lainey Collum lives in San Francisco now, but she created this drink when she worked for the Pass and Provisions (which unfortunately closed in May 2019). For her, this drink represents the melting pot that is Houston: Vietnamese-style iced coffee inspired the use of sweetened, condensed milk; Mexican café de olla inspired the cinnamon; and, of course, there’s good old American Coca-Cola.
Commitment Level
Serves 1
1 ounce Coffee Syrup (recipe follows)
1 ounce sweetened condensed milk
4 ounces Coca-Cola
1 whole star anise pod, for garnish (optional)
Combine the syrup and condensed milk in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, seal the shaker, and shake for 10 to 15 seconds, until well chilled. Double-strain into a collins glass filled with fresh ice, then top with the Coca-Cola. Gently stir with a barspoon to incorporate. To serve, float the star anise on the foam, if using.
Coffee Syrup
Makes ¾ cup, enough for 6 drinks
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup turbinado sugar
¼ cup medium-coarse ground coffee, preferably a fruity Ethiopian blend
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 star anise pod
In a small saucepan, combine ¾ cup water with the cinnamon over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk in the sugar, coffee, and vanilla; turn the heat down to low; and gently simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the star anise, stir the mixture once, and remove from the heat. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Then fine-strain the mixture, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible, and discard the solids. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Batch for 6 You won’t get the beautiful foam from this batch method that you do when using a shaker, but it still tastes, well, insane. In a bowl, whisk together ¾ cup syrup, ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk, and ¼ cup chilled water to combine. Divide the mixture among 6 collins glasses filled with ice, then top each with 4 ounces of Coca-Cola. Gently stir with a barspoon to incorporate. Garnish each with a star anise pod, if using, and serve immediately.
Tomato Water & Mint
Matthew Kammerer — Harbor House Inn, Elk, California
I was nervous to try my hand at a beverage developed by Matthew Kammerer, who won the restaurant at the Harbor House Inn a Michelin star in 2019. During our preliminary discussion, “dried celery root skin” and “burnt leaves” came up. Then he told me about some of the ingredients he grows on the northern California property: marigold, anise hyssop, salad burnett, cypress, alyssum…I gulped. But when he handed me this recipe, which originally called for yerba buena (I subbed in mint), I thought, “I can do that.” And I did. And then I did again. And, even though I had to mail-order white soy sauce (food52.com), which, unlike regular soy sauce, won’t overpower the drink, I will make it again—for a group of friends, since the Tomato Water only keeps for a day. The refreshing, vegetal flavor makes me think of that garden at the inn, even if I could never grow and maintain what’s raised there. If your tomato is particularly sweet, level it out with more verjus or rice vinegar.
Commitment Level
Serves 1
3½ ounces Tomato Water (recipe follows)
1¾ ounces tonic water
White verjus and/or rice vinegar, as needed
1 sprig of mint, for garnish
Fill a tulip glass with crushed ice and add the tomato water. Top with the tonic water and gently stir. Adjust to taste with a little white verjus and/or rice vinegar, if needed. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Tomato Water
Makes about 1 quart, enough for 9 drinks
2½ pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅓ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
⅔ cup white verjus
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white or light soy sauce
In a blender, combine the tomatoes, salt, mint, verjus, vinegar, and soy sauce. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles a salsa.
Transfer the mixture to a medium pot. Over high heat, bring it barely to a simmer, removing it from the heat after just 5 to 8 seconds. Line a strainer with 2 to 3 layers of cheesecloth and place the strainer over a bowl or large measuring cup. Strain the liquid into the bowl, wait 5 to 10 seconds, then set the strainer (still containing the solids) atop a clean container. Pour the already-strained liquid back over the solids in the strainer and let the liquid drip through until you have 3½ to 4 cups tomato water, about 45 minutes. The resulting liquid should be almost clear with a hint of gold. Discard the solids.
Refrigerate the tomato water until it’s thoroughly chilled. Freshness of flavor declines quickly, so use it within 1 day.
Batch for 8 Fill 8 tulip glasses with crushed ice. Combine 3½ cups Tomato Water and 2 cups tonic water in a pitcher and gently stir. Adjust to taste with a little white verjus and/or rice vinegar, if needed. Divide among the 8 glasses and garnish each with 1 mint sprig.
Blackberry Cold Brew Colada
Anders Lehto — Hudson Hill, Denver, Colorado
This is such an easy, cheery coffee drink to serve for brunch, but it’s also a great three p.m. pick-me-up treat. You just need one day of planning ahead to toss the fruit with the cold brew concentrate and let it work its magic. If you don’t use it all up, the infused coffee keeps for two days and is delicious with just milk. (I’ve been known to prepare a six-person batch purely for myself, and while you don’t need my permission to follow suit, I am still giving it. Enjoy yourself, you know?)
Commitment Level
Serves 1
3 ounces strained Blackberry-Infused Cold Brew (recipe follows)
1 ounce plain unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon coconut cream (see “Dairy and Dairy-ish,” this page)
1 orange twist, for garnish
Combine the cold brew, almond milk, and coconut cream in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, seal the shaker, and shake for 10 to 15 seconds, until well chilled. Double-strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with the orange twist.
Blackberry-Infused Cold Brew
Makes 2¼ cups, enough for 6 drinks
2¼ cups blackberries
¾ cup thinly sliced navel orange
½ cup sugar
2¼ cups cold-brew coffee concentrate
Combine the blackberries, orange slices, and sugar in a medium bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. (This step is important! The sugar draws out the liquid from the fruit, and that’s what will ultimately flavor the coffee.) Add the cold-brew coffee concentrate and stir to combine. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Fine-strain and discard the fruit. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Note The coffee-soaked fruit is actually…really good. So, if you don’t want to chuck it, reserve it in a separate container in the fridge after straining the cold brew. Toss a blackberry and an orange slice into the cocktail shaker when shaking your Colada, then pour it, without straining, into a rocks glass. The bitterness of the orange peel will have been tempered a bit, and the bits of blackberry pop in your mouth as you drink.
Lorca
Pam Haner — W.C. Harlan, Baltimore, Maryland
“Smart drink!” my friend Adeena messaged after I posted this recipe on Instagram. Granted, Adeena lives in Tel Aviv and loves anything with tahini in it, but she was right: There’s a smart balance going on here. The tahini is nutty; the kefir, or lightly fermented milk, lengthens the drink and balances the tahini with its sour notes; and the honey syrup rounds it all out with a slightly floral sweetness. I think of this (smart!) drink as a sophisticated milkshake.
Commitment LEVEL
Serves 1
3 ounces plain kefir
1 ounce raw honey syrup (see method for Honey Syrup, this page)
1 sprig of mint, for garnish
Combine the kefir, honey syrup, and tahini in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, seal the shaker, and shake for 10 to 15 seconds, until well chilled. Double-strain into a tulip glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Batch for 6 Combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons kefir, ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon honey syrup, 3 ounces tahini, and 2 cups of ice in a blender and pulse once or twice, just to combine. Divide among 6 tulip glasses and garnish each with a mint sprig.
I’ve Been Drinking
Limone e Sale
Bill Jensen, co-owner of Tail Up Goat in Washington, D.C., fell in love with what he calls “the original electrolyte beverage” in Sicily.
My wife and I were traveling in Italy before opening Tail Up Goat, and we stopped in Catania, which is in the shadow of Mount Etna on the eastern side of Sicily. Everything is made with black, volcanic rock, and we were there in August, so it was radiating heat. Off of the central square, you can find snack stalls and soda fountains, where they load up a glass with seltzer, squeeze the lemon juice in fresh, and then grab a mess of sea salt with a barspoon and stir it in.
Like most professional winos, I’m an acid freak, but I’m also a salt freak. People underestimate the importance of salt, especially in drinks.
We serve limone e sale at the restaurant now: six ounces of club soda, one ounce of lemon juice, and a half teaspoon of flaky sea salt. Stirring is hugely important, but I also think part of the fun is testing your tolerance: The drink gets progressively saltier as you move down. It’s divisive, but if one of our guests doesn’t like it, I’ll just take it off their check. I’m not taking it off the menu!
Nectar of the Gods
Minetta Gould — Lady Jane, Denver, Colorado
Brine and soda is a funkier, saltier, but equally simple alternative to syrup and soda. (Read Gyst fermentation center co-owner, Mel Guse, on the combination on this page.) With this recipe, Minetta Gould kicks brine and soda up a notch, adding citrus juice to the mix and using jarred Sweety Drops, which are pickled Peruvian peppers. Peppadews, sweet cherry peppers, or even bread-and-butter pickles could work, too, but I recommend reducing or even omitting the simple syrup if you go the latter route.
Commitment Level
Serves 1
2 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce sweet pickle brine
½ ounce Simple Syrup (this page)
5–6 ounces soda water
1 grapefruit slice or pickle, for garnish
Combine the juices, brine, and simple syrup in a collins glass and stir to combine. Add ice and top with soda water, gently stirring once more. Garnish with the grapefruit slice or pickle.
Batch for 6 Combine 1½ cups grapefruit juice, ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 ounces brine, and 3 ounces simple syrup in a pitcher and stir to combine. Add ice and top with 3¾ cups soda water, gently stirring once more. Divide among 6 collins glasses, adding more soda water if you wish. Garnish each with a grapefruit slice or pickle.
Note You could keep a batch of the base (the juices, syrup, and brine) in the fridge for a couple weeks without losing much integrity. Just top with soda water to serve.
Don’t Touch My Car Keys
Shelby Allison — Lost Lake, Chicago, Illinois
The Pearl Diver is a classic Tiki glass, and when I look at it, I think sugar—especially if there’s no alcohol to temper the sweetness of the juices and syrups that are part of the Tiki tradition. This drink, though, tastes more like coconut La Croix with bitters, except it has a silkier mouthfeel. You do need some special equipment: either a spindle drink mixer or a swizzle stick to aerate the liquid. I go for a full halo of bitters, meaning I soak the top of the ice until I see a shallow reddish-brown layer. Remember, though, that some bitters contain alcohol. See this page for other options.
Commitment LEVEL
Serves 1
1½ ounces Coconut Syrup (recipe follows)
¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
3 ounces soda water
5 dashes or more of aromatic bitters, such as Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters or Angostura
1 sprig of mint, for garnish
Fill a Pearl Diver or collins glass with crushed ice. Add the syrup, lime juice, and soda water. Using a single-spindle drink mixer, aerate the drink for 5 seconds. If you’re using a swizzle stick, you’ll need to work a little harder: Look for a frost to form on the glass, which should take around 20 seconds. (It all depends on how vigorously you swizzle.) Finish with the bitters and garnish with the mint sprig.
Coconut Syrup
Makes about 2¾ cups, enough for 14 drinks
1 13½-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups turbinado sugar
In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk and sugar and set over medium-low heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (It will separate; this is okay. Just shake well before using.)