HAVE SUMMER THAT!

Summer is a season when people call out for long, refreshing drinks, but there is plenty more experimentation and innovation for bartenders to enjoy, writes Charlie Whitting.

Put simply, the ideal summer cocktail is one that overcomes the blazing sun and the stifling heat to bring cool refreshment. Within that requirement, however, there is plenty of scope to bring twists to the table.

And while there is a plethora of classic drinks that guests expect during the warmer months – and bartenders shouldn’t ignore these – a little bit of experimentation can go a long way to making that classic summer drinking experience more special, and something worthy of telling other people about.

“Classic summer drinks would be your Aperol spritz, Margarita, Mojito, Caprioska etc.,” says Mitch Townsend, bar manager at Beneath Driver Lane in Melbourne. “I like to think more along the lines of a Jungle Bird, Fog Cutter, Naked and Famous, Old Cuban – slight twists on classic cocktails. It’s not hard to change a few ingredients in a classic to make it fresh and seasonal.”

The first thing to get right with summer cocktails though is to make them cold. Ice is critical for most cocktails, but in summer this need is even more acute. Be prepared to go through enormous quantities of ice with long mixed drinks, tall cocktails and even soft drinks, and maybe even use your ice as another way to create a talking point among customers.

“There’s a huge movement in the ice business,” says Jason Crawley, director of The Drink Cabinet. “There are quite a few start-ups now. One bar serves every drink with a Collins Spear – a huge rectangle block of ice they put into an undersized highball so the top sticks out on top. It’s quite a thing. Bars across the board have moved to better quality ice in their drinks.”

SUMMER SEASONALITY

Seasonality is an oft-cited trope within cooking and cocktail circles, and with good reason. Appropriate ingredients can speak to customers more than a clever name, eliciting Proustian responses through aromas, tastes and even colours. Australia is blessed with an array of seasonal produce, often unique to the island, and these can be used to great effect, bringing cocktails to life in totally new ways.

Beneath Driver Lane’s signature Dark ‘n’ Stormy

Longer drinks are generally more desirable in summer, giving bartenders a playground where syrups and liqueurs, fruits and flowers, and smells and smoke can delight and intrigue. And while clear spirits have clear sunshine connections, there’s no need to relegate whiskies and rums to the background – indeed, a look at the cocktails of the Caribbean should provide plenty of inspiration.

“We’re starting to see people are becoming more playful with single malts and blended whiskies to enjoy those longer beverages,” says Lauren Mote, Diageo Reserve global ‘cocktailian’. “The whiskies are so complex and interesting you don’t want to fiddle with them too much. But a simple highball is just excellent.” But your thinking needn’t be limited to seasonally appropriate ingredients. Why not consider every aspect of summer? Scour your mind for aromas, memories and activities that bring that season to mind, and then run with that. Getting the right ingredient is one thing, but what you do with it from there can add whole new dimensions to your cocktail menu.

“There’s a lot of stuff I saw using unexpected aromas,” says Joe McCanta, global brand ambassador for Grey Goose. “Smoke for instance. When I think of summer, I think of barbecues or fires on the beach. Utilising that and capturing that is interesting. I know a lot of guys who were smoking teas or using ways to smoke ingredients that you wouldn’t normally think of.”

CHRISTMAS DOWN UNDER

The southern hemisphere has a unique approach to Christmas, with festivities taking place in the height of summer, but with those classic northern hemisphere tropes of snow and Santa still playing an important role. For bartenders, then, the challenge is to bring that classic Christmas feel to the table without descending into wintry flavours like nutmeg and cinnamon. Red and green are the traditional Christmas colours, and handily green can also be a bright summery shade.

“Pine is a really Christmas flavour,” says McCanta. “It has great aroma and there are lots of ways of using pine in drinks. Lots of gins have pine as a botanical. It’s good and keeps things green as well. Herbs as well – rosemary and lavender. Capturing that is a good way of straddling the divide of wanting to be Christmas-y but also wanting that nod to summer as well.”

CATCH THE EYE

As well as experimenting with taste and smell, summer is also a time to dazzle the eyes. In the bright lights of summer, your drinks will have a greater opportunity to shine, so you should aim to make them as eye- catching and alluring as possible. Funky, even overblown garnishes and big bright colours will get people ordering what they’ve seen and sharing it on social media.

“Classic mixers such as tonic and soda coupled with fresh garnishes, citrus, strawberries and mint are eye catching and cater to the refreshing moment consumers seek as the days heat up,” says Oli Dos Remedios, marketing manager at Pernod Ricard Australia, Spirits. “Driven by Instagram culture, consumers are continuing to seek visually appealing cocktails to share with friends.”

“The look of it is massively important,” adds Jason Crawley, director of The Drinks Cabinet. “Look at the frosé last summer. The Grounds has built a business on visuals – it’s the fourth most Instagrammed thing in Australia. Visual sells, mate!”

Summer is an evocative season with plenty of sounds, smells and tastes for bartenders to bring to life in their drinks. With a readymade list of classics, the opportunities are there to play with flavours and designs to create something truly memorable that also slakes the thirst and pacifies the heat.

SUMMER THEMES TO CONSIDER

COLD BREW: “I think we’re starting to see lots of cocktails that are utilising cold brew coffee and cold tea,” says Lauren Mote, Diageo Reserve global ‘cocktailian’. “They’re adding really interesting flavours that we haven’t considered in the past. This Must Be The Place in Sydney, they’re doing fun things with kombucha that they’re fermenting in the bar, which is giving them different options and flavour profiles to play with.”

FLOWERS: “In summer, play with flowers, elderflower and liqueurs like crème de violet,” recommends Joe McCanta, global brand ambassador for Grey Goose. “I love using sugar snap peas in drinks. It’s so green and fresh and delicious. It’s not something you’d think about in a cocktail, but it makes great drinks.”

PINK: “Vodka and other white spirits are in growth, driven by the rise of pink cocktails,” says Oli Dos Remedios, marketing manager at Pernod Ricard Australia. “With a variety of pink spirits and mixers available that open the door to exciting and vibrant new cocktails, the pink trend is unlikely to slow.”