No. 116: July/August 2025

Summer days have their own kind of equilibrium. There’s the bright spark of morning sun and the refreshing touch of a cool breeze while sipping coffee in the yard or out walking the dog. Then comes the day’s full energy, with the sky’s brilliance and the escalating heat index making sunglasses and iced tea both essentials until evening—to be repeated again and again, day after day, until September eventually rolls around.

A summer drinks strategy requires similar balance. Bright flavors and light spirits are natural summer essentials, but deeper, rounder flavors help bring symmetry to the season. For our annual summer drinks coverage, this year we’re venturing to the dark side to show how the rich character of bourbon, scotch, and other whiskies—typically favorites for winter and fall—can form the basis for warm-weather cocktails that sing.

If your summer experience is anything like mine, then the morning is incomplete if it doesn’t include a colorful blur of berries, cherries, or peaches, or a small mountain of watermelon chunks with a light dusting of Tajín. A bowl of fresh fruit is amazing, of course, but what if—and stay with me here—someone took summer’s fruit storm and turned it into well-made wine? Betsy Andrews explores exactly that subject for this issue, as vintners from Maine to California increasingly venture beyond the grapevine.

If your plans take you to an amusement park this summer and you find yourself hankering for more than cotton candy and funnel cake, then you need to check out Josh Bernstein’s feature on brewers who are adding an extra pint or two of fun to Funland. And if sitting in the shade next to a taco truck with a couple of tacos al pastor and an ice-cold Jarritos sounds like your ideal summer day, read Jacob Dean’s exploration of the history of the iconic soda.

Of course, nothing beats summer’s heat like a tall, cold glass of buttermilk. Okay, maybe that one’s a hard sell for some folks—but buttermilk has long formed the basis of cooling drinks for cultures all over the world. Matt Rowley takes us on a historical tour of buttermilk beverages from around the globe.

We’ve also got Wayne Curtis’ brain-freeze bonanza in his coverage of how every frozen drink in Louisiana somehow became a frozen Daiquiri, an introduction to New Orleans bartender and educator Geoffrey Wilson, and Emily Saladino making a big dill out of visiting the herb patch for summer cocktails. And, finally, what do Corona beer, Havana Club rum, and the city of Buenos Aires have in common? Check out Alf del Portillo’s essay about what he’s learned in his life as a Basque migrant bartender. Happy summer!