The drinks of summer
Pamela Vandyke Price
Summer drinks can really only be categor- ised by those who are certain of being able to sip them on patio or by pool. In Britain as she is acclimatised, refreshments may have to act as coolers by the herbaceous border and, within minutes, provide warmth when twice as many people as can be comfortable wedge themselves into a sodden marquee, sink hock-deep in mud during the announcement of the Good Cause being feted or speech of the best man, the ice buckets being taken over for baling.
When in doubt, champagne is the sure safe choice — 'In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it' — and the Jubilee wines made for 1977 certainly merit attention, Bollinger's 1966 RD (Recently disgorged) being one of the most beautiful wines made even by that great establishment, with a nineteenth-century-style label that would make the bottle a good souvenir too. Still, at about £9 a bottle (from many good mer- chants, including Andre Simon, 50 Elizabeth Street, SW1), it may be too spe- cial a treat for more than one or two friends. Among the many sparklers of Catalonia are definite quality bargains: the Codorniu range cost from just over £2 to just under £3 (from Laymont and Shaw, Falmouth, Cornwall), the Freixerlet sparklers are a lit- tle lower in price, around £2 (from The Bacchus Wine Co, 36 Kensington Church St, W8) and the Jean Perico £1.98 from Christophers, Ormond Yard, SW1. All are made by the champagne process but each deserves appraisal in its own right — they are not just fizzes that substitute for 'the real thing' in mixtures and cups.
Alsace wines are also still bargains and, if you want something distinctive for buffet food, a Gewiirztraminer, with its definite aroma and fullish flavour, is the choice that will generally please. Again, they are not in any way substitutes for German wines — but these, in my view, need to be in the higher price ranges than the term 'party' can
1
include, if they are to achieve true quality; thanks to recent vintages, German wines are predominantly fine — and consequently not cheap, As summer party food tends to be salady, I think that rosé wines are not a good idea most are too light in character. But Italian reds are excellent with most of the regular buffet recipes and they, too, are not expen- sive; if you can, buy the large-sized bottles, which effect an additional saving, but, as they're awkward to handle in the two-litre sizes, it's an idea to decant them into jugs and carafes to avoid spills. They, like the run-of-the-mill Spanish reds, are ideal for contemporary versions of our ancestor's `claret cups' or Sangria, when tennis, cro- quet or cricket parties needed thirsts quenching rather than spirits raising. They look pretty, too. Rather dullish cheap white wines can be made into excellent warm weather drinks via the oddly-named Kalte Ente, or Cold Duck — nothing to do with the ready-mixed branded drink of the US. You simply combine two bottles of still white wine (dryish) with one bottle of sparkling (which needn't be champagne method).
The 'bowie' type of jug with an interior column for ice holds exactly three bottles, but, as it's expensive and heavy, the mixture can be made in any large jug or jugs; add the sparkling wine only just before serving.
For smaller-scale summer parties, some- thing vaguely 'exotic can be a fun drink, although it's wise to have plain white wine for those hesitant of spirits and mixes. Per- nod is very much a tipple favoured by the young in Britain, although I can't follow their liking for combining it with 'coke' and similar things — the classic addition of water seems all it needs. Fora variation, you could offer the `Tomate', a Corsican cocktail, pas- tis with grenadine, which does look exactly like tomato juice. The Daiquiri is a more familiar cocktail, but the combination of white rum with any citrus fruit is always successful and it might be an idea to have several fruit juices and fizzy waters, includ- ing coke and tonic, and let people exper- iment with their own mixer.
Ouzo and the other white spirit, tequila, are also to be recommended as pre-prandial drinks when fairly highly spiced cold food is to be served, possibly with a Greek or simi- larly gutsy Mediterranean wine. With ouzo there should always be something to nibble — stuffed vine leaves, slivers of the feta cheese available at Greek and Cypriot delicatessens, and of course olives. Tequila, traditionally taken neat, is a good base for a type of Sangria: put the juice of a lemon, the sliced fruit of two oranges, a sliced peach and twists of orange and lemon peel into a jug with ice and 3-5 drops of Angostura Aromatic Bitters; to this add a bottle of a robust red wine, plus 2-3 wine glasses of tequila and top with soda water. Sauza is the brand of tequila possibly best known, but there are others. If (ideally out of doors) anyone fancies they can drink tequila in the old style, they put a little salt on the join of the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, then suck a slice of fresh lime, after which they strike the reflex on the left wrist so that the salt jumps up into the mouth — and the tequila is downed in a gulp. Much practise essential, even for those Mexicans whose fathers would have been ashamed to be seen merely sipping the national spirit.
Vodka is the foundation for a really excel- lent 'brunch' drink, the Bullshot. It arouses the same furious arguments as the martini among its devotees. I make mine by pouring a double measure over ice in a fair-sized tumbler, shaking on a few drops of Angos- tura, a grind of black pepper, a pinch of sesame salt (no tabasco or Worcester sauce for me, but this is for the individual to decide) and topping with well-chilled Campbell's beef consomme. Americans often say Campbell's bouillon should be used, but, with the consommé, you have a drink that doubles as a first course — allow one can per person. This is also one way of using up those cut glass tumblers or goblets that are useless for fine wine but which one dare not ,give away in case the donor is a guest.
But the interesting old drink very much in vogue now is vermouth, without spirits, as it was originally drunk, Every vermouth house makes a different style, so a com- parative tasting of, say, Martini, Ric- cadonna, Noilly Prat, in their ranges, plus possibly the delicate Chambery, could be an idea for a slightly more serious than usual party. There are endless variations: half and half dry and sweet is a 'Count Rossi'. Ver- mouth cassis has a drop of cassis liqueur in the glass — and a spoonful of the Alpine- flavoured Chamberyzette, topped with a sparkling wine, is a luxury version.
And, nowadays, everyone knows about Kir, the Burgundy aperitif named for the late Canon Kir, Mayor of Dijon and Resis- tance hero. Originally — and, to my mind, at its best — it is made with cassis and Bour- gogne Al igote, but you can substitute a full- ish, dryish white wine from elsewhere if you wish. (No Rieslings or anything delicate.) What can make a very ordinary white wine into a first-rate Kir is good cassis; only a teaspoonful per glass need be used. But although there are many branded cassis liqueurs available, the outstanding one, to my mind, is that of Trenel Fils. This bears a vintage because, Monsieur Trend says, the spirit begins to consume the fruitiness after the currant (sorry) year. Not cheap — but if you use it, you can economise on the white wine and everyone will ask for the secret, as I've proved in making friends do 'blind' Kir tastings. The 1976 Creme de Cassis of Tre- nel Fils costs £4.37 from 0. W. Loeb, 15 Jermyn St, SW1.
Previous page
