Bellini, Daly, and Margarita With or Without Salt.

Some of the new twists to our favorite classics.

The summer is full of traditional summer nights with yummy family recipes and classic libations. The weather heats up, and our urge to create tasty, refreshing icy beverages seems to chirp inside us like the crickets, frogs, and possibly buzzin’ cicadas at night.

Summer traditions start over the campfires and backyard chats. Most of these family stories begin with a story “Once an Upon A Time,” “One day while playing insert favorite summer recreation,” or

“Yes, I like piña coladas

And gettin’ caught in the rain

I’m not much into health food

I am into champagne”

Here are the recipes and tales behind some of our favorite summer beverages.

The Bellini; Once A Upon A Time in Venice.

As recalled by Giuseppe Cipriani’s son, Arrigo, in the book “Harry’s Bar: The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark” in 1948, the Bellini is named after the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. He is the man to thank for one of the world’s great pre-noon cocktails. “I had no idea at the time that the pink glow my father had so admired in one of Bellini’s paintings would be the inspiration for his famous cocktail,” “He experimented by puréeing small white peaches and adding some Prosecco. Those who tested it gave it rave reviews. So he named it the Bellini, and from that day on, the pink champagne drink became part of the Harry’s Bar culture.”

John Daly; On time at the 19th Hole with Arnold Palmer

Have you seen the 30 for 30 Shorts on ESPN? The golfer Arnold Palmer used to order half lemonade and half iced tea, and named they were named soon later for him. Some have told the story of once being on the 19th hole and hearing, I heard Arnold Palmer, the golfer, order a drink he named after himself. You have arrived in your sports arena when a simple mixture gets you this acclaim from named sporting drinks to this next creation which is just your drink. Add your favorite alcohol, like vodka, and get The John Daly.

But Southern Living saves us with a better boozy version.

Spiked Arnold Palmers

Margarita; Salt or No Salt; Depends on whose story you believe

The margarita story does not have a straightforward fairytale. Many people have tried to say that they were the first to this drink’s origins, but no one is sure from Tijuana to San Francisco. Somewhere along the California coast, the first margarita was made. The first time the recipe was published; in December 1953, Esquire, “Painting the Town” column, pg. 76, col. 3: POTABLES

Drink of the Month

She’s from Mexico, Senores, and her name is the Margarita Cocktail—and she is lovely to look at, exciting and provocative.

·      1-ounce tequila

·      Dash of Triple Sec

·      Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon

Pour over crushed ice, and stir. Rub the rim of a stem glass with a rind of lemon or lime, spin in salt—pour, and sip.

Enjoy these tremendous traditional favorites and their stores this summer with your family, friends, and trivia night.

Or enjoy a fresh one, a chilly beverage on your back deck.