Caterer loves… Summer drinks
With the heat wave making the country seem more like Barbados than Blighty, alfresco quaffing is the order of the day as customers make the most of the English summertime.
Picking the right tipple, however, continues to confuse and mystify many people but guiding the thirsty towards their perfect summer drink needn't be that complicated.
Pimm's No 1 is the all-time classic, that quintessentially English drink which transcends fashion, conjuring up images of countryside picnics in long grass and lazy summer evenings punting along the Thames - now, where was I?
Interestingly, the gin-based thirst-quencher was originally developed
to accompany oysters at James Pimm's oyster bar in the City of London, but the alcoholic cordial has long since become a must-have accompaniment at any outdoor summer event.
One part Pimm's to three parts lemonade is the recommended mix, although measuring exact ratios after several jugs becomes a rather more fluid exercise. Heaps of orange, apple, cucumber and, of course, mint are also a must. For a different twist, try Champagne or sparkling wine instead of lemonade for a Pimm's Royale.
The grown-up and slightly more feminine version of a buck's fizz, the Bellini, is another classic option. The peach schnapps (or purée) topped with bubbly always proves a favourite with the Belgravia-ladies-who-lunch set, and at summer weddings.
Old wives' tales claim a cup of tea is the best cooler on a boiling hot summer day, but for the sceptical - and especially those roasting in kitchens and other back-of-house dens of iniqui-tea - the iced variety is perhaps more effective.
Iced coffee is another option and was traditionally made without milk. But these days the Australian variety, known to most of us through the Starbucks Frappuccino, laden with lots of cream and flavour shots, is also becoming popular.
So if all this sun is making it feel like the Caribbean, why not do as they do and break out the rum. Endless cocktails can be made with a rum base, including daiquiris, Mojitos and Mai Tais. A more unusual one is the Dark and Stormy, a traditional drink in Bermuda which is great for sticky summer nights.
In an ice-filled highball glass, add ginger beer to 50ml of Gosling Black Seal rum and pop in a squeeze and wedge of lime. The name comes from the colour of a cloud, the type "only a fool or a dead man would sail under" and one we might be grateful for some time soon.
By Alix Young
