Tonic For Your Worries

Ideas for drinks of the adult variety for a croquet party? We need the drink to be refreshing, won’t aide getting drunk in the midday sun and are unique and is easy to prepare - Please don’t say beer

The trick is offer something refreshing but not quenching - Sweet and cold on a hot day is a recipe for drunkenness - Avoid champagne cocktails like a Kir Royal, but the archaic Royal would be a good. I am going to say beer in this post, but in the form of ginger beer, a soft drink that is sharper in flavor and less sweet than the comparatively tame ginger ale. For a Royal, ginger beer along with bitters and brandy are stirred in ice, strained and served up. Chose a cognac like Brillet’s Blanc, which weighs in around 17% alcohol, only slightly stronger than wine - it will take some work to get drunk on that, even in the hot sun.

Pimm’s is a gin-based alcohol flavored with quinine, citrus and spices and it is a traditional lawn beverage, (it is to Wimbledon as a Mint Julep is to the Kentucky Derby). In a Jefferson Pimm's Cup, Pimm's is mixed with ginger beer, a slice of cucumber, mint sprig, an orange wedge and maraschino cherry, then served in an ice-filled glass. The Jefferson has the twin advantages that ginger beer is guzzle-resistant because it has a bite to it and Pimm’s is lower in alcohol – 50 proof as opposed to vodka, bourbon and rum’s 80 proof minimum. As a bonus, like croquet it is tres English.

Gin and tonic can be quite refreshing and very English. In addition to being the devil’s water, Gin is 80 proof; tonic is sweetened, so doesn’t this negate everything I have said up to this point? A good strong tonic water like Fever Tree is sharp enough that even the thirstiest malleteer will pace himself. Plus the addition of finely diced cucumber in the glass will do wonders for the flavor and people chew the cucumber, it slows down the drinking to a respectable pace.

Campari is also low in alcohol. I think summertime is all about Campari and soda the same way I think the winter is about all spaghetti carbonara and wool sweaters. Campari, detailed here is bitter: quinine, bitter oranges and ginseng are the base for the Italian aperitif. I love Campari with chilled soda or mineral water. Campari with Pellegrino – either lemonta and orange/aranciata and you know, the sweetness mitigates some of the sharp flavors of Campari but it does make the drink more accessible to a wider audience. There are responsibilities to hosting, you can nudge your guests in a certain direction and make it easy to try new things but getting all Henry Higgins on your guests and teaching them the proper way to do things is a bit boring.

You don’t have to have a full bar to your guests: 1 or 2 thoughtful offerings, along with 2-3 non-alcohol substitutions and plenty of water. Offer food, real food - cucumber sandwiches and/or Dorritos won’t cut it if people are drinking. Happy croqueting.

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