Alcohol

This puckery, sparkling aperitif is booze-optional.

For this patriotic-themed cooler, Cabell Tomlinson combines two summer favorites: sweet iced tea and sangria. "I started thinking about the Fourth of July," she explains. "I had the red from the rosé and the blue from the blueberries. I still needed the white, but I decided to go with that oh-so-American spirit, bourbon." She uses orange pekoe for the tea and suggests a fruity rosé like a Spanish Rioja.

Damon Boelte was aiming for something simple and accessible when he concocted this extremely refreshing, very British cooler. "Like a traditional Pimm's Cup, this recipe works well with other spirits, including bourbon, rum, and tequila," he says. "You have my permission to experiment." St-Germain liqueur, made from Alpine elderflowers, brings a floral note.

"I created this pitcher drink for people to sip on their front porch, or for city folks to drink at our sidewalk café," says Damon Boelte, bar director at Prime Meats in Brooklyn. If you've never had a beer cocktail or, better yet, a cocktail made with drinking vinegars, let this be your introduction to two growing trends in the bar world. Look for Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy, a.k.a. applejack ($23), made by America's oldest family-owned distillery, at better liquor stores.

This ultra-refreshing tomato water makes great use of an abundance of tomatoes and works well as a virgin summer cooler, too.

"Here's a summer cocktail that isn't too herbaceous or vegetably," Kinch says. "Aloe juice goes well with cucumbers, and Hendrick's Gin adds nice rose and cucumber notes."

Serve this no-frills feast with cold beer and bowls of melted butter and steaming broth for dipping. The broth cleans the clams, particularly steamers, of any stubborn grains of sand. To serve 4, halve the recipe and divide ingredients equally between two large (8-10 quart) pots.

If I were hosting a swanky rooftop engagement party on a hot summer evening, I'd make these refreshing, not-too-sweet ice pops. You'll need to let the Prosecco get flat in the refrigerator before making the pops. If you're in a hurry, decant it into a large bowl, and it will turn flat faster. Be sure to use food-safe rose petals that haven't been sprayed with pesticide.

Red O bartender Steve Calabro was inspired by chef Rick Bayless's fresh, ingredient-driven style to create this bright summer drink. After testing an early version, Bayless grated lime zest into the Margarita, Calabro added a red orchid to the glass, and they pronounced it finished.

Steep cucumber and mango in the wine for three hours or longer for maximum flavor. Once the fruit sinks, the wine is ready.

The longer the tequila is infused with the chiles, the hotter it gets.

A glass of chilled Prosecco is a fine prelude to a summer meal. Morphed into a sophisticated gelée, it's a great ending, too.

A 4-ounce fillet of mild-tasting tilapia has only 108 calories.

The Italian aperitif Campari brings balance to these sweet orange pops.

Vanilla is the classic ice cream partner for these boozy cherries, but try them with chocolate for a homemade version of Cherry Garcia.

Best with beef, pork, lamb, game meats

Guinness, the Irish stout, gives the brine for these simple barbecued lamb steaks much of its punch. Like most dark beers, Guinness has a bittersweet molasses flavor, which is great with lamb. But the hidden power of a Guinness brine is its alcohol content (about 4 percent). Alcohol accelerates the absorption of flavorful components directly into the protein structure of meat, yielding a steak that not only retains about 10 percent more moisture, but also is able to deliver a hit of seasoning with every bite. The flavors of chipotle chiles and cumin in the brine are reinforced with a smoky rub and a dark, pungent Guinness BBQ sauce. A word of warning: the sauce burns easily, so only brush it on the meat at the very end of grilling. In fact it is more flavorful served as a table sauce, although the steaks do look nice varnished with glaze.

(Margaritas de Tunas) Cactus fruits, also known as "prickly pears," are any number of fruit nodules that grow wild on the nopales cactus in the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern United States. Although prickly pear juice is sold in bottles, nothing compares to the sweet taste of their fresh flesh and spitting out the numerous seeds. My dad taught me how to peel the fruits: Hold them with a pair of thick leather or work gloves, cut off both ends, cut a slit down the length of the fruit, then remove the prickly skins with a pair of tongs. Although they come in a variety of flavors and colors, I find the ones with the bright pink flesh to be the most tasty and the drinks from them come out more festive looking, too.

Serve these refreshing beer-and-lime coolers over ice.