Cocktail

When selecting the Champagne for this cocktail, we wanted something moderately dry but with a hint of sweetness. Demi-sec (a French term meaning "half dry") Champagnes and sparkling wines provide the perfect balance.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This simple, refreshing drink really is easy to make and much better than a mix. By the way, these measurements are approximate. Adjust the recipe to your own taste, whether that's on the sweet or the tart end of the spectrum. You can also perk this up for your drinking friends with a dash of Bacardi Limon.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This drink is perfect for breakfast celebrations. It's light and fresh with the tang of citrus.

Look for pomegranate juice in the juice aisle or fresh juice section of the supermarket.

Sweet and tangy kumquats make this sparkling cocktail extra special.

There are several stories about how this drink got its name, but one of the most common, from the 1950s, is that American oil rig workers would add vodka to canned orange juice, which they opened and stirred with their screwdrivers.

Sliced strawberries infuse raspberry brandy with fresh berry flavor, and the strained liqueur is topped off with Champagne.

This drink was dreamed up in Los Angeles in the 1940s by businessman John Martin, who was desperately trying to sell Smirnoff vodka. It so happened that Jack Morgan, owner of the Cock'n Bull, was trying to sell a ginger beer he had recently concocted. The two got together and tracked down a company that had a surplus of mugs, and they had a logo of a kicking mule stamped onto them. A drink was born ...

The tangy flavor of seasonal rhubarb complements the taste of gin surprisingly well. You can double the quantities for a bigger batch.

We chose to garnish our cocktail with Seckel or Forelle pear slices because of their small size — they fit perfectly in the Champagne flutes. Be sure to lower the slices slowly into the flute or the Champagne will bubble over.

If you can't find fraises des bois liqueur in your local liquor store, you can substitute cassis or Chambord, though the cocktail will taste somewhat different.