This weekend brought a temporary respite from the otherwise bitterly cold Pennsylvania winter. 50-degree temperatures don’t have us breaking out the shorts and t-shirts just yet, but on this sunny Sunday afternoon, we are relaxing with a tiny taste of summer – lime tea coolers.

Lime Tea Cooler

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts cold water
• 2 large iced tea bags
• 4-8 teaspoons lime juice
• 4 tablespoons white sugar

Boil 3 cups water and pour over two large iced tea bags placed in a heat-resistant pitcher. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove teabags and add remaining water. Refrigerate 2-4 hours or until thoroughly chilled.

To serve, place 1-2 teaspoons lime juice in the bottom of a glass and top with 1 tablespoon sugar. Fill glass with cold tea. Stir well and serve.

Makes 4 large glasses.

Image by Cainmark

In 2001 (or so the date of the email tells me), I was subscribed to an email list entitled “Disgusting Drink of the Month” through the now-defunct Emazing.com. For some reason, I printed that June’s drink, and it has been mixed in to my recipe file ever since. This drink uses enough different types of booze to make up for last week’s non-alcoholic drink, and then some.

Passed Out Naked on the Bathroom Floor

Ingredients:

• 1/4 ounce peppermint schnapps
• 1/4 ounce Jägermeister
• 1/4 ounce gold tequila
• 1/4 ounce Bacardi 151

Combine all ingredients in a shot glass, and “prepare your innards for a feeling that goes a little beyond warm and fuzzy”, or so says June 2001′s Disgusting Drink of the Month newsletter.

Serves one.

In my late teenage years, my best friend Topher and I frequented the local Olive Garden; we were such regulars that we had a favorite waitress. (A decade later, the “Hospitaliano!” pin she gave us is still pinned to lapel of my leather jacket.) Their Sicilian Splash was my beverage of choice, and served as a nice refreshing balance to the heaviness of the entrees. I picked apart the flavors for years before I finally hit on this combination of ingredients. I don’t know if they still serve this drink, but the “impostor” recipe below is close enough to my memories that it takes me right back to those lazy afternoons spent with a dear friend.

Citrus Sparkle

Ingredients:

• 3 cups ice cubes
• 1 1/2 cups white grape juice
• 1 1/2 cups orange soda or orange sparkling water
• 2 cups club soda
• Lemon wedges for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a tall pitcher and stir gently. Pour into tall glasses and garnish with lemon. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

I’m not ashamed to admit that first-run Sex and the City episodes sparked my interest in Cosmopolitans. I enjoy a bit more body to my beverage, however, and was thrilled to find exactly what I needed in the South Beach Cosmopolitan. The addition of raspberry liqueur adds an unctuous quality that raises this drink to new heights of sophistication.

South Beach Cosmopolitan

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce cranberry juice
• 3 ounces citrus vodka
• 1 ounce raspberry liqueur
• 1 maraschino cherry

Combine all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker and agitate gently. Pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry.

Serves 1.