The Final Answer on Summertime Cocktails

Have you heard about that guy on Jeopardy? He's won more than $1 million dollars. He racks up the points early so if he doesn't know the Final Jeopardy answer, he's so far ahead that the other contestants can't catch up. Of course he's got to pay federal, California, and whatever state income tax from the state he lives in. But $14,000 a day isn't bad.
I tried out for Jeopardy once. It was in a large Bingo Hall. There were 10,000 other hopefuls. They led us in 750 at a time and sat us at long rectangular tables with different colored sheets of paper at each seat. Upon instruction we turned the paper over and began to answer the 10 questions that if answered correctly would make us eligible for the audition round of the Contestant Search.
First Question: He played "The Fresh Prince" on TV? Easy, Will Smith.
Second Question: This London art galley was funded by the philanthropic efforts of this prosperous sugar merchant? Answer: The Tate Gallery.
Third Question: Who was the interior minister of Norway in 1964? Answer? Look, I'm smart, but I have a life, too. So there ended my Jeopardy) quest.
Two years later I was a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. But I never got to the hot seat with Regis. My son said it was because I was too old and hadn't played enough video games and didn't have the manual dexterity. I did make friends with an attorney from Atlanta whose family took me along when they went to dinner at Le Bernardin. For dessert we savored a wonderful Chateau D'Yquem with our hazelnut souffl�, which brings me to my favorite Jeopardy category, Potent Potables.
The two rules of summertime cocktails are: make it thirst quenching and don't burn the drink with too much alcohol.
The perfect Gin or Vodka Tonic begins with a nice spirit. You don't have to go top shelf to get great taste, a Smirnoff or Gordon's will do just as well as a Tanqueray or Grey Goose at half the price.
Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour 2/3 or a shot of spirit over the ice, add a teaspoon of fresh squeezed lime juice. Add the tonic to just below the rim. Take a lime wedge and rub the rim of the glass. Place the wedge into the drink. Lemon and lime are the vanilla extract of bartending, adding thirst slacking richness to all sour and fruit drinks.
When making Cape Codders or Sea Breezes use the 100 percent juice cranberry juice, not the cocktail which contains high fructose corn syrup that could make the morning after a tad unpleasant. It's my personal theory that sugar and hangovers go hand in hand.
Now that Sex and the City is on TBS, everyone will be drinking more Sour Apple Martinis and Cosmopolitans.
For a great Apple-tini I use the Gotham Bar and Grill method. Start with a sour apple flavored vodka, use a half measure of that green apple liqueur, add the juice of half a lime and a dash of 100 percent apple juice. For a drier drink add a splash of white vermouth. For a sweeter one, add a splash of triple sec or Cointreau, both of which have a rosy orange flavor.
Great Cosmopolitans are strong and dry. They pack a wallop and they taste like it. If you're going all out, use a lime flavored vodka. Hangar One Kaffir Lime is the Bentley of flavored vodkas. Add the triple sec and use fresh squeezed lime juice.
For an interesting change from plain white wine, try a (bold) Kir Cocktail. It's basically a wine spritzer but if you like it with a little sweetness, add a splash of cr�me de cassis, a raisin flavored liqueur along with the club soda. An inexpensive Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc tastes great in a Kir. A (bold) Kir Royale replaces the wine with champagne and leaves out the club soda, using the champagne's natural fizziness. Garnish both with an orange slice.
The Old Fashioned dates back to the pre-air conditioning days in the taverns of New York and Chicago. The original Old Fashioned uses rye, but bourbon or regular whiskey work fine. Place a sugar cube or a scant teaspoon of sugar in the bottom of a glass. Add a liberal dash of Angostura bitters, and muddle the sugar and bitters until they're mixed. Fill the glass with ice, add 1 1/2 ounces of whiskey and pour in the club soda or seltzer. Stir vigorously and garnish with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice. This very dry, borderline bitter drink should be sipped on a patio, preferably overlooking a body of water.
Sangria is an early evening libation popular in Spain. Served before dinner in communal pitchers, it's as refreshing and cooling as a noontime siesta. Start with a chilled bottle of inexpensive red wine. A Tempranillo, like El Paseo Tempranillo from Valencia, is dry enough to enhance the added fruit flavors and only $7.99 a bottle. Pour the wine into a pitcher and add the fresh squeezed juice of two oranges, and one medium white grape fruit. Stir. Add 1/4 pint of a good cognac (about three shots) like Courvoisier. Add whole pieces of orange, grapefruit, and lemon. Refrigerate for two hours prior to serving. Serve chilled, but not frosty. Do not add ice.