Scott Palmer's Drinks To Beat The Heat

As August wanes and the temperature settles itself in the sticky 90s, we're officially in the dog days of summer. Scott Palmer, beverage director of Dino (pictured by his home bar, above), has a few drinks to help you beat the heat and break out of your gin and tonic rut. (If you do stick with the G&T, Palmer says up the ante with premium ingredients like Distillery No. 209 gin with notes of citrus and cardamom, Fever Tree All-Natural Tonic and maybe even a little Fever Tree Bitter Lemon.)

Here, Palmer shares some recipes and thoughts on his favorite summer drinks:

"A favorite of mine in the summer is sparkling wine, either on its own or made into a sparkling cocktail. I tend to go off the beaten path and venture outside of the 'Champagne box.' I look to Prosecco from Italy’s Veneto region or Cava from Spain’s Catalan region. One of my favorites on my current cocktail list is the Settantacinque Italiano, or Italian 75 (a spin on the classic French 75). It’s a simple cocktail to make at home with the right ingredients. The drink has a slight sweetness balanced by the bitter/floral component of the elderflower and the bright acid from the lemon juice. The home bartender could easily change the flavor profile of the cocktail just by substituting another liqueur for the St. Germain, such as Cassis, Cointreau orange liqueur, or Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur."

Settantacinque Italiano
serves 1
1⁄2 oz Distillery No. 209 gin
1⁄2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1⁄2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Shake with ice until cold but not diluted. Strain into a champagne flute. Top with Prosecco (or other dry sparkling wine). Garnish with a long twist of lemon peel.

"For summer entertaining, I love to make a punch. Punches are making a resurgence due in large part to the movement of many bartenders back to pre-Prohibition-style cocktails. Prior to Prohibition, greater care and attention was placed on ingredients and techniques used in making cocktails. A classic rum punch is my standby. One I’ve made recently is something I call Three Sisters’ Punch — named for the three different rum spirits from three different islands in the Caribbean. The pronounced spiciness of this punch comes from Velvet Falernum, a sugar cane-based liqueur from Barbados infused with lime, almonds and cloves. If you can’t find Velvet Falernum, you could substitute spiced rum."

Three Sisters’ Punch
serves 20-30

1 750 ml bottle of dark rum (I use Gosling’s Black Seal)
1 750 ml bottle of light rum (I use Cruzan)
1/3 750 ml bottle (250ml) of Velvet Falernum or a spiced rum
6 oranges (3 peeled and juiced, 3 sliced)
6 lemons (3 peeled and juiced, 3 sliced)
20 limes (3 peeled and juiced, 3, sliced, 14 juiced)
1 knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1⁄2 cup of superfine sugar
bitters
ginger ale
dry sparkling wine
large block of ice (freeze filtered water in a bowl that is 1/3 the size of your punch bowl overnight)

In a medium-sized bowl, muddle the citrus peels, ginger and sugar with a few dashes of bitters (I use Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Bitters). Add to punch bowl. Add all of the liquors and fruit juices and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced fruit. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour, but overnight is best, to fully develop the flavors. When ready to serve, place the large ice block in the bowl and add 1 liter of ginger ale and a 1⁄2 bottle (375 ml) of sparkling wine and stir. Have plenty of ginger ale and sparkling wine for guests to add to their liking, as this drink is a tad strong. Serve over ice.