A frozen margarita is good, but too much trouble when I just want to
pour something in a glass and go sit on the porch while a thunderstorm rolls
in.
The British Raj invented the gin and tonic to
help treat malaria, which was so prevalent in India—the quinine was supposed
to be a medicinal help.
Whether or not a “G and T” helped ward off the chills and fevers, it certainly
made a good hot-weather drink and one that I switched to every summer even
though the quinine water could be bitter and I wasn’t all that fond of the lime
slices.
I began to substitute orange slices, then,
when out of fresh oranges, a splash of orange juice, which eventually evolved
into a drink I call a Carolina Sunrise.
The recipe is simplicity itself:
take a large glass, fill it with ice. Add equal parts of Schweppes diet tonic water and orange
juice. Stir in a jigger of gin. Add a straw and enjoy.
Even without the gin, it’s very refreshing
and, like a Bloody Mary that’s half tomato juice, could almost be called
healthy.
Come over to my Facebook page and tell me
about your own favorite summer drink.
