A balanced mocktail inspired by a night out in Nashville during my Sober Summer challenge. Homemade raspberry and pear-thyme simple syrup with a spritz of lime and splash of club soda. Perfect for summer sipping.

Pickled red onions that take two minutes to mix and only an hour to cure. Perfect on top of hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, nachos, and tacos. Also great with savory dinner bowls to cut through rich flavors and balance out your dinner. For more, see the essentials of making at home, quick pickles.

Another vintage cocktail that is often overlooked: the Mai Tai! This recipe is inspired by Chicago’s Three Dots and a Dash (and the amazing Podcast Episode from America’s Test Kitchen: Proof - Tiki). Simple to make at home, this Mai Tai recipe only requires one specialty ingredient that is easy to purchase from Amazon. Complex, balanced and easy to drink this cocktail pairs well with Summer Reading and firefly watching.

Yes, we are still enjoying vintage cocktails. I first enjoyed a Bees Knees at Moosewood in Ithaca, New York about a decade ago. This simple cocktail screams perfection (as the expression goes, the bees knees is “the best”). The balance of tangy fresh squeezed lemon with just enough sweet from homemade honey simple syrup makes a crips and refreshing cocktail for all your Spring picnics and barbecues. Enjoy, it really is the bees knees!