Drinks

Long before we gulped down something called sangria, sangaree was a favorite tipple -- made with wine, spirit, or beer diluted with water, sweetened with sugar, and spiced with nutmeg. Sangria could have easily evolved from sangaree.

The English loved their Bordeaux, which they often referred to as claret, and a claret cup punch (red wine, lemon, sugar, and sparkling water) traveled with them as they influenced the world. This punch sometimes contained various fruits, spirits, and spices depending on the location. In many Spanish speaking areas of the world, claret cup became clericot, a sangria-like drink made with white wine.

Throughout history wine has been made more palatable by adding water, honey, herbs, spices, or fruits, but some cite the 1964-1965 World's Fair in NYC as the breakthrough moment for what we know as sangria. While it's true that Spanish concessionaires at the World's Fair introduced many people to the drink, records show sangria on Spanish restaurant menus in the US before 1964. And prior to the World's Fair, the New York Times had already reported on a social affair hosted by a Palm Beach socialite who fashionably served "Sangria, a red wine and fruit drink."

According to a recent blog post on The Stir, many of the smoothies that fast-food chains are selling these days are anything but healthy.

"Even the new McDonald's Wild Berry Smoothie and comparable Jamba Juice Berry Yumberry Smoothie are just okay -- they are relatively low-cal (210 and 230 respectively) but still pack mega grams of sugar."

Head over to The Stir to see the five worst offenders and find out which smoothie comes in with a whopping 960 calories and 23 grams of fat.

Nothing wrong with beer or mixed drinks, but wine at a cook-out is a new twist if you're in search of something different. There's no reason why you need to save your favorite wines for multi-course dinners served indoors. Raid your cellar and see what you come up with, paying close attention to wines with incredible body and spices. Paired with grilled meats and vegetables - even grilled fruits like peaches - new flavor notes arise in the food.

Here are seven wines that are perfect for sipping at a cook-out. You might want to think about chilling the reds for a bit. This won't ruin the flavor profile but it will be more refreshing while you're baking in the sun.

2008 Kendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir, California ($18)
Pinot and salmon is a classic pairing and that doesn't change when the fish is grilled. A cedar aroma kicks off this Pinot, which is anything but mellow and has an undercurrent of cola flavors that dance with the wild-raspberry fruit notes. Although light in body -- which we like on hot days -- there is still enough spicy flavor that provides wiggle room to encrust spices on top of your salmon. (Because we wouldn't want you to forego any additional flavors, of course.)

Halfway through this hellaciously hot summer, and I sound like a broken record. Not a sweaty day passes when I don't bemoan the fact that my shirt is sticking to my back -- and my desk chair, where I'm typing these words.

This oppressive heat has made me daydream about blizzards, ice storms and a single-digit wind chill factor. But while Christmas is still months away, I can still pretend it's St. Nick season thanks to Short's Brewing's most curious new release, Spruce Pilsner.

That northern Michigan's Short's would brew a beer with the tips of blue spruce trees is not surprising. Over the last half decade, founder Joe Short has crafted crazy-inventive beers. His Bloody Beer was concocted with roma tomatoes, horseradish, dill and other bloody Mary seasonings. The S'mores Stout incorporated graham-cracker crumbs, marshmallows and milk chocolate. Über Goober is an oatmeal stout packed with peanut-y goodness.

A weekly look at the draft selections in beer-friendly bars across the country.

A good local pub is something special -- a place where you can hang out with friends and meet neighbors by socializing the old-fashioned way... in person. Blogs and social networks and webcams are great, but one of the most traditional ways people have connected isn't with a computer, it's with a pint.

My neighborhood has a number of spots I love, but when it comes to that classic pub setting -- with a fantastic beer selection to boot -- my favorite watering hole is Brooklyn's Washington Commons.

When people think friendly bar, the show Cheers often comes to mind: a place where "everyone knows your name." This point isn't lost on Kirk Struble, one of Washington Commons' owners. When asked what makes a bar a great local hangout, he immediately points to the staff.

My grandfather grew watermelons, and one of my fondest childhood memories involves chilling a melon in the brisk running water of a creek and later sharing it with friends and family with nothing but a fork and a salt shaker.

You won't find watermelon called for in many classic cocktail books. The watermelon martini grew in popularity at the turn of this century. I will never forget my first watermelon martini (made with equal parts citrus vodka and watermelon juice and a teaspoon of simple syrup) in a patio garden bar in Manhattan in 2000.

Watermelon is practically the essence of summer itself, so take a hot, hazy happy hour to the next level by serving a watermelon punch in a carved out watermelon.

Lately, breweries have begun resuscitating vintage brands such as Rheingold and original-recipe Schlitz. But the last century of American brewing doesn't interest Delaware's Dogfish Head. Instead, the brewery has looked back 9,000 years to create Chateau Jiahu. It's a fermented beverage based on ingredients discovered in preserved pottery jars hailing from a Neolithic Chinese village named Jiahu.

How did this happen? Using scientific tools such as infrared spectrometry, Dr. Patrick McGovern, a biomolecular archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology analyzes ancient vessels that once held fermented beverages. To date, his discoveries have led Dogfish to create Midas Touch (brewed according to an old Turkish recipe with ingredients discovered in King Midas' tomb) and Theobrama (based on a cocoa-driven alcoholic elixir dating back to 1,200 B.C.).

Read more about this Dogfish Ancient Ale after the jump...

If you ask us, Chile is the new California. Affordable, high-quality wines are emerging from this southern region of South America at a very fast pace.

In terms of red wines, look for Carmenère. This red-grape varietal all but disappeared from Europe during the 19th century but reappeared in Chile in the 1860s. "We call it the lost grape from Bordeaux," says Héctor Vergara, South America's only Master Sommelier and the guy who determines the mostly-Chilean wine list for travelers on LAN Airlines. Chile is the only country producing Carmenère – which is full of blackberries and spices – commercially.

After the jump, find our six favorites from recent tastings of Chilean red wines – and not just Carmenère, but other red-grape varieties too.

When NBA phenom LeBron "The King" James made his televised decision to depart the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, he left northern Ohio's fans with a bitter taste in their mouths.

To blunt the pain of James' departure, Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing has fittingly released Quitness, a beer "as bitter as the mood of Cleveland."

Quitness (a take on James' "Witness" campaign for Nike) is a dry-hopped, cask-conditioned India pale ale that Great Lakes released on Wednesday, July 14, at the brewpub. Three hours later, all 30 gallons of the beer were gone, with nothing left but rave reviews: "It was very floral, didn't hit your tongue very hard and actually wasn't bitter at all until the aftertaste," Beer Advocate member abraxel wrote. "It was downright delicious!"

While Great Lakes re-released Quitness on Saturday, and may do so again in the future, don't expect this to hit bottles anytime soon. Heck, I doubt this is even a brand-new beer.

More after the jump...

"Flowers are made to seduce the senses: fragrance, form, color." –Hilda Doolittle

A revival of the centuries old use of flowers for culinary use has resulted in quite a few delicious spirits. One of the few female distillers in the world, Joanne Moore, created a new gin called Bloom -- with hints of chamomile and honeysuckle -- that makes possibly the best gin and tonic I've ever had. Another new flower-enhanced spirit debuted recently called Geranium gin.

California's craft distiller Hangar One offers a Mandarin Blossom Vodka that is so delightfully aromatic it's almost a shame to mix it. Two of the many creative bottlings by Modern Spirits includes a once-a-year release of Rose Petal Vodka (made with three varieties of rose grown in the owners backyard) plus a regular flavor of Pear Lavender.

Besides orange blossom and rose, lavender and violet are also all-time favorite floral flavorings. Loft makes certified organic liqueurs but their star is Lavender Cello (a play off the popular spirit called lemoncello, of course). Dried lavender petals play a major role in the relaunched classic Crème Yvette. Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette is produced by macerating two kinds of violets in grape spirit. Supposedly flowers play a role in the history of Parfait Amour, the Victorian liqueur that helped gentleman win their ladies' love. To me, this liqueur often tastes more of vanilla and citrus, although the violet color is beautiful (and artificial). Look for Marie Brizard and Pages brands in the US, but keep your eyes out for Cartron and Bols while traveling.