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Peak summer certainly comes with drawbacks (he typed, sweat cascading onto his keyboard), but its bonuses are hard to overstate. No one questions your travel schedule; pets are happy to chill inside for once; and the months between Memorial and Labor Day are essentially high season for day drinking.
Yes, when those heat waves hit and I need a chilled bevvy, all the ice water in the world can't scratch that itch. Yet when I turn to something boozy — and preferably carbonated — it's the boozy part I've often misjudged in the past. Higher-ABV drinks are rarely my friend before sundown; even the wrong glass of white wine can have me napping before the picnic's even started. The key, I've learned (surprise surprise) is to pace yourself, either with bevs that pack less of a punch or whose flavors lend themselves to sips instead of chugs.
So whether you're a wine, beer, or cocktail person, I've got tips for how to drink diurnally and In Good Taste. I chatted with friends who work in those respective fields, eager for wisdom based on their experience, and together we made a slate of drinks that are high on flavor but low(er) on horsepower.
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SIRI, PLAY "SUMMER WINE" BY LANA DEL REY
When it comes to lower-ABV wines, you might be picturing something watery and weak; maybe even flashbacks to a toothless white wine spritzer. But TQE's own Director of Brand & Creative Tatiana Ettensberger, who's also the Wine Director of LA's buzzy Seconds Supper Club, recently turned me onto piquette. "Piquette is what winemakers and field workers would drink themselves on long days," said Ettensberger. "They'd re-ferment what was leftover from the grapes they made wines with, and create a fizzy, lower-alcohol second product. Great for waste and great for drinking."
Because most of the natural sugars are fermented into alcohol in the first-batch wine, which tends to clock in between 12-15%, piquette's ABV falls much lower, around 4-9%. Still, grape juice this is not: piquette's double ferment gives it a dry flavor and fizz similar to a pet-nat, perfect for cutting through the richer foods at any summer barbecue. As an added bonus, the prices are (almost) as low as the alcohol content: because it's made from upcycled grapes, those savings are usually passed on in the form of budget-friendly bottles. But its gorgeous jewel tones, falling everywhere on the spectrum between orange, white and red, still bring plenty of glamor — look no further than these from Une Femme and Field Recordings.
If you like your wine traditional, though, she suggests going high-acid: the more tartness that's present in your glass, the less likely you are to drain it at breakneck speed. She suggests Chenin Blanc, whose oft-cited tasting note of lemon curd gives it a dreamy Creamsicle quality, or Chardonnay for how it balances that acidity with floral notes. But if you're scratching your head right now, that's because Napa Chards are not the move. That vanilla-y, oaky style that put California on the map may still be popular in some circles, but plenty of other producers make unoaked bottles that don't taste like a stick of Land o' Lakes. "Look towards French makers like Domaine Derain, or California producers doing it right like Slow Dance," Ettensberger recommends. "I promise, even if you think you don't like Chardonnay, there's a huge chance you'll love these."
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NOW TIME FOR A COLD ONE
I'd seen enough beers advertised as "Session Ales" (meaning you can easily have a few throughout one drinking session) to know that the same low-ABV concepts also applied to the beer world. The advice I didn't expect re: day drinking, however, is to stop trying to be cute with it. My friend Lexi Sasanow, who spent close to a decade as a taproom manager and bartender, clarified "you can't appreciate craft beer the same way when it's hot out. There's no subtlety to it; at a certain point it's a waste." They give full permission to rock a mass-market lager like Bud Light or Miller High Life, since according to them "the best way to day drink is to keep it from being distracting."
That said, beer has its piquette analogs too, from saison (the style that Flemish farmworkers drank as far back as the early 1800s) to grisette (a similar style made for that region's miners). ~6% ABV farmhouse ales like Saison Dupont or Oxbow Farmhouse come from that same day-drinking-friendly tradition, and appeal to Sasanow more than an IPA weakened down to "session" level. Gose, a type of German sour beer known for its slightly salty flavor, is another of their favorites, like the coriander-forward one made by Westbrook Brewing Co. All go perfectly with a spread of summer staples: hot dogs, spicy pickles, or the undefeated pineapple with Tajín.
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COCKTAIL, ANYONE?
The idea of a low-ABV cocktail needs no introduction, hegemonic as the Aperol Spritz is on daytime drinking menus. There are a few lesser-known variations on this liqueur + bubbles formula though, like the Spaghett', which spikes light beer with an ounce of bitter Campari. Soda water and ice is all you need to pour on top of the floral, citrusy Lillet Rose, while amaro fans can do the same with the likes of Averna or Cynar. The almost syrupy quality of liqueurs makes them perfect for day drinking, since they pack concentrated flavors that can stand to be diluted.
Echoing Ettensberger's advice for daytime wines — if you're still craving something stronger, just dial up the acidity — shrubs are a great way to turn spirit-forward drinks into longer-lasting sippers. Shrubs are also known as "drinking vinegars," but are much more delicious than that sounds, provided you remember that a little goes a long way. Any one of Kosterina's Crushed Fruit Vinegar Trio would go well in a Sun and Shrub, where the suggested ingredients are really more of a jumping-off point. Play around with different liquor and shrub combinations; if you're a farmers' market girlie, you can even make your own. What we're after is a nice, icy long drink that's punchy without getting you punch-drunk.
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CHEERS TO A SLOW BURN
Of course you've got a million more options at your disposal, but just by paying more attention to ABV you'll start to find that summer stamina. I've even noticed a much more pleasant buzz in the 5% hard kombuchas from Jiant than the 7-8% range their competitors fall into. The trick is to make sure alcohol isn't being replaced by pure sugar content: I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the kinds of headaches that can lead to. But by using the tips above — and staying hydrated too, of course — you'll be taking advantage of the long days in the best way I know how.
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