There's nothing like the clink of ice cubes to get you in the summer spirit – and the best summer drinks and cocktails are also the simplest.
For starters, there's homemade lemonade. Forget cloying shop-bought versions, packed with preservatives and colouring; all you need to make deliciously tart, fresh lemonade is caster sugar, water and lemons. First, pare the zest from four lemons with a vegetable peeler (use unwaxed fruit, or scrub the wax off with hot water). Scrape away any white pith - otherwise your lemonade will taste bitter - then add 100g of sugar to the zest, along with 750ml of boiling water. Stir the sugar in, squeeze in the lemon juice, then leave to cool. Sieve out the zest and pips, and serve with ice and a sprig of mint. For a chic twist, add a few sprigs of fresh lavender to steep with the lemon juice and hot water, then garnish it with a lavender flower - or make irresistibly pretty pink lemonade by adding a splash of grenadine syrup.
Alternatively, take inspiration from Italy and whip up a granita - a semi-frozen slush of icy crystals that packs an intense burst of flavour. For a classic granita alle fragoli (strawberry granita), crush 1kg of strawberries, pressing the mixture though a sieve to remove the seeds before adding the juice from two lemons. Bring a pint of water to the boil with 200g of icing sugar then, once it has cooled, stir in the fruit purée. Pour the mixture into a shallow container in the freezer. After about two hours, ice crystals should start to form. Mix it up with a fork, then put it back in. Repeat every half-hour, until it reaches a snowy consistency (depending on the container size, the whole process should take around 4 hours). Once you've mastered the basics, you can experiment with different flavours. Breakfast on brioche dipped in almond or coffee granita, like the Sicilians, or serve up jewel-coloured fruit concoctions in chilled martini glasses on a summer's evening: watermelon and lime, perhaps, or champagne and rose petal. Alcohol slows the freezing process - but it'll be well worth the wait.
If you're hankering for a cool, tall cocktail, avoid the ubiquitous mojito and go for a mint julep - a classic from the Deep South, and a favourite with Bob Dylan. Muddle four or five mint leaves with a teaspoon of caster sugar and a teaspoon of water until the sugar has dissolved, then add plenty of crushed ice. Add a generous slug of bourbon and a sprig of mint, and it's ready to go. (According to Dylan, 'Two or three of those, and anything sounds good.') Equally refreshing and easy to make is the Moscow Mule - a 1950s American invention, despite the name. Squeeze half a lime over three or four ice cubes, then fill the glass (or copper mug, for true authenticity) with one-third vodka, two-thirds ginger beer. Add a wedge of lime - and wait for the mule's famous kick.
Gin and tonic aficionados might prefer the fragrant Elderflower Collins, a heavenly blend of ice, two shots of good-quality gin, one of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and two-thirds of a shot of elderflower cordial, topped off with soda water and a slice of lemon. But for the hottest, laziest days of summer, there's only one option: vodka-infused watermelon. Simply cut a hole in the top of a large, ripe watermelon, and pour the vodka in through a funnel. Leave it to soak in for a day, then add more, until the flesh is saturated. Cut it up, and there you have it: a perfect slice of summer.
