Summer officially starts June 20, but Texas weather never pays attention to rules. This warm, humid season cries out for citrus, icy/salty rims, stone fruits in season, and fresh botanicals like mint and lavender. Whether you want summer tastes in coffee or a cocktail, here are some suggestions, options, and recipes.
A triple citrus punch of orange, lemon, and lime forms the backbone of a drink I’d like to nominate as the beverage of the summer of 2025: the Dumpster Fire. It’s a drink popularized in December 2000, but what with janky foreign and domestic policies now, I think that the time is right to bring her back. Combine two parts gin to one part Cointreau, add half an ounce each of lemon and lime juice, and a few dashes of bitters, then slosh that into a shaker full of ice. If you’re feeling like making a literal fire, one of the recipes calls for a burnt twist of orange peel –– apparently the volatile oils in the orange peel make a nice little firework.
Photo by Laurie James
Ostara Coffee (208 E Broadway Av, Fort Worth, 817-678-7922) already started with their summer shenanigans, in both coffee and non-coffee versions. The Sparkling Satsuma Lemonade is a blend of house-made lemon syrup and Rambler Austin’s Satsuma Sparkling. If you like lemons and strawberries, try the Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade (house-made strawberry syrup and sparkling lemonade).
From the not-just-boozy department, Beth Hutson, the creative muse at the Elevated Elixir (@TheElevatedElixer) offers a zero-proof Bee’s Knees, her nod to an Italian limoncello spritz with fresh berries and honey. You’ll need three parts alcohol-free sparkling Prima Pave Blanc de Blancs (PrimaPave.com), two parts Pallini Limonzero (LimoncelloPallini.com), one part sparkling water, a teaspoon of mixed berry jam, and a teaspoon of honeysuckle honey. Combine in a cocktail shaker until it’s smooth. Fill a wineglass halfway with ice (Beth recommends pebble ice), pour in the Prima Pave and the shaken limoncello mixture, and top with sparkling water. Garnish with lemon rounds, fresh berries, and mint.
Photo by Brian Hutson
In other citrus news, we’re at the tail end of Texas Ruby Red grapefruit season, and while the tart fruit isn’t everyone’s favorite flavor, it’s packed with vitamin C, potassium, and, if you juice it yourself, fiber. Serve this South Texas favorite instead of OJ in a mimosa –– seek out a slightly sweeter bubbly for balance. There’s also the Salty Dog –– one part gin to two parts grapefruit, shaken with ice, served with a kosher salt rim or half-salt/half-tajin spice. If you want some fun recipes, head over to Blackland Distillery’s website, where suggestions for cocktails with their product abound: BlacklandDistillery.com/blacklandrecipes.
Lemon and exotic fruits flourish at Rahr Brewery (701 Galveston Av, Fort Worth, 817-810-9266, and anywhere Rahr beer is sold), with the summer offerings including the Lemon Shandy, a Texas ale brewed with lemon available only thru June. Rahr also brews several fruited ales, including Paleta de Pina (pineapple ale with a little kick of jalapeno) and Paleta de Cherry Cream, an ale with a kick of cherry and vanilla.
Continuing the citrus theme, Grace (777 Main St, Fort Worth, 817-877-3388) weighs in with a Strawberry Limeade. Crafted with smooth Deep Eddy Lime Vodka, ripe strawberry purée, a splash of simple syrup, and freshly squeezed lime juice, it’s definitely not your standard Sonic strawberry limeade.
Photo courtesy Grace
If you like the cherry motif, Black Coffee (1417 Vaughn Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-782-9867) offers up a non-coffee Cherry Bomb Lemonade, with cherry syrup and Topo Chico over iced lemonade. At Grounds and Gold Coffee Co. (4130 South Bowen Rd, Arlington, 682-252-4633), you can grab a cherry matcha lemonade, which is more cherry lemonade with a matcha foamy top.
While we technically have to wait until July for the Parker County Peach Festival, peaches have started to appear in grocery stores and in drinks. Peaches pair well with both cinnamon and citrus, and a peach-infused lemonade seems like a good base to start with. Home recipes include slicing or macerating fresh peaches and letting them steep in lemonade in the refrigerator. Arlington’s Grounds and Gold features the Georgia Sunrise (a combo of peach tea and fresh lemonade) for summer. And the May Cocktail of the Month at the Bearded Lady (300 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-349-9832) is Just Peachy Pie –– Shiner Cinnamon Shine Corn Whiskey, peach schnapps, and peach juice, along with lemonade.
Photo courtesy the Bearded Lady
Finally, the delicate taste of botanicals, like lavender and elderflower, or the more herbaceous bold flavors of mint or rosemary, make for fabulous flavor upgrades in your summer lemonade, sparkling water, or cocktails. The Hugo Spritz isn’t a new, but the idea that you swap the delicate floral elderflower for the bitterness of Aperol in a spritz drink has me drooling. Take three parts prosecco (you could sub Beth Hutson’s Prima Pave recommendation here) and one part each elderflower liqueur and sparkling water, pour in a fancy glass, and garnish with mint.
