13 summer cocktails

Strawberry daiquiri at the Aviary
When the Aviary says it�s serving a strawberry daiquiri, it doesn�t mean what you get at Uncle Julio�s. This version uses no ice at all; rum, lime juice, sugar and fresh strawberry juice are frozen with liquid nitrogen into the consistency of a sorbet. With no possibility the drink�ll get watered down, the only danger is a massive brain freeze. $18.�Julia Kramer

Moscow Mule at the Gage
This classic mix of vodka, lime and ginger beer tastes like the lime popsicles you can get at Trader Joe�s�subtly sweet, subtly citrusy and hit-over-the-head perfect for a hot summer day. If you�re really overheated, the copper mug, filled with crushed ice, makes for a fantastic compress. $10.�Marissa Conrad

Freeze Pops at Terrace at Trump
On this 16th-floor patio, you�re paying for the view (and dearly�most cocktails are $18), making these $11 pops damn near a bargain. They may resemble those Fla-Vor-Ices from your childhood, but with an ounce and a half of booze in each, they can get you drunker than a teacher on summer break. Choose from four flavors: passion colada (Cruzan rum and bits of coconut; pictured, below left); strawberry lemonade (housemade limoncello and strawberry jus; below center); sangria rouge (syrah and diced apple; below right); and el corazon (blood orange with pomegranate and Patron Silver tequila). $11 each or three for $29.�Laura Baginski

Adult snow cones at Red Door
When a restaurant orders a machine for the express purpose of making the perfect crushed ice for these boozy balls, you know it�s serious. You know what else is serious? How delicious the minty pear-mojito version (pictured, top) tastes on the restaurant�s giant patio. Other flavors: Bulleit old-fashioned, black cherry (made with Grey Goose Cherry Noir), Malort Chartreuse, Templeton Rye Manhattan and orange-blossom bourbon (also pictured). $7 each.�Laura Baginski

Time Out Chillout at Sable Kitchen & Bar
The Time Out Chillout is bartender Mike Ryan�s response to a challenge from TOC: Make the chilliest, iciest cocktail possible. His immediate thoughts were of dry ice and/or liquid nitrogen and vodka. But he eventually nixed all of that, settling on a crushed-ice drink that�s �almost equal parts ice and cocktail,� and choosing bourbon as his base. (�I�m just being contrary,� Ryan says, �making a really, really cool, refreshing drink out of a spirit that many view as not being refreshing.�) The bourbon is joined by peach liqueur, cinnamon and creme de menthe, the latter providing a cooling sensation, and it�s served in a tiki mug because�well, that�s just cool. The finished cocktail is like TOC the magazine, Ryan says, because it�s all about �giving people what they want, even if they don�t know they want it.� A compliment in the form of a cocktail? We�ll have two. $13; available through July.�David Tamarkin

Haute Tropique at the Barrelhouse Flat
The average person might say Fernet tastes like mouthwash. Or menthol cigarettes. Or paint varnish. �Not only do I love Fernet,� says Jeff Donahue, the Barrelhouse bartender who came up with this drink, �but I find it amusing and challenging to work it into new applications.� Hence the inspiration for this tropical drink, which accents the bitter digestif with two types of rum, cinnamon syrup and orange curacao. $11.�Julia Kramer

Free Rider at the Whistler
The tiki revival comes to life at this music venue/cocktail bar once every other month (next: August 19) with tropical-retro cocktails. The bar also features a weekly-changing tiki drink on its everyday menu. Co-owner Billy Helmkamp created this original, available any time by request, which gives Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum and pineapple juice an herbal kick via Benedictine, Fernet and a fragrant mint sprig garnish. $12.�Julia Kramer

LiquorsiclesatDavid Burke�s Primehouse
Talk about a cold war: Both Primehouse and Terrace at Trump are serving similar boozy popsicles this summer. Primehouse�s versions, which chef Rick Gresh doled out at last year�s Green City Barbecue to a fevered response, include a smooth and almost creamy strawberry mint margarita flavor (pictured, below right), featuring strawberries from Seedling Farms and mint from his home garden, and a spiced bourbon lemonade version (below left) that, with cloves, star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg, tastes like iced autumn (and that�s a good thing).$10 each.�Laura Baginski

Sundae Mourning at Perennial Virant
Is the ice-cream sundae dead? No, but this crushed-ice rum cocktail is certainly giving it a run for its money. There�s no ice cream in the drink, but the flavors are there: strawberries, pecans (via pecan orgeat, a syrup) and chocolate (that is, chocolate tincture, a liquid made solely from cocoa beans). $12.�David Tamarkin

Green sangria at Masa Azul
We usually cringe at the thought of sangria (all those sad chopped apples!). But bartender Jenny Kessler�s version combines the juices of cucumbers and green apples with verdejo wine, Tres Agaves blanco tequila and crushed ice for a refreshing, vegetal sip. The only thing this has in common with standard sangria is it�s very easy to drink. $8.�Julia Kramer

Veranda Way at Scofflaw
On a visit to La Chaparrita in Little Village, Danny Shapiro tried the taqueria�s housemade tepache, a nonalcoholic Mexican pineapple drink that achieves its effervescence from a five-day fermentation. Now he�s buying it from the taqueria, playing off its tamarind, clove and orange notes with a cinnamon-ice spear and turning it into a cocktail by adding Citadelle gin and Aperol. $8.�Julia Kramer

Layered Fizz at NoMI Garden
When you think summer cocktails, you don�t necessarily think apple brandy and Chambord. But the enormous square ice cube in the frothy (thanks to egg white), tart (thanks to lemon) and not-too-sweet drink goes a long way toward upping the refreshment level. What takes it all the way to �ahhh� land: Drinking it on the seventh-floor terrace of the Park Hyatt hotel. Available at NoMI Lounge, Garden and Kitchen. $14.�Laura Baginski

Mint julep pitcher at Fulton�s on the River
A julep cup brimming with crushed ice, Weller Special Reserve bourbon, mint, simple syrup and soda is a party for one. A pitcher of the stuff is a really big party for one. Or two. Realistically, four people could share this notably potent pitcher and be set for the night. $35.�David Tamarkin