Cocktail for BBQ suggestions?

[phillychower]

Any suggestions for a BBQ cocktail? been enjoying some of the threads here, tempted to try the recent Mai Tai recipe posted but I'm a cocktail newb so it's a little intimidating.

I love fresh margaritas but don't think I can keep up squeezing limes while entertaining.

Maybe Paloma or Hemingway (havent been able to find Luxardo so far though)

Thanks for any suggestions !

[phillychower]

Thanks everyone. Went with pour yourself silver tequila with lemonade. Not fancy but so easy. looking forward to trying some of these ideas myself this summer.

[barleywino]

J.W.Lees Harvest Ale aged in Lagavullin cask

[ted]

Man, I love JW Lees Harvest Ale, but I'd have a hard time drinking it in the middle of the summer at a 4th of July BBQ. It hit 95F here yesterday, and I think I'd just feel like a slug after consuming one. Will save mine for the fireplace next winter. That and buying it in quantity (I guess just assumed from the OP) would be prohibitive.

I usually like a hoppy beer like an IPA to balance against the smoky/spicy flavors of BBQ. I quit reading at least one food magazine years ago when they kept making lousy beer recommendations (light lagers for everything).

That said, I checked out a beer store in town that I hadn't been to the other day. I picked up a couple of growlers to take to friends' party today. Mostly to fill gaps in what our host bought, I got one of an English cider and the other of Monk's Cafe Flemish Brown. I was shooting for light and refreshing, without being boring.

[barleywino]

true, but the smoky lagavullin really plays off the bbq imo...might need something lighter afterwards to wash it down...how about some Hitachino White ale? I like your cider idea

[ncyankee101]

Something I tried, after having a Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 - I mixed a little Islay Scotch into a Scottish Ale, I believe it was Tasgall and McClellands, maybe 12:1 ratio. I guess you would call it a boilermaker variant. I rather liked it, and just picked up a 6 pack of Old Chub to experiment a little more, might try something better than McClellands this time.

I have had the Calvados cask JW Lees and have a bottle of the Lagavulin I haven't opened yet. Pricey stuff at ~$10 a 12 oz bottle.

A friend of mine recently had the Old Stock Bourbon barrel aged and said it was outstanding.

[barleywino]

i like to start with the Lagavullin JW Lees and then have the Calvados JW Lees for dessert ;)...try the Calvados on cask sometime if you get a chance

[Klunco]

Can't go wrong with either Mint Julep's (very easy to batch up) or a Pimms Cup (make pitchers of this in advance). Sangria is another easy one to batch up in advance.

[nickls]

I agree with what people said that a drink including citrus is probably the way to go. Almost any drink can be pre-batched if you add water equal to about a third of the volume of the other ingredients. Or you can always leave it concentrated and then shake to order.

Tall drinks are also good, especially for guests who are used to higher volume drinks and will guzzle your pitcher of margaritas. Tom Collins, Dark and Stormys, or Gin Rickeys might go pretty well with BBQ. Those are all also simple recipes. You could also go with a punch of some kind.

[Caitlin McGrath]

A dark and stormy is perfect with barbecue - the ginger beer offsets its strong flavors very well.

[deet13]

IMO, Presbyterians: 2 oz of blended scotch topped off with a good ginger ale, and Americanos tend to go well with grilled and bbq'd food.

Simple, strong flavored, and cold.

[goldblum]

BBQ restaurant Fatty 'Cue in Brooklyn has a signature drink called The Cue (I believe) that is very good. If I recall, they muddle smoked pineapple, add lime juice, white overproof rum, simple syrup and serve in a DOF glass rinsed with absinthe and a dash of Tobasco. Very deep and intriguing flavor profile. Very likely a difficult drink to pull off--especially with the smoked pineapple--but it was quite delicious.

[sku]

If you don't want to do margaritas, I would go for mint juleps....cool, refreshing and can also be made in advance.

[phillychower]

thanks everyone. I wish I knew if i could get juicy limes! Last year so many limes I got had almost no juice in them that I'm afraid to keep a pitcher handy of margaritas I might need hundreds of limes. decisions decisions.

[tzurriz]

Microwave your limes for 15 seconds before you squeeze 'em.

[tzurriz]

Why not make up a pitcher of margaritas if that is what you like? Squeeze all the limes ahead of time.

We always do a big glass jar of sangria. Good stuff for BBQ's that. :)

[EvergreenDan]

I see a conflict -- I think a sour would go well with BBQ because the acid will cut through the grease and stand up to the strong flavors. Yes these sours require fresh citrus -- either lemon or lime. And they are very refreshing on a hot summer day.

I'm not sure how many people you are talking about, but a Caipirinha (more or less a Daiquiri made with Cachaca, the rum-like spirit from Brazil) or a Mojito (more or less a Daiquiri made with mint and soda water) could be made ahead of time and kept cold in a bottle or pitcher. You may need to add water to simulate the melted ice and/or you would want to add the soda at the last minute. They won't be as good if made hours a head of time because of the oxidation of the lime, but they will still be very good. With a good pliers-type squeezer, you can squeeze a lot of citrus in a reasonable amount of time.

You could do the same with a Margarita, which is a Tequila sour with the addition of orange liqueur.

I would probably stay away for Maraschino liqueur unless you know your guests are adventurous. It is an acquired taste.
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[zin1953]

Yesterday, we had watermelon mojitos with the appetizers (homemade andouille with thinly sliced bread grilled on the BBQ, oysters on the half-shell), while doing lamb chops, tri-tip, and tripe on the grill . . . along with wheat/summer beers from Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and Widmer; Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie , Robert Sinsky Pinot Gris, and 3-4 different bottlings of sake (Dewazakura "Dewasansan" Green Ridge, Kokuryu "Junmai Ginjo" Black Dragon, and a couple of others).

[Muskrat]

Never thought of anything hard other than beer with BBQ. I'll be interested if anybody comes up with something that's traditional in some circles (as opposed to the random "how abut a grasshopper? " or "Have you thought of appletinis?")