My roommate and I moved into our new apartment in late March, but we didn’t throw a housewarming party until last week. Why? First of all, we were disorganized busy. But more importantly, everyone knows that summer is a much better time to throw a party! Back when we schlepped all of our belongings across the city, it was cold and rainy and our cute party dresses were still in storage. Now that it’s July—well sure, it’s scorching hot, but all the more reason to pour a cool summer cocktail and head to the roof. So that’s exactly what we did.

The event was a pot luck, and, being kind of a dud in the kitchen (or at least more of one than my roommate, who is a certified whiz), I decided that my best bet was to take care of drinks. But I didn’t want to just put out a tub of beer and a bottle of Coke and call it a day. Oh no. If I was going to be the bartender, I was going to do it right. So I flipped open my copy of the gorgeous Artisan book Raising the Bar (seriously, have you seen the cover?) and found the perfect punch for the night: a beautiful golden champagne sangria. It didn’t take long to assemble, and the results looked spectacular and tasted even better: sweet and fruity, and very refreshing on a hot July night in New York.

So follow the recipe below and treat yourself to a cool drink. Go on, it’s hot; you deserve it.

Champagne Sangria (page 171 in Raising the Bar by Nick Mautone)
Makes fifteen 8-ounce servings

Yum! Plums!

• 4 plums, pitted and cut in thick wedges
• 1/2 cup superfine or confectioners’ sugar
• 32 ounces apricot nectar or peach, pear, or other nectar, chilled
• 16 ounces plum wine, chilled
• 8 ounces brandy, chilled
• two 750-milliliter bottles sparkling wine (champagne), chilled
• mint leaves for garnish

Plan ahead: Chill all ingredients for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Place the plums and sugar in a punch bowl and stir well to extract juice.

Stirring the sugar and plums to release the fruit's juice.

Add the nectar, plum wine, and brandy. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pear nectar works just as well as apricot nectar.

To serve, remove the mixture from the refrigerator. Add the sparkling wine and stir briefly to combine.

Pop the cork!

Float mint leaves on top and serve immediately. And enjoy!

New Years Eve–it’s an evening filled with the sound of champagne corks popping and the clinking of glasses in sparkling toasts. Sparkling wine is often great on it’s own, but with a few extra ingredients you can create a new flavor without losing the bubbles and fizz necessary to a New Year’s toast.

Blood Orange Sparkler
From Raising the Bar (Artisan) by Nick Mautone

Blood oranges are a seasonal treat: look for them from December to May. They are grown throughout the Mediterranean as well as in California.

Planning ahead: Chill the sparkling wine for at least 30 minutes before making the cocktails

Ingredients:
1 blood orange
3 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons sweet vermouth
One 750-milliliter bottle sparkling wine, chilled
Blood orange slices for garnish
Glassware: Wineglasses

1. Using a sharp knife, cut off and discard the ends of the blood orange. Stand it upright on a cutting board and slice the rind and white pith off the fruit using a gentle downward sawing motion, cutting away as little of the flesh as possible. Discard the rinds.

2. Cut the fruit crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Divide the slices evenly among the 6 wineglasses.

3. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar into each glass and muddle to extract the orange juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon vermouth to each glass and stir.

4. Divide the sparkling wine among the glasses, stir, garnish with blood orange slices, and serve.

We’ve all experienced it–the mid-holidays burnout. The traveling, cooking, and general stress of Thanksgiving can put your immune system in jeopardy right when the fun of December holidays is starting. Perk up with a quick cranberry treat. Warm or cold, take your pick and enjoy an antioxidant-laden beverage.

From the What Can I Bring? Cookbook by Anne Byrn:

Hot Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cider: (serves 20 – 24)

2 quarts apple cider
6 cups (1.5 quarts) cranberry juice
¼ packed cup light brown sugar
3 to 4 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 lemon, sliced

1. Place the apple cider, cranberry juice, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon slices in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer until the flavor develops, about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let steep in the pot for 30 minutes.

2. Pour the cider through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot or a slow cooker. Discard the cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon.

3. To serve, warm the cider over low heat on the stove or in the slow cooker. The spiced cider can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Reheat it before serving.

And for those that prefer something a little stronger around the holidays, here’s a recipe from Raising the Bar by Nick Mautone:

Scarlett O’Hara (makes two 5-ounce drinks)

4 ounces Southern Comfort
2 ounces fresh lime juice (from approximately 2 limes)
4 ounces cranberry juice
6 cranberries for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all the ingredients except the cranberries. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is beaded with sweat and frosty.

Strain into the cocktail glasses, garnish each glass with 3 cranberries, and serve.