Cold soups take nicely to the addition of a little alcohol.

Usually light in body and moderate in alcohol, saisons are defined by their variety.

Some whiskeys are sufficiently light and refreshing to stand alongside gin or vodka in a summertime bar.

The rules for matching cocktails with food are a lot more lax than with wine.

The British liqueur Pimm’s No. 1 is the basis for a suddenly booming hot-weather refresher.

The country’s top bartenders suggest seasonal drinks with just three main ingredients — loads of refreshment for minimal effort.

Bars are not just serving beer solo but also using it as one of many players in mixed drinks.

This fizzy aperitif, a longtime favorite in Venice in which liqueurs are mixed with white wine and sparkling water, has been turning up in New York, Berlin and elsewhere.

A category of cocktails that are not shaken or stirred, but rather swizzled with a genuine swizzle stick, snapped off a tree native to the Caribbean.

Around the country, some bars are dusting off the blender and even giving it a place of honor.

The spirits panel tasted 20 bottles of gin, mostly made by young distilleries. The lesson was clear: making gin is not for amateurs.

The wine panel tasted 20 bottles of rosé, a summery wine that is often taken for granted.

The panel tasted rhums agricoles and cachaças, captivating rums distilled purely from fresh sugar-cane juice.

A guide to summer bartending, when the only frost is on the glass.