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Refreshing Summer Beverages We Love – Saturday Spotlight

Happy weekend and welcome to the Saturday Spotlight!  Now that summer is in full swing, the temperatures seem to be in full scorch-mode…especially here in the northeast!  Actually, I think much of the US has been experiencing the same crazy hot weather.  If you’re going to be outdoors, remember to stay hydrated.  To help you out, today I’m highlighting some refreshing summer beverages we love!

 *For your convenience, please note that this post may contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking my links below, I will receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you).

Refreshing Summer Beverages – Iced Tea:

Who can resist a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day?  Or perhaps, you drink “sweet tea”?  Even though I refer to my tea as “iced tea”, I actually add some sugar to mine…but not as much as my friends and relatives down south!

Pitcher of iced tea with lemons by pool - refreshing summer beverages

acrylic pitcheracrylic glasses

Sometimes I add a squeeze of lemon as well.  In fact, I’m always trying to make the perfect iced tea.  Here are a couple tips I’ve learned on my quest for the perfect iced tea…

Homemade Iced Tea Tips:

  • To avoid cloudy iced tea, let your tea cool at room temperature instead of adding ice right away.
  • Don’t squeeze the tea bags to cut back on a bitter flavor.
  • Another way to avoid bitterness is to add a pinch of baking soda to your freshly brewed tea.

If you’re on the go, here are my favorite places to grab a quick iced tea:

  1. Chipotle – In my opinion, their iced tea is by far the best!  Sometimes, I’ll swing by Chipotle for their iced tea alone.  (Although, it’s really hard to resist their amazing guacamole as well!  It’s truly the best around!)
  2. Panera – Their iced tea usually has a good strong taste.

I’ll also grab an iced tea at Starbucks or Chick FilA but both tend to be a little weak.  Maybe they add too much ice…I’ll have to ask them for less next time.  

Refreshing Summer Beverages – Soda…or Pop:

Yes, in New Jersey, we call it “soda”… although I know in other areas of the country, they call it “pop” or even just “Coke”.  If you want to see the soda-pop breakdown for the US, check out this cute map I found.  Is the soda vs. pop map correct for your state?

Even though I’m not a huge soda drinker, I do enjoy an ice cold root beer every now and then…

Bottle of Stewarts Root Beer - refreshing summer beverages

For me, Stewart’s Root Beer has always been my favorite brand of root beer.  (not sponsored)  Not only do I love the flavor but I have fond summer memories of visiting Stewart’s Drive In.  Yes, it’s such a New Jersey thing… In fact, I think most of their remaining restaurants are located in New Jersey!

Anyway, when I was young, my parents would occassionally take us there for dinner.  I always loved how the servers would come to your car and hook a tray to the driver’s side window.  Actually, I think some locations still do that!  Of course, I remember always getting a big frosty mug of their famous root beer!  The best!  

And I must say, whoever came up with the idea to pour root beer over some vanilla ice cream was a genius!  Aren’t root beer floats the ultimate summer treat? 

Refreshing Summer Beverages – Cocktails and Mocktails:

If you’re like me, you enjoy a fun and fruity cocktail in the summer.  What’s better than a pina colada at the beach or pool?

Pina Colada - Refreshing Summer Beverages

Whenever I’m on vacation, I always drink pina coladas…among other things. 

For those of you who prefer a mocktail over a cocktail, I’ve tried some virgin pina colada recipes and some are quite good!

Funny story on that…We took a Caribbean vacation when I was just 6 weeks pregnant with my first son.  Since my husband knew I loved pina coladas, he ordered me a virgin one from the beach bar and mentioned that it couldn’t have any alcohol because I was pregnant.  Well, a young couple overheard him and at dinner that night, they stopped by our table to congratulate us for being pregnant!  At that point, we hadn’t even told our families so we always laugh about the fact that strangers were the first to know!  

Pretty Beverage Ideas for Summer:

Whether you’re drinking cocktails or mocktails, it’s nice to have a place to display them.

Recently, I styled my bar cart with a tropical theme!

Round gold bar cart and refreshing summer beverages

After all, some days are just too hot to be outside.  Why not enjoy a refreshing summer beverage in the cool air conditioning!

Refreshing Summer Beverages – White Wine:

When you do venture outdoors, a glass of crisp white wine is just perfect when you’re dining alfresco.  

Glasses of white wine - refreshing summer beverages

Personally, I like a simple glass of Pino Grigio.  Do you have a favorite white wine?

Shopping Finds:

If you need to update some of your summer beverage supplies, here are some shopping ideas:

Keep your beverages convenient for guests with this personalized steel beverage tub.  (Makes a great housewarming gift too!)

If you don’t have room for a bar cart, get the look with this pretty tray.

Make a batch of your favorite drinks to serve in practical acrylic pitcher.

And here are some more summer drink inspired finds:

For even more refreshing summer beverage ideas, here are a few finds from around the internet:

This summer, I hope you find a way to stay cool with a refreshing summer beverage of your own!

In case you missed last week’s Saturday Spotlight, visit –Patriotic Home Decor Ideas for the 4th of July – Saturday Spotlight.

Cheers!

What is your favorite summer beverage?

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12 Comments

  1. What a fun post! I love the virgin Pina Colada story! As soon as you mentioned root beer, bells went off in my brain! I love (seriously love) root beer floats in the summer time!! I have never heard of Stewart’s; growing up in southern California we had A&W Root Beer, and they also had the ‘restaurant’ and they would deliver your order to your car window, on roller skates!

    1. Aren’t root beer floats the best? Yeah, I think Stewarts is a northeast restaurant. Unfortunately, they’ve been disappearing over the years but New Jersey still has a bunch. I never realized A&W had the restaurant too! I think Stewart’s also did the roller skates a long time ago. What a fun job that would be…or not! Ha! Glad you enjoyed my post…Have a Happy 4th of July!

  2. Very refreshing post – now I need an ice cold drink! I like drinking Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper. And yes, we call everything “Coke” here in Texas. Have a happy 4th!

    1. Thanks Tanya! My husband is a huge Diet Coke drinker! He buys that stuff by the case and we always have stacks of them in the garage. Hope you are staying cool in Texas this weekend. It was super hot here earlier in the week but luckily it’s cooled down after the rain came through. Enjoy your 4th!

  3. This is such a great post. I didn’t know that squeezing the teabag causes tea to be bitter. I also loved the soda/pop thing and took a look at the map. Here in New Zealand, we call them fizzy drinks as a collective. Isn’t it interesting how different names come for the same items. Really enjoyed reading this one.

    1. Thank you Carol! Fizzy drinks is such a cute name…I always love hearing the different names for things around the world. Thanks again and have a great week!

  4. Hey there, fellow connoisseur of ice tea! Thanks for the tips on home brew … I didn’t know about adding baking soda. These days I rarely make my own tea as I love, love, love the Tejava brand and buy it by the case at Trader Joe’s. My mother, from Alabama, drank a ton of sweet tea. And, I mean sweet. I’m a no sweetener kinda gal … but a lemon wedge is always welcome. I judge restaurants by the quality of their ice tea … if its not passable, I probably won’t be back. I mean … this is a serious subject, right?! When I’m not drinking ice tea you know I love a Spritzer … thanks for sharing my post! xo

    1. Yay, another tea fan! Thanks for your recommendation…Our closest Trader Joe’s is about 30 minutes away but I’ll definitely put their tea on my list! As I mentioned, it can be so hard to find a good tea – maybe I’m just too picky! Thanks for stopping by!

  5. We are in a long heat wave here in ID. Your post reminded me that I like iced tea and need to make a large pitcher. Thanks for sharing at the FWF party, Shelley.
    Hugs,
    RR

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