Summer drinking

I don't really talk about drinks here because I am the world's least sophisticated drinker. The cheaper the better. The only question I ask of alcohol is: can it burn holes through carpet? If so, pass it along. Quickly, now.

But with the summer - or this approximation of "summer" we have here - comes a new kind of drinking and the possibility of a sundowner, rather than just yopping the cork out of a £5.99 Merlot as the second hand flicks over to 6pm and sinking down at the kitchen table with some scraggy, dishwasher-cloudy wineglass (or just a ladle).

Anyway, raging through the larder yesterday for something that would constitute a cheerful drinky to a) celebrate the sunny evening and b) mask the worst effects of my headcold, I stumbled across a bottle of Martini Rosato, which is just like Martini Rosso (mmmmm) only made with pomegranate and lime.

It makes a very fetching summer drink just poured neat over a lot of ice with some lemon (or lime):

So this summer, if I ever get round to having people over, I'm going to dispense with Pimm's. All that chopping up fruit and dicking about with lemonade drives me nuts and I don't want to have to keep running back to the kitchen and hacking up orange ("Ouch ouch! My eye!") while I'm trying to have a nice time. My guests can have Martini Rosato and like it. Another decorative thing to do for a party - thanks to Rita Konig's Culinary Trickery - is to deploy prosecco in tumblers full of ice. It's a very refreshing drinky, even if it can't burn holes through carpet.




NB - apologies for over-staged photo. I just can't get over how nice other bloggers' pictures are so I'm trying to make an effort.