Barbecue drinks

A full glass left in the sun for half an hour will be lukewarm before you finish it, and lukewarm is the end of the flavor in almost anything you serve outdoors. So it is better to pour half a glass more often from the pitcher than to fill it to the brim once: what is in the glass stays cold, and by the end of the evening there will be fewer half-finished drinks on the table. It also suits the way you eat, because you take small sips between bites of meat rather than emptying a whole glass at once. In the meantime, keep the pitcher in the shade instead of on the table in full sun, so the second pour is just as cold as the first.

Once the meat is on the grill, you do not want to be mixing drinks by the glass. So make the long drink in a pitcher: allow for eight 12.5 cl glasses per liter, and use one part spirits to just over three parts juice or soft drink. Stir the base together without ice or fizz, chill the pitcher, and top it up only when serving. For more than eight people, a dispenser with a tap is more practical, as everyone can serve themselves and no one has to carry it. Put a second pitcher without alcohol beside it, using the same base.

Grilled meat has smoke and charred edges, so it calls for something that can stand up to them: a spicy or smoky drink, or something with ginger to counter the fat. With fish and shrimp, it works the other way around: the lighter and fresher, the better, so choose a dry white wine or something with citrus. Grilled vegetables fall somewhere in between and are often sweeter than you expect because of caramelization, so rosé or a lightly bitter long drink is a good match. With a sweet marinade, you should always choose something bitter rather than something sweet.

The smaller the ice, the more surface area comes into contact with the drink, and the faster it melts. One 4 cm cube will therefore last much longer in the sun than a handful of cubes from a standard tray, and will dilute your drink less along the way. Freeze the cubes the day before and store them in a sealed bag, otherwise they will absorb the smell of the freezer. For chilling bottles, use regular ice, but add it to a bucket with water: water conducts heat better than ice alone, so a bottle will be cold within fifteen minutes.

Tempered glass is more resistant to impact and temperature changes than ordinary glass and can therefore handle a long evening outdoors. If there is a stone floor, a swimming pool or children walking barefoot, plastic is the wiser choice: it can fall over without consequences and you can stack it. View the shatterproof glasses and the plastic cocktail glasses. A glass crate is handy for carrying everything outside and back inside in one go.

There is always someone who still has to drive, and they spend the whole evening eating outside with everyone else. So put out enough alcohol-free options, not just one bottle at the end: the same drink without spirits, as well as the alcohol-free gin and tonic, the alcohol-free Spritz or something from the mocktails. Crodino is a bitter non-alcoholic aperitif that serves the same purpose as a spritz. Serve it in the same glass as the rest. NIX18: under 18, no alcohol.