To help ward off the August heat and keep cool, we thought we’d put together a list of refreshing summer drinks with local flavour.
Rebujito
The origin of rebujito is to be found in the English combination known as Sherry Cobbler, born in the mid-nineteenth century, and very popular in the Victorian era among distinguished classes. With the passage of time, the rebujito became the reference drink of Andalusia and especially of the fairs of Seville and Jerez. The mixture includes chamomile or fine wine with lemon-lime flavored soda – like Sprite or 7Up, and mint that gives the mixture its special and refreshing taste.
Tisana
Many people know the tisanes as sangria de cava. Fresh, more fruity than wine sangria, they have their own and unmistakable spirit and are perfect companions at any time of the day, both in aperitifs as well as in after-parties and evenings by the sea. The ingredients include orange, lemon, passion fruit and pineapple juice, plus vanilla syrup and ripe pieces of mango, to which cava (the Catalan sparkling wine) is added, as well as various fruit for decoration and extra flavour.
Tinto de verano
The story goes that in the beignning of the 20th century “El Brillante in Córdoba was an establishment where guitaristas, artists, and bohemians all found refuge and respite from the beating sun, at the hands of their host Federico Vargas. Vargas found a way to take the heat off for his patrons with a drink that was a mix of a red wine and lemon soda pop which soon came to be known as: Tinto de Verano or Red Wine of the Summer, synonymous with feeling refreshed and cool in the Spanish Sun.” (www.drinktinto.com)
Tinto de verano is a simple combination of one part table red wine and one part gaseosa (gaseosa is the general term for sodas and carbonated drinks) or, sometimes, with a slice of lemon served over ice. Rum sometimes can be added as well to the drink.
