(Adapted from Sally Ann Berk's "The New New York Bartender's Guide.")

Summer is here, and that means lots of downtime, sleeping in, and savoring a summer cocktail while swinging lazily in the hammock, right? Not if you've got kids. Give yourself some relief from the kitchen with this easy to prepare, healthful drink. Your kids will start to ask for it by name, and not only because it's fun to say.

You will need:

• 8 parts purple grape juice (4 oz.)
• 1 part fresh lime juice (1/2 oz.)
• Sparkling water

Put some ice cubes in a shaker and pour in all of the juices. Shake for a bit to fully combine and aerate the juices. Then, just pour into a cup and top off with sparkling water to give it a fun little fizz. If you want to make your little ones feel fancy, garnish with a lime slice. Voila! A perfect companion to kid party food without the stress.

Classic Margarita

Everybody should know how to make a margarita. There are many ways you can tweak the ingredients, pours, or presentation to make it uniquely yours, but here we will just give you the basics. Have fun!

You will need:

• Tequila, 6 parts (3 oz.)
• Triple Sec, 2 parts (1 oz.)
• Lime juice, 4 parts (2 oz.)

Directions:

• Rim the glass by running a lime wedge along the edge and then dipping the glass carefully into coarse salt.
• In a shaker filled with ice, pour the tequila, triple sec and lime juice. You can use either silver or gold tequila. Always try to use freshly squeezed lime juice.
• Shake well
• Strain and pour into the margarita glass filled with either cubed or crushed ice.

Place a lime wedge or wheel on the edge and enjoy a summer classic.