Summer is in full swing, it’s going at full tilt, it's turned up to 11 and it’s hot. All I want to do is lie in a hammock, at a lake, but I don’t have a hammock or a lake particularly handy. Instead I have reoriented my whole life around finding and consuming cool drinks. My main motivation, my primary reason for being is cool drinks. Life has become a just a series of obstacles between me and my next cool drink. Lemonade is the quintessential, the platonic, the ur-summertime quaff. This sweet-tart minty lemonade is even more refreshing, even more summery and cooling than the standard version.

You can feel perfectly free to booze this up or not. Just about anything you have handy would be delightful, vodka, gin or especially tequila turn this into a very fortifying little cocktail in a hurry.

boozy (or not) mint lemonade:

½ cup sugar
3 cups water
1 large bunch mint, about 2 cups
1 cup lemon juice

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Add ½ the mint and lightly crush with a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.

Stir together lemon juice, cooled syrup and most remaining mint (leaving a few stems for garnish if you like). Serve ice cold, with mint for garnish, with or without a spirit boost. Do your best to find a hammock.