You guys! Summer is fast coming to a close. Whaaaaa happened?! I barely broke out my bathing suit, my feet hardly touched anything that resembles sand, and I didn’t eat nearly enough grilled meats al fresco. Summer, I hardly knew ye.  Every year, it’s always at this exact time, at the onset of Labor Day weekend, I try to cram as much summer-time goodness into those last remaining days.

It’s always a mixed bag at this time of year, here in the northeast. It’s either disgustingly humid or a rainy sog-fest. But we’ve been so lucky for most of August. It’s been pretty dreamy.

Take the other night, for instance, at a heavenly dinner under the Williamsburg Bridge at the North Brooklyn Farm – an urban farm that has transformed a vacant lot into a thriving, green space that grows actual food, that they then sell at a pick your own farm stand and also serve for a three course farm to table sunset dinner. I’ve been to a few of these dinners since they started last year and they are always pretty magical. Especially when the weather is so divine. And we couldn’t have asked for better weather. To celebrate the last few never-ending, sun-soaked days of the year, I thought we all deserved a cocktail to salute the occasion.

I knew that I wanted to use peaches and basil and, somehow incorporate the artichoke based Italian bitter liqueur, Cynar. An agave-sweetened peach tea made an excellent base for this. I also wanted a super easy drink to pre-batch for a large group…

The Last Drop of Summer
8 cups cooled peach or apricot tea sweetened with 4 ounce agave
1 bottle Tequila Partida Blanco
1 bottle St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
2 cups Cynar
1 cup lemon juice
2 liters club soda
3 peaches, diced
1 bunch of fresh basil

Pour the sweetened tea, tequila, liqueur and lemon juice into a large canister. Add the chopped peaches and half the basil leaves. Let sit for about 20 minutes. Ladle over ice-filled glasses, top with club soda and garnish with basil.

Our hosts at the North Brooklyn Farm, Henry and Emma.

So, drink in these last few days of summer. And drink this actual cocktail, The Last Drop of Summer! May all of your days and nights be filled with amazing food, great friends and spiked aromatic peach tea.

photos by Morgan Visconti and Prairie Rose