Refreshing summer drinks best served in glass

Summertime is still in the air, and there's no better excuse to chill out with a cool beverage. Here are some of our favourite drinks to enjoy in the sun - best served up in glass, naturally. Perfect for entertaining friends or for kicking back on the terrace with a book, who says happy hour need only last an hour?

Brew up a kickass kombucha.

Kom-what-now? A carbonated beverage made from sweetened tea along with a bacteria and yeast culture known as a ‘scoby,’ kombucha has become all the rage on health store shelves in recent years. It can be found in a wide variety of delicious flavours, including ginger, apple and mint, and can even be brewed at home. Better yet, kombucha boasts a wide range of health benefits, including strengthening your immune system, improving digestion and preventing against disease – so it’s delicious and good for your body.

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Why serve it in glass? Glass is the best material to preserve the unique health benefits of kombucha: it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA) or polycarbonates which could leach out of the packaging and end up in your drink and in your body. It also preserves the delicious flavours and healthy qualities of the kombucha cultures for longer. However you prefer to enjoy it, remember that kombucha contains living cultures and should always be kept refrigerated.

Fun fact: Kombucha can trace its history all the way back to the Qin Dynasty in China in 221 BC, where it was known as the “Remedy for Immortality.”

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While away the evening with a whisky.

It may not seem like the most obvious choice for a summer drink at first glance, but you can’t deny that whisky never goes out of style – and it makes the perfect accompaniment to a beachfront bonfire on those late summer nights. Whether you prefer your whiskies neat and heavily flavoured by peat and smoke, mixed into a cocktail or enjoyed ‘on the rocks,’ when it comes to savouring the water of life, glass really is unparalleled.

Stylish glass drinkware options abound, whether you prefer an elegant nosing copita, traditional crystal tumbler or even one of the iconic Glencairn style glasses, designed specifically to best appreciate the appearance and aromas. Visualising the whisky in the glass is part of the whisky connoisseur’s sensory journey, allowing the rich amber colours to be best appreciated while retaining the aromas. And of course, whisky wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t come packaged in glass, ready to be shipped the world over. With some collectors holding on to their unopened bottles for decades, the protective qualities of glass ensures that the quality and flavour of the whisky doesn’t change over time.

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Fun fact: The world’s largest bottle of whisky is a bottle of 14 year old Tomintoul single malt, which sold for £15,000 (around €13,600 euros) in 2019. At 1.5m tall and weighing in at 180kg, that adds up to 105.3 litres, or an incredible 5,250 drams of whisky. Slàinte Mhath!

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Blend up a smoothie.

Delicious for kids and adults alike, nothing beats a refreshing fruit smoothie on a summer’s day. With glass, you can enjoy all the health benefits of a smoothie, the way it’s meant to be enjoyed. Banana and peanut butter, frozen berries, spinach and apple… What’s your favourite?

Glass keeps your drink fresher for longer, preserving all the natural textures and tastes.

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Fun fact: The fruit fiber in a balanced fruit smoothie takes longer to digest, leaving you feeling full for longer.

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When life gives you lemons, make herbal lemonade!

You might not be going very far this year – but that doesn’t mean you can’t be adventurous at home. Keen to add a little bit more sophistication to your homemade lemonade?

Try this for a touch of the Mediterranean: add equal parts sugar and water to a saucepan over a medium heat and boil down to make a syrup, stirring occasionally until the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and add a few sprigs of rosemary. Strain into a glass jar, and leave it in the fridge for an hour or two to infuse. Serve up in a pitcher with squeezed lemons, cold water and ice, take it out into the garden, sit back with your favourite book and enjoy! As an alternative to lemonade, try orange juice and soda water. Stored in a clean glass bottle or jar, the rosemary syrup will keep in the fridge for a few weeks and can be added to lemonades, cocktails or even prosecco.

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Fun fact: Ever wondered why lemonade does such a good job at quenching your thirst? The first sign of dehydration is often a dry mouth, and sour drinks are known to stimulate the salivary glands – providing instant relief. Drink up!