Summer's Best Cocktails

When life gives you lemons, make... limoncello? That's what the bartenders over at Flatbush Farm & Bar(n) in Brooklyn are doing, anyway. When I recently went to celebrate a friend's birthday, the bartender sent her a mystery drink that was all lemony smoothness, mixed with lemon rind-infused vodka, Prosecco and a hint of St-Germain, an elderflower-based liqueur. Here, some more refreshing limoncello cocktails that will help you weather the mid-August swelter:

Citron Shake: A spin on the White Lady cocktail that Harry MacElhone served at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1929. Limoncello replaces Cointreau.

Limoncello Collins: The characters in my favorite J.D. Salinger novella, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, cool off with gin-based Tom Collins. Consider this drink a Tom Collins lite, with less gin, more limoncello. 

Smith & Thomas: Bartender Regan Smith and bar manager Curt Thomas of Emeril's Atlanta created this limoncello-and-black-tea cocktail for a party in honor of local celebrity Tom Houck, who was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s driver.

Bitter Queen: From the Martini Bar at the Raleigh Hotel in Miami, this drink, with equal parts Campari and limoncello, rightly lives up to its name.  

Pink Panther: This limoncello-spiked twist on the Sea Breeze, served at Delmar Restaurant & Lounge in St. Louis, gets its pink hue from fresh red grapefruit juice.