Choose lighter drinks as temperatures rise

The transition from spring to summer in the potent potables business is like switching your dresser and closet from sweaters and tweed to linen, cotton and breezier clothing choices.

Now that summer is here, the same has to happen with cocktails and wine.

Just the thought of bourbon on the rocks (which some of us were drinking just weeks ago) makes me feel a little sweaty. The concept to keep in mind is to lighten up — either in color or alcohol content.

Before wine was common on American tables, booze was king.

During that era, there were two categories of spirit: brown and white goods. This terminology may sound strange, but it’s how liquor salesmen, retailers and restaurateurs referred to the two main types of distilled spirits.

Brown goods spend time aging in a barrel, picking up color, sweetness and flavor from the charred insides of those barrels. They include every category of whiskey and most brandies.

White goods are epitomized by vodka, the “whitest” of all spirits, because it has the least flavor and character. Gin and silver or light rum also fit into the category of white goods.

Cocktails based on brown goods tend to have a deeper, warmer flavor best appreciated during the colder months.

Some folks drink the same thing year-round and there is nothing wrong with the occasional single-malt Scotch, even in July; but drinks made with white goods are just cleaner tasting.

As the weather warms, we start to think about gin and tonic rather than a whiskey sour or a margarita instead of scotch and soda.

As you lighten up the color of the spirit, the drinks you make will be more appropriate for warm weather.

Wine should also be somewhat color-dependent as the weather warms.

I find the thought of a full-bodied, rich red wine almost as off-putting as bourbon in the summer.

There’s another factor in play: The food we eat has lightened up, too. Beef stew on July Fourth? Nope. Lighter, grilled and even chilled fare is on the menu.

It’s only natural the wine choices parallel the food, so we find more white and pink wine on the table.

Although almost all rosé is appropriate — both refreshing and lower alcohol — some whites can be pretty full-bodied, especially if fermented in oak barrels (like many chardonnays). So if you’re looking for drier, more refreshing whites, avoid most barrel-fermented wines and keep the alcohol below 14 percent.

For specific recommendations, the rosé one is easy: anything pink.

Beware of American rosés that have some sweetness, as in white zinfandel. They are fine to use as a cocktail, but will interfere with food flavors if you’re planning to serve with lunch or dinner.

As for white summer wines, Vinho Verde from Portugal is right in the wheelhouse. Low alcohol, bright acidity and particularly refreshing with its little spritz of carbonation. Good on its own, it is also great at washing down the simple, relaxed fare of summer.

Also, German Rieslings, especially from the Moselle, are delicate and fragrant, and many come in under 10 percent alcohol. They are often off-dry or a little sweet and might be a little tricky with some foods. But they taste like sunshine in a glass and will wash down a hot dog better than most beers.

Now for a bit of a twist.

While sherry probably makes you think of your great aunt Sadie sipping cream sherry after a holiday dinner, there are many light, bright-tasting sherries that are both great on their own and in cocktails.

Fino sherry is what they drink in Spain, often with tapas before dinner. A sub-category is manzanilla, a briny-tasting fino from a town in the Jerez wine region. These wines are fortified with alcohol, but still taste light. In fact, they should also look light in the glass. If they’re brownish or gold in color, send it back or take the bottle back to the store where you bought it. This means the bottle is old or the wine hasn’t been stored properly. Fino and manzanilla should be as bright and light in color as a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.

The two most popular finos here are Tio Pepe and La Ina. Served chilled with appetizers or on the rocks with a lemon twist, they taste like a white wine with a little added complexity from their long aging in barrels. They do take a little getting used to at first, but I recommend giving them a try (as long as they’re not brown).

As for the cocktails, I learned about one from a recent seminar on sherry cocktails that I attended.

Pale Rider uses fresh jalape?o chili peppers macerated with silver (blanco) tequila. For that part of the recipe, soak the flesh of one jalape?o, no seeds or inner ribs, in half a bottle of tequila for about one day. The recipe is from Katie Stipe of Mayahuel Restaurant in New York City.