Mojitos may whisper summer breezes, but margaritas scream fun all year long. Do yourself and your friends a favor and stock up on the best tequila you can get. Why? Well, you go get hammered on a couple of pitchers of Cuervo margaritas, and call me the next morning with the answer. Adam at Men In Aprons supports that sentiment, and lists Tezon Tequila in his own Holiday Gift Guide on his site. Is that a shopcast waiting to happen or what? Tell ya what, Adam — you bring the Tezon, we’ll bring the limes and Cointreau. Deal?

Mulling over what to get that friend who has absolutely everything for the bar? Betcha she doesn’t have the best mojito gear ever. ThisNexter Stephanie Lucianovic, writing for Bay Area Bites, hearts Chase & Co.’s mojito-making mojo, from their eco-friendly bamboo muddlers (no polyurethane finish to flake off and poison your coktailing guests!), super svelte glasses and chic pitchers. Those tubular glasses are also available in a gift set of four, cleverly packaged in a Cuban-style cigar box and sporting recipes for the ultimate minty rum refresher.

Sure, mojitos are a little out of season right now (unless you live in Miami or Los Angeles), but who doesn’t need a reminder of sun, fun and rum in the dark of winter? Besides, it truly is the gift that keeps giving; come summer,  your giftee will pull the set out and thank you months after the fact. Que bueno!

We just love us the mojitos. We love them so much, you can make them with vodka instead of rum, and cherries instead of mint, and we’ll still love them. Considering Martha (well, probably Martha’s minions) made the recipe, you know it’s destined for rockstar popularity among queer foodies everywhere. So if it’s good enough for Bloghungry, it’s so good enough for us.

We just love a good aperitif. Evidently, so do at least another dozen or so bloggers out there. The most recent installment of itinerant blog cocktailing event Mixology Monday was focused on the pre-dinner potable, and bloggers came out in droves to share their favorites. Some concocted complicated (and in one case calamitous) cocktails; others took the high road and went for a classy glass of bubbly. No doubt, all went on to have a satisfying meal afterwards. Mixology Monday demonstrates how a civilized drink — and the blogosphere — can bring us all together.

Traditionally, a Pimm’s Cup is made with ginger ale, a spear of cucumber and, of course, Pimm’s, a mildly spicy, gin-based liqueur. It’s a refreshing and cooling drink, perfect for balmy summer days, especially when croquet is involved. But my mixological lexicon with respect to Pimm’s was limited to that one concoction, until now. Hungry Magazine offers an alternative version of the drink, with lemonade, 7-Up, citrus and cucumber. It’s a more complex rendition, yet none the less refreshing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to put on my tennis sweater and Docksiders. Has anyone seen my mallet?

Sure, cold beer is the cure for summer heat. But if you’re looking for something more sophisticated, nothing cools like a cucumber cocktail. Liquor Snob steals borrows this refreshing cocktail recipe from the New York Times. With lime and mint, it’s much like a mojito, the “it” drink of a few years back, but the cucumber gives it that extra “aaahhh.” Kind of like spa water. With booze.

The recipe calls for either vodka or gin (specifically Hendricks). If gin’s not your thing, pump up the cucumber power by making your own cucumber vodka infusion. What could be cooler?