Shall we give tribute to a summer's day? What could be more lovely and temperate than the blender blades stirring the darling fruits of today, for summer's lease hath all too short a date! So what are you waiting for? Nothing sighs "summer quenching" better than an icy blender drink. And the beauty is, you can toss just about any combination of fruits, a healthy slosh of rum (or tequila or vodka or . . . ?) and a handful of ice, and hit the button for a pitcherful of party.

I've included some recipes collected from sources both savory and seedy (all personally sampled—that is, inspected—by a willing and professional panel of blenderologists) to get you started. In other words, you've just been issued your own poetic license to go blender crazy.

Some tips:

• In general, four ice cubes per serving makes a slush and eight makes a frozen drink. Follow your own bliss.

• Use only fresh ice (not those old cubes with little crumbs and bits of parsley stuck to them).

• Smaller cubes are easier to blend, crushed ice being easiest, and gentler on the old Osterizer.

• You can use frozen fruit or fresh ripe seasonal fruit. If using the latter, make sure to toss it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before starting.

• It's a good idea to keep alcohol in the freezer. Your mantra should be: Keep it cool.

• Blend for no more than 45 to 60 seconds. Overblending will make your creations watery.

• Serve immediately. If you have any of your concoction left over, keep it cool, and reblend before serving.

• Fruit flavors can be accentuated by adding appropriate juices and/or flavored liqueurs.

• These babies are usually served in parfait glasses, but any tall glass will do.

• Now's the time to break out those little paper umbrellas and fancy stirrers. These drinks demand to be pimped out to the max.

• Sip slowly or suffer the worse kind of brain freeze.

• Remember, just 'cause they look like smoothies, doesn't mean they are. Go easy, pardner.

Icy Bliss

Here are both classic and more exotic recipes to prepare individual portions; multiply by the number in your party (or by the most vocal of your party) accordingly.

Strawberry Daiquiri

 2 ounces light rum

1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce triple sec

1/2 tsp. superfine sugar

1 cup ice

5 strawberries

Garnish with a strawberry. Variations: Instead of strawberries, or in combination to taste, add chunks of mango, banana, blueberries, peach and/or pineapple.

Blue Bayou

1 cup of ice

1 1/2 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce blue Curaçao

1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple

2 ounces grapefruit juice

Garnish with a chunk of pineapple.

Spiked Frozen Lemonade

3/4 cup lemonade

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup lemon sorbet

1/2 cup vodka

1 cup ice

Garnish with mint sprigs.

Frozen Fruit Margarita

1 ounce tequila

1/2 ounce triple sec

1/2 ounce sour mix

1/2 cup ice

fresh fruit and fruit liqueur of your choice; lime juice to taste

Garnish with a lime slice.

Rock Lobster

1 ounce coconut rum

1/2 ounce banana liqueur

dash of grenadine

1/2 ripe banana

dash of pineapple juice

dash of orange juice

1 cup ice  

dark rum to top

—A.Y.

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