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Here's to summer drinks

Some cocktails are just better suited for sweltering weather. No one wants a hot toddy when they are cookin' themselves. Gin, rum and fruity blender drinks, or fruity martinis, are what the weatherman orders when the humidity and the temperature meet somewhere in the 90s. Some of our favorite summer drinks with recipes from www.drinksmixer.com and the Wharf restaurant on St. Pete Beach:

GIN AND TONIC

2 ounces gin

5 ounces tonic water

1 lime wedge

Pour the gin and the tonic water into a highball glass almost filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Garnish with the lime wedge.

1 1/2 ounces light rum

4 or 5 strawberries

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients with 1 cup of crushed ice in blender. Blend at low speed for a short time. Pour and serve.

1 ounce Cruzan mango rum

1 ounce mango liqueur

3 ounces pineapple juice

Mango chunk to garnish

Shake rum, liqueur and juice over ice. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with mango chunk.

3 fresh mint sprigs

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 ounces light rum

Club soda

In a tall, thin glass, crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with chilled club soda. Add a lemon slice and the remaining mint. Serve.

2 ounces tequila

Orange juice

2 dashes grenadine

Pour tequila in a highball glass with ice and top with orange juice. Stir. Add grenadine by tilting glass and pouring grenadine down side. The grenadine should go straight to the bottom and then rise up slowly through the drink.

1 1/2 ounce vodka

4 ounces cranberry juice

Combine in a highball glass with ice. Garnish with a wedge of lime and serve.