I know everyone is tripping all over themselves to shove summer into the grave, but in our household, summer don't stop 'til the equinox is upon us. Particularly in light of the brutal winter we had East of the Rockies, when someone waxes poetic about putting boots and tights back on, I. Cant. Even.

So I'm holding onto summer the best way I know how: With booze. I'll drink cider with ya in a few more weeks, promise. But until then, let's enjoy something refreshing.

This cocktail was born out of necessity. Namely, the necessity for a post-bedtime (Lou's, not mine) drink, and all we had on hand was whiskey. I don't love whiskey, but I wondered if there was something I could do to make it more my style - sweeter, perhaps, and sparkly? I had a bag of frozen berries and some club soda, so I Googled something like "whiskey berry cocktail" and came up with this strawberry number from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. From that, this was born.

Mixed Berry Whiskey Sour

Adapted from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

Makes one cocktail

• 1oz simple syrup (Bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil and let simmer until sugar is dissolved. Cool before using).
• 1oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup (Small handful) frozen or fresh mixed berries (I love the chill the frozen brings, but I'm sure fresh would be great)
• 2oz whiskey, bourbon or rye (I used Maker's Mark)
• Club soda or seltzer
• Ice

1. Place frozen berries in the bottom of a sturdy glass. Add simple syrup and lemon juice and let hang out for several minutes - maybe four or five. A syrup will start to form pretty quickly, but you can mash gently with the back of a wooden spoon to get juices going even more.

Add your whiskey to the berry mixture and give a gentle stir. Then fill the glass with ice and pour club soda or seltzer over the whole shebang. Watch the pretty ombre deliciousness.

Now drink up! Sweet, but not too sweet, and the berries go really well with the whiskey. If you're looking for a non-alcoholic bev, the whiskey-less version is also really tasty and feels special.

Cheers!