Maybe it’s the fact that it’s finally warm enough in the summertime to step outside and feel the breeze without wincing, or maybe the wind really does smell sweeter, but either way, there is definitely something fun and breezy about summer. There is something light and bubbly about this season and there are a wide array of drinks out there to accompany such a bohemian sensation.

Why do I feel more comfortable drinking in the afternoon in the summertime than I do in the winter? Is it the dazzling sunlight that beckons me to the outdoor seating of bars, whispering, “It’s vacation weather. Drink up…”? Is that what does it? Who knows. Regardless, here is my personal list of summertime beverages that I know I won’t be going without this year.

WINE SPRITZERS

I may easily be an old cougar at a country club despite the fact that I’m a 24 year old girl in the big city…I don’t care. I like wine spritzers. They’re so bubbly and delicious and easy to make on your own. Wine+Sprite+Ice+decorative lemon= BOOYAH, a tasty wine spritzer. I used to always drink these with red wines, but I’ve moved on to the lighter white wines these days and I love it.

CORONA

It’s the commercials, I think. Advertising is a bitch and it f*cking works. I can’t help it. If someone hands me a corona in the summertime, I might as well be laying on a Mexican beach silently with a hot guy. Because that’s how I feel. Stupid? Yes. Irrelevant? Yes. Bad beer? Nope. It’s good. Very good.

NEW ZEALAND WHAT?

Who knows what this drink is called, but my roomie who spent some time in New Zealand learned this trashy trick of the cheap alcohol trade there and I really do sorta LOVE it. It’s Coors Light mixed with Smirnoff. Sound disgusting? Yeah, you’re right, it does.

I actually only tried it to begin with because it sounded like puke and I was SURE that she was going to be dead wrong about it being tasty. Low and behold, I was the wrong one. This drink is better than you’d expect and if you’re at all repulsed by the idea of it, then I encourage you to try it even more so. It’s surprisingly good. And refreshing.

There are plenty of other summery drinks where these came from. Who’s got recommendations?

I do like to experiment with new beers, though. I really, really adore blueberry beer on a warm day (it’s totally refreshing, you should try it), pumpkin beer in the fall, Brooklyn Lager anytime.

While theres not a whole lot of things that go better together than pizza and beer, can you imagine drinking a pizza flavored beer? Sounds gross. But someone’s drinking it.

A husband and wife from Illinois decided to try a homemade brew after growing too many tomatoes in their garden. They mixed together the tomatoes, basil, oregano and some garlic into a puree, and added it as is into their own blended wheat—and voila! Mama Mia Pizza Beer.

I read some reviews, and words like “impeccable” and “tasty” were used. One person said it tastes like you are actually drinking a pizza. Which is perhaps the most unappetizing thing I have ever heard. I don’t even like cold pizza, and the thought of it pureed into something I should drink? Gimme a goldfish to swallow. I imagine, though, that there are some boys out there that could make this their favorite new libation.