Rum

Four fresh fruits bring a sunny taste of the tropics to your table. If you want to make this a virgin drink, simply omit the rum and add an extra cup of tangerine juice.

This drink was featured as a Cocktail of the Month. Click here to learn more about the Ti Punch.

Strawberries and kiwi wedges are threaded onto lemongrass skewers for a fun garnish. To make the skewers, cut a four-inch piece from the tough end of a lemongrass stalk, then peel away the outer layers until only a 1/4-inch-diameter skewer remains. (Look for lemongrass in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.)

A fresh raspberry syrup infuses this pretty drink with bright fruit flavor.

Marsala, a Sicilian fortified wine, is traditionally used to flavor zabaglione, a light dessert custard. In this recipe, rum is added for a more intense flavor.

Affogato is a typically Italian way to enjoy ice cream — it's literally "drowned" in espresso or another liquid topping. (Lemon sorbetto splashed with grappa is a refreshing summer example.)

Eli Gorelick of West Orange, New Jersey, writes: "As a kid growing up in Cuba, I worked alongside my mother every day in the kitchen, learning how to make specialties like picadillo and fried bananas. I still think Havana has the best Cuban food in the world, and I continue to love the recipes I learned during my childhood." Look for canned coconut milk in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Cachaça, a spirit made from sugarcane, gives these drinks their distinctive flavor. In Brazil it is traditional to make caipirinhas one or two at a time, as we do here. For ease of entertaining, however, you can simply combine all the ingredients in a pitcher.

Semifreddo al Torrone e Cioccolato The frozen dessert that Italians make at home is usually a semifreddo, which translates literally as half-cold. It comes by its name because a semifreddo always contains some ingredient such as biscuits, candied fruits, nuts, or ricotta that does not freeze solid and hence does not require the freezing power of an ice cream machine. All it needs is an overnight stay in the freezer. The key ingredient in this semifreddo is torrone, the hard Piedmontese nougat bar made from egg whites and almonds that in northern Italy is an inseparable part of any well-stuffed Christmas basket.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This simple, refreshing drink really is easy to make and much better than a mix. By the way, these measurements are approximate. Adjust the recipe to your own taste, whether that's on the sweet or the tart end of the spectrum. You can also perk this up for your drinking friends with a dash of Bacardi Limon.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This drink is perfect for breakfast celebrations. It's light and fresh with the tang of citrus.

This dessert has been the grand finale for every type of fancy dinner at Highlands, from museum balls we've catered to family Thanksgiving meals to nightly desserts. Buttery sweet potato filling, sweet coconut, and crunchy pecans combine with a dark rum crème anglaise to make a minor classic. This also pairs well with a cinnamon crème anglaise (see Variation).

This punch — containing rum, Cognac, and peach brandy — is potent. If it packs a bit too much of a wallop for your taste, you can dilute it with cold black tea, a common mixer for this particular punch, or with seltzer water, for a bit of fizz. Some punch bowls may not be big enough to accommodate the size ice block we call for — feel free to use other freezing containers that are more suitably shaped. And though the block is a classic part of this recipe, you can, of course, simply serve the punch in a pitcher over ice cubes.