5 cool sips for your summer picnic

This is the summer of the picnic. With so many restrictions on events and large gatherings, our social lives have moved almost entirely outdoors. A picnic is an easy alternative to going out that invites a huge amount of creativity. It can entail everything from dance parties and board games to massive takeout meals and platters of home-cooked delights – or it can just mean drinking a six-pack and eating a bag of chips with a friend. 

Choosing the right drink for a picnic – or anywhere, really – is a monumental decision that could affect the rest of your life. With this in mind, we’ve recommended some of our favorite summer beverages, from an astonishingly good Italian rose to a new heavy (but not too heavy) hitter from Rockwell Beer Co.

G.D. Vajra Rosabella Rosato 
This is the summer juice you need to be drinking. It has tang, depth and notes of strawberry and rose.
$15. Parker’s Table, 7118 Oakland Ave., Richmond Heights, 314.645.2050, parkerstable.com

Rockwell Beer Co. Static Dark Lager 
This new classic from Rockwell isn’t the crushable summer lager you’re used to. It harnesses flavors usually found in a stout – deep, roasty currents of bitter cocoa and caramel – for a rich, balanced beer still great for a picnic.
4-pack: $10. Rockwell Beer Co., 1320 S. Vandeventer Ave., St. Louis, 314.256.1657, rockwellbeer.com

Side Project Brewing Fuzzy 
This Missouri wild ale’s mildly sour, subtle peach flavor makes it the perfect sipping beer for an afternoon spent outside.
$20. Side Project Brewing, 7458 Manchester Ave., Maplewood, sideprojectbrewing.com

Vicia Bottled Cocktails
With a focus on fresh herbs and botanicals, Vicia’s to-go cocktail program is right for a summer picnic. Grab a bottle of whatever’s new – we tried the Minted Old-Fashioned, which came with fresh mint from Vicia’s garden. So refreshing! Pro tip: Bring a cooler with ice.
$20. Vicia, 4260 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, 314.553.9239, viciarestaurant.com

Confluence Kombucha 
From grapefruit-hyssop to pineapple-turmeric-white pepper, Confluence’s rotating selection of kombucha is some of the best in town. The menu almost always includes the chaga mushroom kombucha, which has an intense, earthy flavor.
32-oz. growler: $20. Confluence Kombucha, 4507 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.833.3059, confluencekombucha.com

We feel these drinks are best enjoyed while listening to The Official Sauce Magazine Picnic Playlist (Quarantine Mix): Spotify // Apple Music