If you’re looking for some great drink recipes for summer entertaining, check out the July issue of Viking magazine. The five recipes featured are made with homemade syrups infused with fresh fruit and herbs, also known as saft in Scandinavia.

Viking worked with Oslo-born Paul Lowe — a cooking, crafting and decorating extraordinaire currently living in New York. He’s the creator of the website and quarterly magazine Sweet Paul, which is full of easy-yet-elegant recipes, stylish crafts and entertaining ideas with a Nordic twist.

Here, Lowe offers some of his favorite tips and recommendations for serving the drinks. Cheers!

Paul’s Picks

Ice

I always serve cocktails on ice, even martinis. I love how the ice makes the cocktail stay cold. A great tip for making sure the cocktail is super cold and doesn’t melt the ice is to pour the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake it and pour it in a glass filled with more ice. Trust me, it will stay cold!

Tools

I’m not really a gadget guy, but on my cocktail tray I have the following: a shaker, a small sharp knife to cut citrus and herbs, a long spoon to stir and a muddler to muddle berries and herbs.

Easy Garnish

My go-to garnish is berries on a rosemary stem. It looks great in a cocktail every time.

Be Personal

You don’t need fancy glasses and barware. Jam jars and mason jars makes great glasses. In my house, every drink is served in a jam jar. I also love finding barware at flea markets. It’s all about how you use it.

Interested in trying more of Sweet Paul’s creations at home? Check out his recipes for the World’s Best Cake, Lemon Tarts, or Norwegian Eggs Benedict which are all available to Sons of Norway members from the Viking magazine archives. Not a member? Click here to join today!