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November usually marks the season when Phoenicians can finally turn off the A/C, turn on the oven and maybe do a bit of baking to get a jump on the holidays. But why heat things up again so soon?

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Skip n Gecko Naked

For folks who can’t decide between a frothy brew or frou-frou cocktail, the answer has arrived: beer cocktails. These combos are barreling onto on drinks lists Valleywide, hopping up already-enticing microbrews with a dose of hard alcohol. The recently renovated Iguana Mack’s in

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Classic cocktails continue to experience a renaissance, and one of the finest representations is the barrel-aged Manhattan at Quiessence.

You probably won’t want to try this at home, but here’s how they do it: They combine 12 750-milliliter bottles of Wild Turkey, four bottles (same size) of Carpano Antica sweet vermouth and one 375-milliliter

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If you can’t spend your summer whiling away the days on an island paradise, Mastro’s City Hall Steakhouse mixes up a fleeting taste of the tropics with its Get Kraken cocktail. One sip, and you’ll be transported to a chaise lounge under a palm tree or palapa-roof hut, the waves lapping at the white shore while you’re spritzed by a salty sea breeze.

DRINK THIS: No. 9 Horchata Cocktail

Cream rises to the top, they say – as old adage that proves deliciously correct in the case of Windsor mixologist Matty Helland’s No. 9 cocktail, a milky-white concoction that beat out a bevy of contenders to win the critics’ pick at the Third Annual Devour Phoenix and Arroyo Vodka Bartending Competition in March. Helland starts with 1 ½ ounces of locally-made Arroyo Vodka infused with coriander seed,

Get a buzz off our Things to Do margarita-making primer in the July issue of PHOENIX magazine? The mixologists at haute-Mex-hotspot Mission in Scottsdale offer this avocado-boosted whistle-whetter.

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Midwestern transplants to Arizona certainly don’t wax nostalgic about shoveling driveway snow, but they may miss summertime memories like fields dappled with violets, bushes heavy with blackberries, and crazy things like going outside in the daytime. Thankfully, a Midwestern expat – the Downtown Phoenix location of Province, which first earned

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What do you do with a bushel of blood oranges and a garden rife with mint? If you’re Pastry Chef Trevor Tucker of Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn, you gussy up a tres leches cake ($10) with sculptural shapes and citrusy tastes.

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Every year, spectators at the galloping Kentucky Derby guzzle about 120,000 mint juleps – the Derby’s quaff-of-choice since 1938. If you can’t get to Churchill Downs, don your finest fascinator and hoof it to Mabel’s on Main in Old Town Scottsdale, where they’ll mix up this minty concoction and other Southern-inspired cocktails at their annual Derby party on May 5.

Fresh botanicals are making a slow migration from the kitchen to the bar, with more Valley mixologists showcasing a veritable mise en place of garnishes far surpassing the old-school tray of lemon and lime wedges, cherries and olives.

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The “greenhouse effect” is the process in which gases in the atmosphere absorb thermal radiation from the Earth and then re-radiate it in all directions. Similarly, the “Greenhouse Cooler” is a drink in which the flavors of fresh, tangy tomatoes and sweet, juicy watermelon are absorbed by alcohol and then re-radiated across your palate.

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If only all relationships could be as straightforward, sweet and satisfying as the Love Martini from date-night hotspot The Melting Pot.

To make your own Love Martini, remove the stem from a strawberry and slice the berry lengthwise. Cut a small “v” into the top of each slice

Citizen Public House’s Richie Moe is more than a mixologist and partner: He’s part mad scientist, too.

Last fall, Moe debuted a lineup of complex cocktails using a French press and served tableside. The Prince of Sangaree, which serves four, combines 6 ounces chilled Beefeater 24 London Dry gin,

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From Halloween candy all the way through that New Year’s toast, the last quarter of the year is not kind to calorie counters. So counteract the binge-and-bulge with a cocktail that won’t bust the belt.

“Skinny” drinks are all over town, but Z’Tejas has an entire line of them (all less than 250 calories), and none is made with artificial sweeteners. Our top choice is the Antioxidant Martini.