Fizzy Cocktails, Made By You

An icy soda (or pop, to you Midwesterners) is a must for warm weather. It's also a perennially simple cocktail mixer.

So to launch our month of outdoor eating and drinking ideas, we looked to the classics: old-school, glass-bottle sodas ideal for sticking in a cooler and taking to the beach.

Then we turned to some of the country's best bartenders who just happen to feature these iconic soft drinks on their cocktail menus. The resulting drinks—boozy and fizzy—are made for sunshine. Click here to see all seven recipes, including a mature take on a root-beer float and a white-whiskey cocktail named after former Nascar driver (and 'shine runner) Junior Johnson.

But don't stop there. All month long during our May Monthly Edition, The Great Outdoors, we'll be suggesting many more ways to celebrate the sunshine. You'll learn what chefs cook on camping trips, how to plant a garden of any size, and more.

First things first: Grab that bottle opener and head outside.