History buffs or those married to Greeks may be aware that the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens in 1896. This week’s cocktail recipe pays homage to the Hellenic parentage of this global sporting extravaganza.

Ouzo is Greece’s national drink, made only in Greece. It is made with grapes, herbs and spices, especially anise. Greeks most often drink ouzo mixed with water, ice or straight up. It is pretty much always served with appetizers known as mezedes.

What we'd really prefer is to know what YOU love to drink in the summer. Send your favorite cocktail recipes to mariella.savidge@patch.com and we'll feature them in the long, hot weeks to come!

For those not yet ready to gold medal in ouzo-drinking, I present a lighter ouzo cocktail that still packs a pretty good wallop.

Without further ado, I give you the Ouzo Special

Ouzo Special

Ingredients

• Ouzo – one shot
• Sprite
• Grenadine

Directions: Put a few ice cubes in the highball glass. Pour the shot of ouzo over the ice. Top it with Sprite and add a few drops of grenadine

Drink slowly. Trust me on this one.