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" We&amp;#039;re halfway through the summer and here in New York, we&amp;#039;re just coming out of a heat wave. For cooling off on hot summer days, nothing beats an icy cold drink. Here are my five favorite tools for preparing the best drinks of the summer. 1. A Blender  A must-have for whipping up frozen margaritas or daiquiris, a blender is nice to have year-round. Our longtime favorite, the Oster Beehive ($72), crushes ice like a champ and won&amp;#039;t break the bank. 2. An Electric Kettle  While you probably think of using an electric kettle for hot drinks, they&amp;#039;re easy to use to heat water for summer sweet tea or iced coffee. Our favorite, the Chef&amp;#039;s Choice Cordless Electric Glass Kettle ($70), heats quickly and the glass design makes it easy to see when water boils. 3. A Paring Knife  This kitchen multi-tasker is great for slicing citrus or making garnishes. If you opt for a knife with a longer blade (4 or 5 inches instead of 3) you&amp;#039;ll find it&amp;#039;s more versatile for other tasks too. We like those from Wusthof and Henckels and Victorinox offers a ceramic version. 4. Plastic Squeeze Bottles  It may sound silly but these squeezable plastic bottles are perfect for holding fun, flavored syrups for finishing off drinks. Fennel basil reduction anyone? 5. A Cocktail Shaker  Classically elegant, a cocktail shaker is an essential for shaken drinks. I love the Oxo SteeL Cocktail Strainer $29.99. It even has a jigger built into the lid for measuring. Looking for one more cool summer drink tool? Check out Sharon Franke&amp;#039;s blog on perfect pitchers. Ready to start making your own summer drinks? Two of my favorites are Frozen Pina Coladas and Lime Margaritas! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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