Maybe you’re happy that summer still exists, more or less, despite various signs to the contrary. In my case, I was just happy to see a friend who had returned from his 100-day reserve service on Israel’s southern border with Gaza.

There are few better places to enjoy a late summer drink than the Acropolis – there may not be a bar, but there are some lovely spots in Athens from which to enjoy a drink and the view, preferably with a long-lost friend across the street and a drink in hand.

In fact, the sacrifice – yes, I will try to drum up as many synonyms for “cocktail” as legally permissible in this short space of time – that was bestowed on me in the rooftop bar of the Athens Capital Hotel was the best of a fast-drawn-out summer that could have done with a few more (sorry, Mom) drinks and definitely more yachts.

Athens is home to a ton of award-winning bars, and I even read recently about one that makes a cocktail by putting a slice of homemade bacon in a martini glass. Many of these establishments are on the ground floor, though. In Manhattan, you want a skyline view if you can get it, and in the Greek capital, you sometimes need the Parthenon to remind you where you are in the unlikely—or actually quite likely—event of temporary inebriation.

From this urban eagle’s nest, the pillars of the great pagan temple to the city’s eternal protector Athena shine like the pillars of a shared but ever-changing dream. It’s a kind of turbo-charged beauty that demands inattention if you want to concentrate on catching up on a friend’s news. Enter the All Greek Martini. How can you resist a “journey through Greek mythology” carried by the winds of “Stray Dog Wild Gin, Majuni, Mastiha and orange bitters”?

Of course, I couldn’t resist the menu’s haunting description of this liquid all-star, which “pays homage to Greece’s rugged terrain” with an infusion of “majuni, a nectar said to have been given to mortals by Dionysus, and mastic, revered since ancient times for its mystical properties.” Because “legend has it that mastic, extracted from the sap of the mastic tree, symbolizes renewal, while majuni evokes the golden fields of Attica, where Dionysus held court in ecstatic feasts.” In other words, where Dionysus got drunk.

This Greek drink, however, is more complex. The orange bitters come from “the sun-drenched orchards of Greece” (when they’re not burning, that is), and provide balance as each sip “reveals a new chapter in the saga of this ancient land.”

I would like to see ChatGPT produce better results than the above.

Of course, the $22 elixir came with nuts and a tray of plump and flavorful Kalamata olives stuffed with green almonds.

My bar companion drank a slightly cheaper Hibiscus Sparkle, which contained Pommery champagne, hibiscus flower essence and homemade Rose syrup. The radiant sparkle is “crafted with a finesse worthy of the divine,” but the hibiscus essence was reminiscent of the top notes of a Kir Royale, and you don’t always want memories of Paris creeping in.

While the All Greek Martini wins as the best cocktail of the summer, a special mention must be made to one popular non-alcoholic find, a fine craft-brewed Orange Ginger Ale from the Corfu Beer Company. It’s an unusual blend and quite refreshing, and is a perfect family-friendly accompaniment to late summer dishes like gazpacho or Roman Style. Pizza with egg.

For those who find even a little ginger too much of an effect, there is also a delicious lemonade with pink grapefruit and bergamot, as well as a beer and lemon shandy with just 2 percent alcohol. Did Jennifer Aniston perhaps recently enjoy a shandy or two in a trendy bar on Corfu? The Greek press is full of new reports about Aniston on the gorgeous island, but what she consumed on vacation remains a mystery.

However, if Trader Joe’s were to manage to add some of the Corfu-based company’s sparkling Royal Ionian range to its range, it would undoubtedly not remain on the shelves for long.