35 Best Summer Cocktails to Enjoy This Season
As the weather heats up, cool off with these refreshing summer drinks.
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There's something about summer that just makes a cocktail feel right. Hanging by the pool, grilling in the backyard, or simply taking in the weather—it's all bette with a frosty glass of something delicious in hand. With that in mind, we've curated an extensive list of drinks that are not only easy to make and delicious but are filled with the season's freshest ingredients–from watermelon and mint to berries and peaches, these cocktails are the epitome of summer in a glass. Here are some of our favorite cocktails to enjoy throughout the summer season.
Strawberry Basil Smash
Ingredients
1.5 oz Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
3-5 strawberries
3 basil leaves
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
Instructions
Shake all ingredients, pour over fresh ice and rock glass. Garnish with a strawberry and basil leaf.
Pińita
Ingredients
2 oz Milagro Silver
.5 oz pineapple juice
.25 oz agave nectar
1 oz lime juice
Float 3 dashes of Angostura
Instructions
Add all ingredients (except angostura) into shaker add ice and shake for 5 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice and float 3 dashes of bitters. Garnish with pineapple fronds.
by Luis Lopez
MacNamara Rose
Ingredients
2 oz Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey
.75 oz Lillet Rosé
.5 oz Aperol
2 muddled cucumber slices
1 pinch of Kosher salt
Instructions
Muddle cucumbers lightly. Stir ingredients together and double-strain into a coup glass. Garnish with cucumber slice.
By Joaquín Simó at Pouring Ribbons in New York City
Peroni Fiore Spritz
Ingredients
1.5 oz Bitter Italian Aperitif
.5 oz Elderflower Liqueur
2 oz Club Soda
5 oz Peroni
Instructions
Add all ingredients to your glass over ice and stir, garnish with a slice of grapefruit and edible flowers.
Absolut Elderflower Collins
Ingredients
1.5 oz Absolut Vodka
1 oz Lemon Juice
.5 oz Elderflower Cordial
5 oz Soda Water
2 Wheels Lemon
Instructions
Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Garnish with two lemon wheels.
Summer Fizz
Ingredients
1.5 oz Don Papa 7 rum
.5 oz ginger syrup
.5 oz peach purée
.5 oz lemon juice
1 egg white
Soda top
Instructions
Dry shake, re-shake with ice, top with soda. Garnish with fresh ginger and lemon peel.
Spanish Gin & Tonic
Ingredients
1.5 oz Spring 44 gin
5 oz Fever Tree tonic
Lime and lemon wheels
Instructions
Pour the gin over a wine glass filled with ice. Top with tonic water and stir. Garnish with lemon and lime wheels.
By Marshall Minaya at Valerie in New York City
Camarena’s El Diablo
Ingredients
1.5 oz Camarena Silver or Reposado
.75 oz Creme De Cassis
3 oz Ginger Beer
.5 oz Lime Juice
Instructions
Add ingredients into an ice-filled mule mug or cantarito. Stir together to combine. Garnish with Blackberry and Mint.
A Port In Tennessee
Ingredients
2 oz Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz passionfruit puree
.25 oz grenadine
2 dashes tiki bitters
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a glass or tiki mug over pebble ice and garnish with a lemon wheel and orchid.
By Rachel Ramirez.
Corazon De Melon
Ingredients
3 oz fresh cantaloupe juice (blend 2 cups cubed cantaloupe melon in a blender until pureed and smooth. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer)
2 oz HAVANA CLUB Blanco
.5 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 ounce maraschino cherry juice
Instructions
Add the rum, cantaloupe juice, syrup, cherry juice and lime juice to a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds then pour into a frosty glass. If you’d like some bubbles, splash some seltzer on top! Garnish with a wedge of lime and a melon ball.
Watermelon Jalapeño Clicquot Rich
Ingredients
5-6 large ice cubes
2-3 cubes of watermelon
2-3 slices of jalepeño
1 bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rich champagne
Instructions
Place 5 ice cubes in a large wine glass, add cubes of watermelon, sprinkle in jalapeño slices, and top off with Veuve Clicquot Rich.
Cointreau Matcha Margarita
Ingredients
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz Blanco Tequila
.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
.5 bar spoon Matcha Green Tea Powder
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until well-chilledStrain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime slice.
Watermelon Sangria
Ingredients
4 cups cubed watermelon
1 750-ml bottle moscato
1 cup rum
Juice of 4 limes
Zest of 2 limes
1 tbsp sugar
Lime slices, for garnish
Instructions
In a blender combine watermelon, moscato, rum, lime juice and zest, and sugar and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled.
Garnish glasses with lime slices and serve.
Courtesy of Delish
Bellevue
Ingredients
1.5 oz Elijah Craig Bourbon
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz Ferrand Dry Curacao
.25 oz Crème de Pêche
Mint sprig
Instructions
Add ingredients to a mixing glass with pebble ice. Whip by moving a bar spoon around the liquid in a back and forth motion as opposed to stirring it. Strain into a rocks glass with new pebble ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
From Forty1North in Newport, Rhode Island
CRUcomber
Ingredients
2 oz Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka
1 oz fresh cucumber puree
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz sesame simple syrup*
1 lemon balm leaf
*Sesame simple syrup is made by toasting sesame seeds until golden brown then added to equal parts sugar and hot water. Strain to remove all seeds before serving.
Instructions
Slap lemon balm to release essence. Add cucumber puree, lemon and sesame syrup to cocktail shaker. Add vodka and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with fresh cucumber.
From Cru, Nantucket
La Valoma
Ingredients
2 oz Volcan Blanco Tequila
.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1.5 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
.75 oz Agave Syrup
A pinch of salt
Instructions
Combine tequila, fresh lime and grapefruit juice, salt and agave syrup in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain over ice in a highball glass. Top with soda water and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Blue Havaiyee
Ingredients
1.5 oz El Dorado white rum
1 oz Blue Curaçao
.5 oz pineapple juice
1 oz coconut cream
1 strawberry
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, and shake vigorously. Pour into highball glass over crushed iced. Float heavy cream and add 1 sliced strawberry for garnish.
Courtesy of The Rum House in New York City
More: 11 Coconut Cocktails That'll Get You in the Mood for Summer
Water Lilies
Ingredients
1.5 oz Grey Goose Citron vodka
.5 oz raspberry syrup
.5 oz St. Germain liqueur
1.5 oz Franciacorta sparkling wine
.25 lime juice
Instructions
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with frozen raspberries.
Courtesy of New York City's Casa Lever Gardens
Wild Card
Ingredients
1 oz Del Maguey 'Vida' mezcal
.5 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 oz pineapple juice
.5 oz yuzu juice
.25 oz ginger juice
.5 oz raspberry syrup
Hefeweizen beer
Raspberries
Instructions
Shake and strain on ice in a highball glass. Top with hefeweizen beer and garnish with 3 skewered frozen raspberries (resting across rim) and a metal straw.
Courtesy of Bacchanal in New York City
Coconut Margarita on the Rocks
Ingredients
1.5 oz Blanco tequila
1 oz Koloa Kauai Coconut Rum
1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
Agave syrup to taste
Instructions
Dip the rim of a margarita glass into coconut cream, then roll it in shredded coconut. Allow the rim to dry. Fill the margarita glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, tequila, coconut rum and agave. Shake well and strain into the serving glass.
Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men's style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene.
Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.
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