10 Cocktails You Should Make This Summer
What’s the best part of summer—going to the beach? Barbecues? Never truly feeling like your sweat has dried? Hate-scrolling through Instagram photos of people looking happy at the beach? I mean, okay, those all sound fine… but tbh one of my favorite parts of the season is the array of refreshing cocktails we make to get through it. A combo of fizzy, slightly sweet, tangy, and refreshing is a must. Below I’ve got ten of our favorite cocktail recipes from years past. Try one (or all?) of them out and let us know what you think!
1. Grapefruit Mezcal “Mimosarita”
You know how sometimes it’s hard to decide if you’d rather have a mimosa or a margarita?No? Well, we’re mashing them together anyway in a beautiful marriage of mezcal and grapefruit. Sound good? Good.
2. Spiced Pineapple Mojitos
One of the most fun ways to switch up summery tropical drinks is to add a bit of fall spice. People normally don’t think about that flavor profile for summer, so to convince you, I submit exhibit A—these spiced pineapple mojitos.
3. Coconut Daiquiris
When you want to take your classic daiquiri that extra mile—make it a coconut daiquiri. And when you want to take it an extra extra mile? We got lime zest sea salt for that.
4. Peach & Serrano Margaritas
This one has to be the spiciest on the list, and we love it for that. Bright, fresh peach flavor with a little kick makes this drink a perfect partner for a barbecue or for judging your enemies from across the pool.
5. Cucumber Old Fashioned
Want a summer drink that is also stiff af? Great. This little guy is a weird spin on the classic Old Fashioned that uses mint simple syrup and gets topped off with some cucumber juice for a refreshing twist that’ll still knock you on your ass (responsibly).
6. Rosé Grapefruit Sangria
So of course most sangrias are red, and occasionally you’ll see a white sangria, but—and I can’t stress this enough—more people should be making rosé sangria. So we put it with some grapefruit and became those people. And the result was very tasty.
7. Blossom Colada
We love a good piña colada and took that classic as our inspo when creating this more floral cousin—the blossom colada. Top it with edible flowers (optional) and it’s too pretty not to drink.
8. Rosemary Greyhound
I… love… greyhounds. A cousin of the screwdriver, this cocktail is just a perfect combo of gin (or vodka) and grapefruit juice. Nothing too fancy or innovative here—we just decided it could be even better with a touch of rosemary.
9. Kalimotxo
If you’re like, “Kali-what-xo?” you’re probably not alone. Kalimotxo (pronounced ca-lee-MO-cho, and also spelled Calimocho) is staple of Basque drinking culture, but not as well known outside of Spain. A classic kalimotxo is an indulgent and curiously delicious combo of red wine and cola. We took it up a notch and used homemade cola for this recipe, and the result is kind of amazing.
10. Blueberry & Madeira Gin Fizz
If you haven’t experienced a refreshing blueberry cocktail like this one, your life has honestly been a tragedy until now. This porch pounder mixes the deep sweetness of blueberries and the nuttiness of Madeira, then amps that up with the herbal notes of some London dry gin. It’s…uh…perfect.