We all know the classic summer cocktails — but you may be craving a change-up from the usual suspects for your at-home bar. Here are five tasty cocktail recipes that are riffs on old classics spiced up for summer, made with ingredients you can mostly find in our store!
Golden Gate Spritz
If you like Aperol Spritz and want something similarly refreshing, try this little change-up still made with amaro and Prosecco, but with a little grapefruit juice to make it a bit more tropical! For your amaro, we have a few selections in store — pick something lighter like Amaro Montenegro to keep this drink refreshing.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Amaro
0.5 oz Grapefruit juice (Freshly squeezed is best)
2 oz Prosecco or other sparkling wine (chilled)
Garnish: Grapefruit twist
Steps:
Add the amaro and grapefruit juice into a coupe glass.
Top with the Prosecco
Garnish with grapefruit twist and enjoy!
Sparkling Rosé Margarita
Punch up your summertime margarita, a classic summer drink, with another classic drink of summer — rosé. More specifically, sparkling rosé. Make sure the sparkling rosé you choose is bone dry so it doesn’t add additional unwanted sweetness to your marg — we recommend the Gasparetto Prosecco Rosé for this. With all the ingredients here, we recommend serving this in a punch bowl at your next summer shindig (it serves 10)!
Start by infusing a blanco tequila with strawberry and basil. In a glass jar, combine 1/2 cup sliced strawberries and 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves with one 750 millilitre bottle of blanco tequila. Seal the jar tightly and let sit, unrefrigerated, for 3 to 5 days. Shake daily. Strain out the solids, and rebottle the infused tequila.
The perfect finishing touch for this margarita is rose salt for the rim. Add 1/4 cup sea salt and 1 tablespoon dried rose buds to a mortar and pestle, and gently grind. Place on a small plate to use for rimming the glasses.
Ingredients:
10 ounces strawberry-basil-infused blanco tequila
5 ounces lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 ounces agave syrup
1 (750 millilitre) bottle sparkling rosé
Garnish: 1 cup strawberries, sliced
Garnish: lime wheels
Garnish: rose salt
Steps:
In a punch bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice and agave syrup.
Add cubed ice, and stir with a ladle to mix.
Top with the sparkling rosé.
Garnish punch with 1 cup sliced strawberries and lime wheels from 2 limes.
Rim punch glasses with rose salt before serving.
Watermelon Moscow Mule
We’re all fans of the refreshing Moscow Mule, made with vodka or another base spirit, ginger beer and lime juice. Take your Moscow Mule up a notch this summer with a bit more fruit! This version, made with homemade watermelon juice, is super refreshing — don’t forget the copper mule mug to keep it nice and cold!
To make your own watermelon juice, add 2 cups cubed watermelon to a blender and blend until a juice forms. Then pour the juice through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. This will make enough for 3 drinks.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup watermelon juice
0.25 oz. vodka
0.5 oz. lime juice, plus a lime slice for serving
1/3 cup ginger beer
Steps:
In a copper mug or glass, pour in the watermelon juice, vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer.
Add ice and garnish with a lime slice.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Rosita
You’ve likely heard of a Negroni, the classic Italian bitter cocktail. A Rosita is a bit of a Mexican twist paired with Italian aperitifs, and it’s perfect for summer if you’re less into sweeter drinks.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz tequila reposado
0.5 oz sweet vermouth
0.5 oz dry vermouth
0.5 oz Campari
1 dash Angostura bitters
Garnish: orange twist (optional)
Steps: 1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
2. Add ice to mixing glass and stir until chilled, around 30 seconds.
3. Strain into an old fashioned glass over fresh ice and garnish with an orange twist.
High King Highball
The High King Highball, created by bartender Joaquín Símo, proves that whiskey can be the base spirit in a summer cocktail and still be refreshing and easygoing. It even looks pretty! Don't be intimidated by the amount of ingredients, these are all common grocery/liquor store items, and we have all the liquor for you for this citrusy cocktail.
Ingredients:
3 large raspberries
0.5 oz simple syrup
2 oz Irish whiskey
0.5 oz ounce Aperol
0.75 oz ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
0.75 oz ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
Club soda, to top
Garnish: lemon wheel
Garnish: raspberry
Steps:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the raspberries and simple syrup.
Add the Irish whiskey, Aperol, lemon juice, grapefruit juice and Peychaud’s bitters into the shaker.
Add ice and shake until well-chilled (around 20 seconds).
Fine-strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice and top with the club soda.
Garnish with a skewered lemon wheel and raspberry.
Cocktail Photos from Liquor.com.