While enjoying the summer season by relaxing by the pool or on the beach, treat yourself to a cocktail that cools you down and stimulates your taste buds by following one of these summer drink recipes. Browse the following drink recipes by liquor.
Rum Drinks
Blue Hawaii
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Blue Curacao
- 1 oz. rum
- 1 oz. sweet and sour mix
- 2 oz. pineapple juice
Rum, a popular ingredient in tropical drinks, adds a smoky flavor to drink recipes. For example, the Blue Hawaii includes Blue Curacao, rum, sweet and sour mix, and pineapple juice. Shake these ingredients and serve in a highball glass over ice.
Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. rum
- 0.5 oz. fruit juice
- 0.5 oz. lime juice
A daiquiri, a classic rum drink, can include your choice of fruit juice, such as strawberry, avocado, or banana. Shake together rum, your favorite fruit juice, and lime juice. Pour into a cocktail glass with a sugar rim.
Hawaiian Margarita
Ingredients:
- One orange
- 4 oz.. Pina Colada mix
- 1 oz. sweet and sour mix
- 2 oz. orange-flavored vodka
- 2 oz. coconut rum
- 1 oz. passion fruit-flavored rum
- 1.5 oz. Pucker
- Two cups ice
- Margarita salt
- Coconut shavings
Bring the flavors of Hawaii to your backyard barbeque by serving a Hawaiian Margarita. After squeezing an orange into a blender, mix together Pina Colada mix, sweet and sour mix, orange-flavored vodka, coconut rum, passion fruit-flavored rum, Pucker and ice. Moisten the rim of your margarita glass and dip into margarita salt. Garnish with coconut shavings and enjoy.
Nude Beach
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. rum
- 2 oz. pineapple juice
- 2 oz. orange juice
- 0.5 oz. grenadine
Try your hand at a Nude Beach by combining rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine. Shake these ingredients and pour into a Collins glass of crushed ice. Add a lime for garnish.
Gin Drinks
Golf Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 3 oz. gin
- 1 oz. dry vermouth
- 2 dashes bitters
A drink to enjoy while on the putting green, the Golf Cocktail is made up of gin, dry vermouth and bitters. Garnish with a blade of grass to complete this summer drink recipe.
Gin Fizz
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. gin
- Half lemon
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- Bottle of carbonated water
The Gin Fizz offers a bubbly treat in a summer cocktail. Shake gin with the juice from half of a lemon and powdered sugar. Strain this mixture into a highball glass and stir in carbonated water until the glass is almost full to the rim.
Gimlet
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. gin
- 0.5 oz. lime juice
A simple summer drink, Gimlets provide a quick alternative to the martini by combining gin and lime juice.
Vodka Drinks
Electric Lemonade
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. vodka
- 0.5 oz. Curacao
- 2 oz. sweet and sour mix
- Can of Sprite
A traditional summer treat for children, the taste of lemonade can make a perfect base for a summer cocktail. Combine vodka with Curacao and sweet and sour mix. Add Sprite and blend all the ingredients for 20 seconds. Serve this lemonade-flavored cocktail, sometimes called an Electric Lemonade, in a highball glass and add a lemon slice and a cherry for garnish.
Tom Collins
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. vodka
3 oz. sweet and sour mix
Bottle of carbonated water
Cherries and oranges
Another lemonade-flavored cocktail, the Tom Collins includes vodka and sweet and sour mix. After shaking the vodka and sour mix together, strain the mixture into an ice-filled tall glass. Fill the rest of the glass with carbonated water and add cherries and slices of oranges.
Sex on the Beach
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. vodka
- 1 oz. peach schnapps
- 0.5 oz. melon liqueur
- 4 oz. orange juice
A Sex on the Beach consists of vodka, peach schnapps, melon liqueur and orange juice. This summery treat can be garnished with a cherry for additional color.
Tequila Drinks
Margarita
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. lime juice
- 1 oz. Triple Sec
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Lime
The most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States, a margarita can be served as a froz.en margarita for a refreshing summer twist. Blend tequila, lime juice and Triple Sec with crushed ice. Prepare your margarita glass by rubbing a slice of lime around the rim and dipping in margarita ice. Add a fresh lime wedge as a garnish.
Tequila Sunrise
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. tequila
- Orange juice
- 0.5 oz. grenadine
- 0.5 oz.. blackberry brandy (grenadine substitute)
To create a Tequila Sunrise, first pour tequila into a glass. Slowly fill the glass with orange juice. Tilt your glass and slowly pour grenadine down the side so that it reaches the bottom of the glass and then floats up. Take in the beauty of the drink before enjoying the delicious flavors. Try creating a Tequila Sunset by substituting the grenadine with blackberry brandy.
Long Island Iced Tea
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. gin
- 1 oz. vodka
- 1 oz. rum
- 1 oz. Triple Sec
- 1 oz. sweet and sour mix
- Splash of cola
One classic cocktail recipe that combines almost all of the major liquors, including tequila, is the Long Island Iced Tea. Mix one half ounce of each of the following liquors: vodka, rum, gin, tequila and triple sec. Add one ounce of sweet and sour mix and a splash of cola. Enjoy the flavors of the summer in the Hamptons in a highball glass.
Summer Drink Recipe Essentials
To ensure you're always prepared to make one of these summer drink recipes or other popular cocktails, stock your bar with one bottle of each major liquor: rum, gin, vodka and tequila. It's best not to purchase your garnishes in bulk, though, as you want to enjoy the freshest fruit with your drinks. In preparation for a party, purchase lemons, limes, oranges, cherries, salt and fresh herbs one day in advance.
- Initial Author: Janine Stevens
