Here are the best cocktails to drink during the upcoming solar eclipse

Every now and then, we all get a bit lonely. Our hands just feel empty without a drink, especially when there’s something as important as a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse. Luckily, hardworking bartenders and ambassadors across the country have come to the rescue.

Whether you’re one of the 40 million who will be in the direct path of the totality of the upcoming total solar eclipse or not, you can still celebrate (and watch as NASA streams it live). Some of the best cocktails to drink during the solar eclipse are nods to the totality of the eclipse’s path, or as with many of the cocktails we’re featuring, are just plain fun.

On Monday, April 8, you’ll need these cocktails — you’ll need them more than ever.

Moon Shadow

Ingredients

• 2 oz Mount Gay Eclipse
• 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime
• 1/2 oz B12 mixed with simple syrup
• Top with ginger beer

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a Collins glass (or a vessel of your choice!) with ice and stir.
2. Top with ginger beer.
3. Watch it glow and drink it slowly.

Belvedere Seaside Martini

Ingredients

• 2 oz Belvedere Vodka
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 2 dashes Addition Garlic Bitters
• 1 dash Napa Valley Sea Salt Bitters

Method

1. Build ingredients in a pint glass, fill with ice, and stir for just over 1 minute.
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
3. Garnish with a speared pickled garlic.

Pulp Friction

(Created at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver)

Ingredients

• 1 oz gin
• 3/4 oz Aquavit
• 1/2 oz Suze
• 1/2 oz Genepy
• 1/2 oz simple syrup (2:1)
• 1 oz lime
• 3 dashes Strongwater Floral Bitters

Method

1. Combine ingredients.
2. Shake, then double fine strain into a coupe glass.
3. Garnish the rim with coconut flakes.

Dark Side of the Sun

Ingredients

• Satsuma Rum Liqueur rinse
• 2 parts Bayou Select Rum
• 1/2 part simple syrup
• Mole Bitters 

Method

1. Rinse a rocks glass with Satsuma and let it sit.
2. Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice, and then stir until cold (roughly 60 stirs).
3. Strain into Satsuma rinsed glass over ice.
4. Garnish with an orange peel.

Corona Solar Sipper

Ingredients

• 12 oz Corona Light
• 2 oz Casa Noble Crystal Tequila
• 1 oz lime juice
• 3/4 oz organic agave nectar
• Lime wedge

Method

1. Combine Casa Noble, lime juice, and agave nectar in a shaker with ice.
2. Shake until chilled.
3. Strain into a glass and top with Corona Light.
4. Garnish with lime wedge.

The Centaur

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P.
• Ginger ale
• A few drops of Angostura bitters
• Lemon wedge (for garnish)

Method

1. Pour Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. into a wine glass over ice.
2. Add a few drops of Angostura bitters for a plus!
3. Top with ginger ale.
4. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

VIVA Summer Solstice

(Created at Toca Madera, LA)

Ingredients

• 2 oz of VIVA XXXII Reposado Tequila
• 1 oz citrus mix (equal parts lemon and lime)
• 3/4 oz of Aperol-spiked agave syrup (3:1 agave nectar to Aperol — you could also do 1/2 normal agave syrup and 1/4 Aperol)
• Tajin rim

Method

1. Place all ingredients into a shaker, add ice, and give it a long, hard shake.
2. Take a coupe glass and rim with a salt/pepper/tajin mix.
3. Double strain the cocktail (to remove ice chips) in the coupe glass
4. Garnish will a rolled grapefruit peel “flower.”

Modelo Refrescante Especial

(Created by Colin Dennis, Chicago)

Ingrediants

• 12 parts Modelo Especial
• 1/2 part mezcal
• 1/2 part chile liqueur
• 1/2 part fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 part agave nectar
• 3 cucumber slices
• Smoked salt
• Cucumber wheel (for garnish)
• 2-4 basil leaves (for garnish)

Method

1. Add cucumber slices, basil leaves, mezcal, and lime juice to a pint glass. Muddle thoroughly.
2. Rim the entire edge of a separate cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip half the glass into smoked salt.
3. Fill the glass halfway with ice and pour in chile liqueur and agave nectar.
4. Double strain the contents of the pint glass into the cocktail glass (make sure to press the cucumber and basil against the mesh strainer to remove all liquid).
5. Top with Modelo Especial and garnish with cucumber wheel and basil leaves.
6. Serve the remaining beer with the cocktail.

Total Eclipse

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Astral Tequila
• 1/2 oz Sombra Mezcal
• Ginger beer
• Angostura bitters
• Lemon wheel
• Brandied cherry

Method

1. Stir tequila and mezcal together with ice.
2. Top with ginger beer and bitters.
3. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a brandied cherry.

Back to Black

(Created by Mixologist Gabe Orta)

Ingredients

• 1 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label
• 1/4 oz Johnnie Walker Double Black Label
• 3/4 oz Jamaican syrup*
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake vigorously
3. Strain into Old Fashioned glass over fresh ice.

*Jamaican syrup

Add 1 quart of water, 1 quart of white sugar, 1/2 cup of peeled ginger, 1/4 cup of all-spice berries, and 4 cloves to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir it until the sugar is completely dissolved, and let it cool. Strain using a mesh sieve strainer into a jar or bottle with a sealable lid. Store it in the refrigerator until use.

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