Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The Best Cocktails to Drink During the Solar Eclipse

Sam Slaughter
By

Mountain Gay Barbados Rum Eclipse
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Every now and then we all get a little 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 or not you’re in the direct path of the total solar eclipse, you can still celebrate (and watch, as NASA is live-streaming it). Some of the best cocktails to drink during the solar eclipse are nods to the totality of the eclipse’s path, or the shadow that will be cast or, as with many of the cocktails we write about, they’re just plain fun.

On Monday, you’ll need these cocktails that night. You’ll need them more than ever. I guess what we’re saying is turn around (to your bar), bright eyes, you’ve got drinks to make.

Recommended Videos

Moon Shadow

  • 2 oz Mount Gay Eclipse
  • ½ oz Fresh Squeezed Lime
  • ½ oz B12 mixed with Simple Syrup
  • Top with Ginger Beer
Method: Add all ingredients to a Collins glass (or a vessel of your choice!) with ice and stir. Top with ginger beer. Watch it glow. Drink it slow.

Belvedere Seaside Martini

Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • 2 oz Belvedere Vodka
  • 1 oz Dry Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Addition Garlic Bitters
  • 1 dash Napa Valley Sea Salt Bitters

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

Pulp Friction

Image used with permission by copyright holder

(Created at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, Denver)

  • 1 oz Gin
  • .75 oz Aquavit
  • .5 oz Suze
  • .5 oz Genepy
  • .5 oz Simple syrup (2:1)
  • 1 oz Lime
  • 3 dash Strongwater Floral Bitters

Method: Shake, then double fine strained into a coupe glass. Garnish rim with coconut flakes.

(Photo credit: Megan Heileman)

Dark Side of the Sun

Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • Satsuma Rum Liqueur rinse
  • 2 parts Bayou Select Rum
  • ½ part simple syrup
  • Mole Bitters 

Method: Rinse a rocks glass with Satsuma and let it sit. Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice, and stir until cold – roughly 60 stirs. Strain into Satsuma rinsed glass over ice. Optional: garnish with an orange peel.

Elyx Cup

(Created at Irvington, NYC)

  • 2 oz Absolut Elyx vodka
  • .75 oz lime juice
  • .5 oz simple syrup
  • a healthy amount of mint leaves
  • 2 cucumber wheels

Method: Muddle mint and 2 cucumber wheels. Shake. Dump in julep mug and add Prosecco float. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Corona Solar Sipper

Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • 12 oz Corona Light
  • 2 oz Casa Noble Crystal Tequila
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • .75 oz Organic Agave Nectar
  • Lime Wedge

Method: Combine Casa Noble, lime juice and agave nectar in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain into a glass, top with Corona Light and garnish with lime wedge.

Friends & Family

(Created by Joaquin Simo, Pouring Ribbons, NYC)

  • 2 oz Martini & Rossi Riserva Ambrato
  • 1 oz Manzanilla Sherry
  • .25 oz Roots Mastiha liqueur
  • 2 dashes Pernod absinthe
  • .25 oz rosemary syrup
  • .25 oz lime juice
  • 2 dashes saline solution

Method: Muddle 3 cucumber slices with salt & sweeteners. Add remaining ingredients & shake. Double strain over fresh ice (3 cubes). Top with Perrier and stir. Garnish with a rosemary sprig skewered through a cucumber slice.

The Centaur

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Method: Pour Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. into a wine glass over ice and top with Ginger Ale. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

VIVA Summer Solstice

Image used with permission by copyright holder

(Created at Toca Madera, LA)

  • 2 oz of VIVA XXXII Reposado Tequila
  • 1 oz of Citrus Mix (equal parts lemon and lime)
  • .75 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: Place all ingredients into a shaker, add ice, and give a long hard shake. Take a coupe glass and rim with a salt/pepper/tajin mix. Double strain the cocktail (to remover ice chips) in the coupe and garnish will a rolled Grapefruit peel “flower.”

Modelo Refrescante Especial

Image used with permission by copyright holder

(Created by Colin Dennis, Chicago)

  • 12 parts Modelo Especial
  • .5 part Mezcal
  • .5 part Chile Liqueur
  • .5 part Fresh-Squeezed Lime Juice
  • .25 part Agave Nectar
  • 3 Cucumber Slices
  • Smoked Salt
  • Cucumber Wheel (for garnish)
  • 2-4 Basil Leaves (for garnish)

Method: Add cucumber slices, basil leaves, mezcal and lime juice to a pint glass. Muddle thoroughly. Rim the entire edge of a separate cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip half the glass into smoked salt. Fill the glass halfway with ice and pour in chile liqueur and agave nectar. 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). Top with Modelo Especial and garnish with cucumber wheel and basil leaves. Serve the remaining beer with the cocktail.

Total Eclipse

Image used with permission by copyright holder
  • 1.5 oz Astral Tequila
  • .5 oz Sombra Mezcal
  • ginger beer
  • angostura bitters
  • lemon wheel
  • brandied cherry

Method: Stir tequila and mezcal together with ice. Top with ginger beer and bitters. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a brandied cherry.

The Black Veil

(Created by Matty Izaguirre, Urban Cowboy Public House, Nashville)

  • 1.25 oz Jägermeister
  • .75 oz Punt e Mes
  • .50 oz Simple Syrup
  • .75 oz Lemon
  • 2 dashes of spiced cherry bitters
  • Pinch of salt
  • Mint

Method: Combine all ingredients into a shaker. Shake with pinch of mint and salt, then garnish with mint.

Back to Black

Image used with permission by copyright holder

(Created by Mixologist Gabe Orta)

  • 1 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label
  • .25 oz Johnnie Walker Double Black Label
  • .75 oz Jamaican Syrup*
  • .75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Method:  Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into Old Fashioned glass over fresh ice.

* Jamaican Syrup

Method: Add 1 quart water, 1 quart white sugar, ½ cup peeled ginger, ¼ cup all-spice berries and 4 cloves to a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and let cool. Strain using a mesh sieve strainer into jar or bottle with sealable lid, store in refrigerator until use.

Charleston Tea Old Fashioned

(Created by Chris Adams, Principal of Ellis Adams Group for 1KEPT, Charleston)

  • 2 oz Earl Grey Infused Hillbilly Bourbon*
  • .25 oz Honey Syrup
  • 3 dashes Angostura Bitters

Method: Combine all ingredients into mixing glass, add ice, stir. Strain over large rock. Garnish with dehydrated clementine wheel and Luxardo cherry.

*Infused bourbon

  • 4 C Halved Cherries
  • 4 C of Halfmoon Clementines
  • .5 C Earl Grey Tea
  • 4 Bottles Hillbilly Bourbon

Method: Combine .5 cup earl grey tea, halved cherries, and Halfmoon clementines into bowl and gently stir. Place small filter at the bottom of middle beaker. Place cherry & clementine mixture in the middle beaker of cold brew. Place coffee filter on top of mixture. Ensure spout is closed. Pour in four bottles of Hillbilly Bourbon to the top container of cold brew and cap. Ensure bottom container is clean, empty, and aligned. Turn spout to left until slow drip of bourbon flows into the middle container – about 1 drop per 5 seconds. Once all liquid has filtered through, it is ready to use.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
How to make hard cider (it’s not as complicated as you think)
Making your own hard cider is a surprisingly easy and an incredibly fun new skill to learn
Hard apple cider in a glass, surrounded by apples.

There's never a bad time to start drinking hard apple cider. Not only is it a wonderfully different, crisp, and refreshing adult beverage to enjoy, but making your own hard cider at home can be an incredibly fun hobby. If you're looking to try something new, consider learning how to make your own hard apple cider.

As much as we'd like to talk about beer, that's not what we're here for — not right now, at least. We're talking hard cider here, which is not only as tasty as beer, but it's also simpler to make in the confines of your home/apartment/Quonset hut. Read on and start brewing your own hard apple cider.

Read more
How to cook ribs in the oven: A step-by-step guide
Don't have a smoker? Don't fret — an oven can be an excellent tool for fall-off-the-bone ribs
Ribs cooking in the oven

Who doesn't love mouthwatering rib recipes? But there is an age-old question that needs to be answered if you don’t have a grill: Can you cook ribs in the oven? The answer is simple: Yes, you can. After all, you can use your oven for so much more than baking. You can cook bacon in the oven, cook ham in the oven, or even, yes, cook steak in the oven.

We used to think that ribs were only properly prepared if they were cooked in one of the best smokers or on the grill (sometimes first placed in a slow cooker), ideally over a long period of time. However, when circumstances (time constraints, lack of tools or space, etc.) don’t allow for these methods, you can cook some fall-off-the-bone ribs in a conventional oven.

Read more
Wondering how to get rid of bloating? The best foods to beat belly bloat
From apples to rhubarb, here are a few of our favorite tasty bloating remedies
Man with bloated tummy.

No one likes to feel bloated. Not only may you feel a little self-conscious if you have a prominent, protruding, bloated belly, but bloating is also physically uncomfortable and can make you feel sluggish. Unfortunately, quite a few foods can cause bloating, and there are additional factors that can make you bloated, so feeling bloated after eating, drinking, or even exercising is rather common.

The good news is that there are certain foods that can reduce bloating to help you relieve the discomfort. Foods that help with bloating do not make you lose fat, but they can reduce inflammation in the gut and reduce fluid retention to help you get rid of any gas or water causing a belly pooch.

Read more