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

These unique summer cocktails each offer a refreshing twist you’ll love

Need a great cocktail for the core of summer? Here are 12 ideal options.

Mark Stock
By
The Nix Company / Unsplash

Summer stands for fun, from vacations to meandering Vespa rides. To keep the carefree and celebratory spirit alive all season long, we suggest some quality cocktails.

The merits of summer cocktails are many. First, they cool you off during the hottest portion of the year. Secondly, they tend to incorporate seasonal ingredients that are tasting at their best right this instant. Lastly, they’re just fun to make, whether you’re hosting a backyard party or just looking to tip a cap to happy hour on your lonesome.

Recommended Videos

However you go about your summer, try doing so with these stellar 12 excellent and unique summer cocktails.

Yuzu Smash Cocktail
INTERSECT by LEXUS

Yuzu Smash 

An ideal summer cocktail involves three major components: Brightness, zest, and an overall refreshing quality. This drink achieves all of the above and then some.

Related

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 ounces Riesling (we suggest Carl Lowen or Weiser Kunstler)
  • 1/2 ounce Lustau Fino Sherry
  • 1/2 ounce lemon sorbet syrup*
  • 1/4 ounce yuzu

*Lemon Sorbet Syrup: Peel 4 lemons and add the peels to the 2 cups of sugar in a sealed container. Mix together and let sit at least 24 hours.  In a pot, add the macerated peels and sugar, along with 16 ounces lemon juice, and heat on low heat until the sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat, let sit 5-10 minutes, then strain out the peels.

Method

  1. Shake, serve on smashed cold draft ice with a strip of nori in a rocks glass.
Noah's Ark Cocktail
Zizi

Noah’s Ark

Summer is a unique time of the year and your cocktail ought to reflect that. This complex drink from Zizi in NYC mixes up medicinal liqueurs with the sheer freshness of watermelon and cucumber.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 ounces Zachlawi Dry Arak
  • 1/4 ounce Omhpiko Mastiha liquor
  • 2 ounces fresh watermelon juice
  • 1/2 Lime
  • cucumber strip
  • watermelon cube, mint, and Zaatar salt rim for garnish

Method

  1. Mix equal amounts of Zaatar and salt in a shallow bowl.
  2. Rub a watermelon cube around half the rim of a tall glass.
  3. Dip one side of the watermelon cube in the Zaatar mix and leave the watermelon cube to the side.
  4. Combine Arak, Mastiha liquor, watermelon juice, lime juice, and a cup of ice in a shaker.
  5. Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice into glass and garnish with a cucumber strip, fresh mint, and watermelon cube.
Strawberry Bramble Cocktail
Blue Stripes Urban Cacao

Cacao Fruit Strawberry Bramble 

We love strawberry, whether it’s a tasting note from a good pink wine or the real thing, thrown into a lovely cocktail. This one blends the stone fruit with the complementary chocolatey flavors of cacao.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces vodka
  • 2 medium or large strawberries
  • 3/4 ounce 100% Cacao fruit
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1 0unce simple syrup
  • 1 cup ice

Method

  1. Muddle strawberries in shaker tin then add all other ingredients.
  2. Add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail coupe glass.
American Collins Cocktail
Juan Coronado

American Collins

The Tom Collins cocktail should be in your cocktail repertoire, whether you opt for the classic or a spinoff. This one, by Juan Coronado, utilizes an unlikely but delectable combo — tequila and earl grey tea.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces Mijenta Tequila Blanco
  • 1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 2 ounces sparkling water
  • 1 ounce earl grey tea syrup

Method

  1. In a highball glass filled with ice, add the tequila, lime juice, sparkling water, and earl grey tea syrup.
  2. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Zacapa Mojito
Zacapa Rum

Guatemalan Mojito

We love using a quality mixing rum. Like the Collins, the Mojito is an iconic drink worthy of countless riffs. This venerable version is anchored by some tasty Guatemalan rum.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Zacapa 23 Rum
  • 1 ounce lime juice
  • 6-8 mint leaves, fresh
  • 1 tablespoon of simple syrup
  • mint sprig for garnish

Method

  1. Combine lime juice, simple syrup, and mint leaves in cocktail shaker.
  2. Muddle mint, juice, and sugar combination.
  3. Add rum and shake and pour mixture into a glass, add ice, and top with club soda. Garnish with mint sprig.
A Valerie Gin and Tonic.
Valerie NYC

Tart Gin & Tonic

A gin and tonic should be an invigorating enterprise and nobody does it better than the Spanish. This Euro-inspired version from Valerie is perfect for standing up to the scorching sun of summer.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces Suntory Roku Gin
  • 1/2 ounce Suze
  • 4 dashes The Japanese Bitters yuzu bitters
  • 6 ounces Thomas Henry Bitter Lemon tonic

Method

  1. Add gin, Suze, and bitters to a goblet filled with ice.
  2. Pour tonic into goblet, garnish with shiso leaves.
Jasmine Tea Spritz
Heimat

Jasmine Tea Spritz

Ah, the spritz, everything that’s right about summer in liquid form. This one beautifully integrates the summer floral nature of jasmine with fresh peach and the briskness of a decent white wine (we suggest a good Pinot Grigio).

Ingredients

  • 1 part of Heimat White Peach liqueur
  • 1 part dry white wine
  • 1 part jasmine tea, chilled

Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in a wine glass.
  2. Top with sparkling water and garnish with a slice of lemon.
Coconut Negroni
LyAnna Sanabria/Round Turn Distilling

Coconut Negroni

Three-ingredient cocktails don’t get much better than the Negroni. Take it to the next level by swapping in some tropical coconut notes.

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce Bimini Coconut Gin
  • 1 ounce Campari
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth

Method

  1. Stir all ingredients and serve over a large cube, garnished with an orange twist.
Beergarita Beer Cocktail
B52 Brewing

Orange Beergarita

A good beer cocktail is a great and summery way to fuse your favorite brew with your favorite mixed drink. Here’s a playful mashup of lager and a Margarita.

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces lager (1 can of B52 Cerveza)
  • 1 ounce tequila
  • 1 ounce triple sec or Cointreau
  • 2 ounces lime juice
  • 1 ounce agave syrup
  • 2 ounces orange juice
  • 2 orange slices
  • salt
  • ice

Method

  1. Pour some salt into a small plate.
  2. Coat the rim of two cocktail glasses with lime juice or syrup, then swirl them gently, face down, on the plate to create a salted rim.
  3. Add a few ice cubes to chill each glass and set aside.
  4. In a cocktail shaker or pint glass, muddle the orange slices with agave syrup and lime juice until the fruit is broken up.
  5. Fill the shaker halfway with ice, then pour in the tequila, triple sec, and orange juice and stir twice.
  6. Very gently, pour in about a third of the beer, going slowly to reduce foaming.
  7. Stir another couple of times, very gently.
  8. Dump the chilling ice from the glasses, and strain the contents of the shaker evenly into each over fresh ice or straight up.
  9. Top with the remaining beer and garnish with lime and orange slices, if desired.
shaken vesper james bond cocktail book
Vesper. John Carey

Irish Vesper

The Vesper is a classic gin cocktail with an intriguing simplicity to it all. If you nail the ingredients, as this cocktail does, you’re in heaven.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.
  2. Garnish with a lemon peel.
Silver Sands Punch
Mount Gay

Silver Sands Punch

A summer cocktail list is left wanting without a good punch recipe. This one blends the kick of ginger with the cool of pineapple for a rum-tastic afternoon imbiber.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks, cracked
  • 1 one-inch slices ginger
  • 1 lemon peel
  • 1 pineapple, core removed, cut into chunks

Method

  1. Add all ingredients but pineapple to pot and bring to a boil.
  2. Add pineapple and simmer until pineapple is just translucent.
  3. Press pineapple to release juices and strain out solids and let cool.
The Ardbeg Daiquiri.
Ardbeg

Ardbeg Daiquiri

Here’s a smoky take on the classic Daiquiri, great for sipping or washing down smoked foods this grilling season.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces Ardbeg 10-year
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup

Method

  1. Add all liquid ingredients to a shaker tin, with ice.
  2. Shake cocktail and fine strain into a coupe glass, garnish and serve.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
Bartenders explain the merits of nocino, the tasty liqueur you need in your life
Nocino is the Italian liqueur you didn't know you were missing. Here's how to use it
A pour of nocino, a walnut liqueur

Like so many ancient drinks, the earliest uses of the Italian liqueur nocino were often medicinal. Users believed it helped with stomach issues and fended off the plague. In modern times, the liqueur, which is made from unripened walnuts that are harvested before the nut forms, is now used for enjoyment, especially in nocino liqueur cocktails.

Traditionally, nocino is made once a year, generally toward the end of June, when the walnuts are at just the right stage, though changes in climate have been pushing the harvest earlier, now sometimes to the middle of June, and if the harvest is smaller, there are fewer bottles of nocino made that year. Overall, though, you can still find the stuff in most specialty stores, and it's a great base to play around with. There are even some domestic options, like this one from Ohio.

Read more
The Finnish long drink is the best gin cocktail you’ve probably never heard of
The Finnish Long Drink is a Scandinavian gem: Here's how it came to be and how to make it
Two ice-cold glasses of gin with blood orange garnish with cocktail sticks on a table.

A drink with a giant following has been around for over 70 years and chances are, you haven't heard of it. The cocktail is dubbed the Finnish Long Drink, and it's a refreshing gin-based number that's easy to mix up at home. The Scandinavian drink has quite the pedigree, born during a global sporting event and becoming a go-to for one of the happiest nations on the planet.

It all started in 1952 when Finland hosted the Summer Olympics. The masses descended on Helsinki to see the world's best athletes and brought with them not just a hunger for entertainment and sport, but thirst. It was August, conditions were mild, and fans needed something refreshing. Finland, a relatively small country, needed to efficiently serve a large audience and do so quickly and efficiently.

Read more
The classic whiskey cocktails you need in your bartending repertoire
If whiskey is your thing, you must know how to whip up these classic cocktails
Sazerac classic whiskey cocktail

Ever wonder why so many of the classic cocktails out there involve whiskey? Because the spirit is versatile, it comes in various forms (rye, bourbon, Scotch, etc.) and takes kindly to several complementary ingredients. And while there are countless recipes you should explore, there are five you really must know.

Yes, like classic gin cocktails or classic tequila cocktails, classic whiskey cocktails are combinations you should know by heart and work to perfect with little tweaks here and there. They get adorned with the classic name because the combinations are tried and true, standing the test of time. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun with them, as we always encourage you to play around with things like whiskey type, liqueur type, bitters type, and more. They're classics, sure, but they can still be tailor made for your own palate.

Read more