3 Summer Cocktail Recipes To Try
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Summer cocktails are all about refreshing flavors, light ingredients, and vibrant colors—perfect for warm weather and outdoor gatherings.
Protip for the home mixologist: for best results summer cocktails should be served chilled. Place your glasses in the freezer half an hour before serving or fill them each with ice while you mix your drinks and discard once your are ready to serve.
Find the right glass for the drink.
Choosing the right glass for your cocktail enhances both presentation and the drinking experience. Tall glasses like highballs or Collins are ideal for refreshing, fizzy drinks, while shorter, wide-rimmed glasses like margarita or coupe glasses showcase cocktails with more complex flavors. For frozen cocktails or spritzers, stemmed glasses like wine or champagne flutes keep your drink cool and elegant.
Lavender Gimlet
Ingredients:
60ml gin
15ml fresh lime juice
15ml lavender syrup (you can make this by simmering equal parts sugar, water, and dried lavender for 10 minutes, then straining)
Ice
Fresh lavender sprig (for garnish)
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine the gin, lime juice, and lavender syrup.
Add ice and shake well until chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass.
Garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender.
Enjoy the floral and citrusy notes of this refreshing summer cocktail!
Paloma with rose caviar.
Ingredients:
60ml tequila
60ml fresh grapefruit juice
Sparkling water or Lemonade / Sprite
Ice
Rose caviar (small edible rose pearls for garnish)
Sea salt.
Method
Add a salted rim to your glass by running a lemon wedge over the edge and then dipping into ground salt.
Add ice to a tall glass.
Add tequila and grapefruit juice.
Top with sparkling water or Sprite.
Garnish with a spoonful of rose caviar for a luxurious touch.
This drink balances citrusy, refreshing flavors with the floral elegance of rose caviar.
Naartjie Martini
Ingredients:
A Naartjie Martini (naartjie being a South African mandarin or tangerine) is a bright, citrus-forward cocktail perfect for summer. Here's how to make it:
Ingredients:
60ml Gin
30ml fresh naartjie juice (or tangerine/mandarin juice)
15ml Sweet Vermouth
15ml Dry Vermouth
Tsp Olive brine
Ice
Naartjie peel (for garnish)
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine all your ingredients.
Add ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with a slice of naartjie or a twist of the peel for extra zest.
