The Best Summer Cocktails To Be Drinking This Year
Summer has finally arrived, and you know what that means... spending as much time outdoors as possible. Summer is about the little things for us: those fantastic blue skies, long summer days, warm evenings, hardly any makeup, endlessly talking about the weather, ice cream, barbeques, picnics, complaining about the weather (then complaining when it goes back to normal). And cocktails. Cocktails galore. Nothing says summer to me more than a Strawberry Daiquiri drunk from a paper cup, spread out on a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree. You can have your pool and beach, to me summer in the U.K is all about being al fresco at home.
Summer cocktails have really only one purpose: they need to make you feel cool in the most literal sense possible. When things get hot - and if the temperatures in the U.K are anything to go by, things are getting very hot indeed - you need to drink something with lots of ice cubes.
If you thought summer cocktails were just about Frozen Margaritas, Aperol Spritz and Piña Coladas, then think again! We've curated an extensive list of refreshing drinks that are not only easy to make and delicious but are filled with the season's finest ingredients. Get down to the market and stock up on lots of fresh fruit, because these cocktails are the epitome of summer in a glass. Gather your barware, mop the sweat from your brow, and mix up one of our best summertime cocktails below.
Strawberry Basil Smash
We promise you’ll never look at gin the same way again after you try this strawberry basil cocktail with gin, lemon, and elderflower liqueur.
Add strawberries, basil, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Muddle.
Add gin and liqueur and shake.
Pour over ice in 2 highball glasses, keeping all the solids as well.
Top with tonic water
MacNamara Rose
If you thought whiskey was only for winter, think again. This Irish Whiskey, Rosé, and cucumber medley is guaranteed to become your new summer favourite.
Pour the grenadine juice into the Tom Collins’ glass and set aside
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the gin, triple sec, orange and lemon
Shake until the outside of the shaker feels cold in your handAdd a few ice cubes to the serving glass
Slowly double strain the cocktail into it, paying careful attention not to disturb the grenadine layer too much
Garnish with a cherry on a stick or cocktail umbrella
Phil Collins
Bang your drums to a groovy kind of Collins with this brilliant take on the classic Tom Collins. If you really want another day in paradise, and can feel it coming in the air tonight, then substitute the cucumber for fresh watermelon and a pinch of salt. Sussudio!
Add ice, gin, Chartreuse, simple syrup, cranberry juice, and lime juice
Shake briefly until the shaker feels cold
Fine-strain into a (Phil) Collins glass over fresh ice and top off with fizzy water
Add the ribbon of cucumber vertically into the glass for garnish
Paloma
One of the best and most underrated cocktails around. The Paloma is Mexico's answer to the gin and tonic, it is traditionally made with Tequila, but we naturally prefer making it with gin.
¼ to 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste
4 oz grapefruit juice
Lime wedge, for optional rim
Coarse salt, for optional rim
Instructions
If you want to make this drink sexier, then rim the glass with lime juice and salt before filling the glass.
Fill a Tom Collins glass with ice and add the gin and lime juice.
Add grapefruit juice
Enjoy!
Nouveau Sangaree
Whoever said summer cocktails said Sangria. But not all sangrias have to be the sickly sweet drink with bits of flabby, bottom-of-the-fruitbowl-fruit floating in it. This version was conceived by the famous New York City bartender and author Jim Meehan and is perfect as the summer days draw to a close.
Ingredients
2 oz red wine (use a light-medium bodied one, like Pinot Noir or Beaujolais Nouveau)
Add the red wine, apple brandy, sloe gin, honey and Angostura bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with thin apple slices and grated cinnamon
Pineapple White Wine Sangria
Swap Spain’s unique fusion of siesta and fiesta for the soft sounds of the Caribbean with this tropical, exotic twist on sangria. Make a big jug and sip responsibly.
Ingredients
1 bottle white wine (choose a dry white such as Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc)
Add the squeezed juices from the orange and lemon wedges
Toss in the citrus wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple pieces; add a splash of pineapple juice then add the sugar and chill overnight in the refrigerator to let all the tastes macerate
Just before serving, add ginger ale, gin, and some ice
Garnish with mint
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