42 Summer Cocktail Recipes – Delicious and Refreshing
Summer is the perfect time for refreshing, flavorful cocktails. Whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue, relaxing by the pool, or enjoying a night out with friends, the right summer cocktail can boost any occasion.
These are some of the most delectable and popular summer cocktail recipes, along with tips to help you create the perfect summer sips.
When you’re planning summertime happy hours, think of fruity flavors, with lots of citrus and some berry. Bubbly drinks also make a great choice, and anything with lots of ice.
Whether you’re in the mood for a classic mojito, a fruity margarita, or a botanical-infused spritz, there’s a summer cocktail perfect for any occasion. So grab your shaker, stock up on fresh ingredients, and get ready to sip your way through the summer in style.
Also check out our Strawberry Cocktails, Fruity Cocktails for summer and Gin Cocktails for Summer!
Tips for Crafting the Perfect Summer Cocktail
Use Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients: Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of the abundance of fresh fruits, herbs, and produce. Incorporate seasonal ingredients like watermelon, peaches, berries, and fresh mint to create vibrant, flavorful cocktails.
Keep It Light and Refreshing: When it’s hot outside, you want a cocktail that’s light, crisp, and easy to sip. Avoid heavy, spirit-forward cocktails in favor of those that are well-balanced, with a focus on bright, acidic flavors and a touch of sweetness.
Experiment with Infusions and Garnishes: Infuse your spirits with fresh fruits, herbs, or spices to add depth and complexity to your cocktails. And don’t forget the garnishes – a creative, visually appealing garnish can elevate any summer cocktail.
Stay Hydrated: Remember to incorporate plenty of soda water, tonic water, or other non-alcoholic mixers to help keep your cocktails refreshing and hydrating.
Batch and Chill: For easy summer entertaining, consider batching your cocktail recipes ahead of time and chilling them in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve. This will save you time and ensure your cocktails are perfectly chilled.
Serve in the Right Glassware: Choose glassware that enhances the presentation and experience of your summer cocktails. Highball glasses, Collins glasses, and coupe glasses are all great options for showcasing your creations.
Best Summer Cocktail Recipes
Mojito Drink Recipe
The mojito is a quintessential summer cocktail that originated in Cuba. This refreshing blend of white rum, lime juice, mint, and soda water is the perfect antidote to hot, sultry days. .The classic Mojito cocktail blends rum with sugar, mint, lime and carbonated water. It's a tasty, refreshing drink - sort of a carbonated limeade with a kick. Remember
Watermelon Mojito
Imagine combining the sweet, juicy goodness of a fresh watermelon with the minty freshness of a classic mojito, you get the Watermelon Mojito. This one is perfect for summer because it blends puree of a beloved summertime fruit with the traditional Mojito.
Classic Margarita Recipe
You can't beat a classic margarita for flavor and sheer deliciousness. This drink was practically designed for warm summer weather! It's a delicious combination of lime, orange and tequila has been honed for years. Want to improve it? Just use the very best quality ingredients you can find.
Pina Colada Recipe
The Pina Colada is a delicious tropical treat that tastes like pineapple and coconut. If you blend it, the texture is like a smoothie. Over ice, it's rich and thick. This particular recipe adds some special touches to enhance the original recipe.
Strawberry Smash Cocktail
The Strawberry Smash cocktail actually does involve smashing strawberries, or more precisely, muddling them. With basil. And then you add to that vodka, lemon and a bit of agave nectar. Featuring delicious summer fruit and herbs, it's perfect for warm weather days and time by the pool.
Cosmopolitan Cocktail Recipe
Learn how to make the Cosmopolitan cocktail at home. This old classic features vodka, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice and more. It’s amazingly refreshing and delicious!
Greyhound cocktail recipe
The Greyhound cocktail is a classic drink recipe made with only two ingredients: gin or vodka and grapefruit juice. Learn how to make one to enjoy at home!
Jack Honey & Grapefruit
The Jack Honey & Grapefruit cocktail is just what it sounds like. Two ingredients, one sweet and one tangy, blend together to perfection.
Hemingway Daiquiri Recipe
The Hemingway Daiquiri is an incredibly refreshing classic cocktail. It blends rum, grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur, and is a must-try for any grapefruit juice or rum lover.
Easy White Wine Sangria Recipe
There’s nothing quite like a refreshing glass of sangria to help you wind down and enjoy the moment. White sangria, in particular, is an excellent option for those hot summer days when you’re craving something cool and light.
Strawberry Margarita drink recipe
The Strawberry Margarita adds a strong dose of strawberry puree to the traditional margarita flavors of lime and orange. The tart and sweet flavors balance each other in a way that's just right.
Tom Collins Drink Recipe
The Tom Collins is a classic cocktail recipe featuring gin, lemon juice and club soda. It's a wonderful refreshing drink that's perfect for summer time and barbecues.
Summer Heat {Mixy Original}
The Summer Heat cocktail makes you think of the feeling of sun on your skin. It's sweet, spicy and bold with hints of lemon and ginger.
Brown Derby Cocktail Recipe
The refreshing Brown Derby cocktail recipe features bourbon whiskey,
grapefruit juice and honey syrup. This citrusy drink is perfect for a
warm summer day.
Rainbow Paradise Cocktail Recipe
How about a refreshing summer cocktail that looks as amazing as it tastes? The Rainbow Paradise Cocktail makes a wildly colorful addition to any party or summer day.
Best Paloma Cocktail Recipe
The Paloma cocktail is a refreshing citrusy drink. The tangy flavors of grapefruit juice and lime with the smoothness of tequila make it perfect for summer.
The Perfect Mudslide Cocktail Recipe
The Mudslide cocktail is the classic boozy chocolate milkshake, with a hint of coffee flavor. It's perfect for indulging in on a hot summer day.
Coconut Pineapple Martini
The Coconut Pineapple Martini is a light, refreshing drink with all the flavors of a heavier Pina Colada. When you're in the mood for something tropical but sharp and vibrant, this is the drink you want.
Spiced Watermelon Cooler Drink Recipe
You might expect a the Spiced Watermelon Cooler drink recipe to contain some watermelon puree. Or watermelon schnapps. But it doesn't, and there's a reason for that.
Tequila and Tonic Drink Recipe
The Tequila and Tonic cocktail makes a refreshing change from the Gin and Tonic. It blends tequila with tonic and lime juice, and the result is a bubbly, delicious drink.
Classic Aperol Spritz Cocktail Recipe
The refreshing Aperol Spritz classic cocktail features Aperol, prosecco and club soda for a sparkling bubbly aperitif. Learn how to make it at home!
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Perfect Margarita
If you're wasting away in Margaritaville, the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville Perfect Margarita is just the drink you need. This margarita recipe blends gold and white tequilas with triple sec, curacao and Rose's lime juice.
Watermelon Margarita
As the warm summer days approach, it's time for the Watermelon Margarita - a vibrant, flavor-packed twist on the classic margarita.
Blackberry Mint Martini
This delicious martini blends the flavors of blackberry and mint with rum and a touch of lime. It's a refreshing fruity drink you'll find yourself coming back to often.
Strawberry Blonde Drink Recipe
The Strawberry Blonde tastes like a boozy Cherry Coke with cream. It blends vodka with cherry brandy, cream, grenadine and cola for a delicious treat.
Peach Bellini Cocktail Recipe
The Bellini is one of the simplest champagne cocktails out there, with just two ingredients. It blends delicious peach puree with champagne for a wonderful, lightly fruity flavor. I recommend a Prosecco or dry champagne, but you can use any champagne you like.
Gin Fizz
Think 7-up with a kick, and you've got some idea of what the Gin Fizz tastes like. Of course the herb flavor from the gin makes it a little more interesting than that. And speaking of gin, choose a good one - Bombay Sapphire, Hendrick's and Tanqueray Ten are all good choices for a lemon-lime cocktail.
Hawaiian Tattoo Cocktail
This drink is has a nice tropical feel, so it's great by the poolside, but even nicer when you're stuck in buildings in the cold of winter and longing for the tropics.
Sweet Tropics Cocktail Recipe
Here's a new tropical vodka cocktail that's sure to transport you to a beach paradise with every sip! This cocktail is a delightful blend of sweet and tangy tropical fruits, mixed with smooth and refreshing vodka.
Spicy Apricot Margarita Recipe
The Spicy Apricot Margarita mixes the traditional lime and orange margarita flavors with apricot puree and muddled jalapeno pepper. It's spicy and tangy and all things wonderful.
St Germain Spritz Recipe
The St Germain Spritz blends elderflower liqueur with champagne or prosecco and soda water for a floral, bubbly, sparkling drink you will love.
Highline Spritzer cocktail recipe
The Highline Spritzer comes from mixologist Jon Howard at The Fillmore Room, and features white tequila with some fruity and lightly floral flavors.
The Watermelon Martini
Among summertime cocktails, the Watermelon Martini stands out. It blends fresh watermelon with the elegance of a classic martini for a truly indulgent drink.
Rum Punch Cocktail Recipe
This Rum Punch recipe transports you to a tropical paradise with two kinds of rum, tropical fruit juices and grenadine. Almost like being at the beach!
Frozen Girl Scout Drink Recipe
The Frozen Girl Scout is a drink you just can't go wrong with. It's mint. It's chocolate ice cream. There's some milk. But in the end, you know it's going to taste just like those Thin Mint cookies Girl Scouts sell.
Mint Julep
The Mint Julep is a bourbon cocktail recipe famous as the signature drink of the Kentucky Derby. This is an easy whiskey drink to love.
Limoncello Collins Drink Recipe
The Limoncello Collins is much like the Tom Collins, but with the addition of Limoncello, a lemon liqueur. That makes the lemon flavor considerably stronger than the gin.
Classic Tequila Sour Recipe
The classic Tequila Sour cocktail recipe features lime juice, lemon juice, bitters and egg white along with reposado tequila. It's easy to make a Tequila Sour at home!
Planter's Punch Cocktail Recipe
Are you craving a taste of tropical paradise? Get ready to indulge in
it right now with the classic rum Planters Punch cocktail recipe. It
blends rum with pineapple juice, lime juice, grenadine and bitters.
Cuban Cocktail
The Cuban Cocktail is a rum-based drink. In fact, there's little else to it besides lime. It's a bold drink with bold flavor, but it's also well-balanced.
Mojito Diablo Cocktail Recipe
The Mojito Diablo mixes tequila with creme de cassis, mint, lime, brown sugar and 7-Up. The resulting taste is a mint-lime-berry fusion with an underlying richness from the brown sugar.
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