My favourite summer cocktail recipes are made with seasonal fruits and berries. And they tend to be on the sour side or made longer with the addition of something fizzy. Pink grapefruit, for example, works well if you are looking for a cocktail that is semi-sweet yet slightly bitter. Use it in a Margarita or go for a classic Paloma.
Which one is your favourite?
Summer Cocktails
1 Cucumber Paloma
50ml Tequila Plata (I used Vivir Blanco)
30ml Fresh Grapefruit Juice
10ml Fresh Lime Juice
5ml Agave syrup
Cucumber Tonic Water (or replace with cucumber soda)
Salt rim
First add the salt rim into your glass and fill it with ice. Next, measure all ingredients into a tall ice-filled glass, give it a quick stir and top up with Dr Polidori Cucumber Tonic Water.
2 Cherry Sour
50ml Bourbon (I used Heaven’s Door Tennessee Bourbon)
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
15ml Sugar Syrup
4 Cherries, stones removed
Egg White
Remove the stones from the cherries. Muddle them together with the bourbon in the bottom of the shaker. Add lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white (break the egg separately to avoid ruining the mix). Dry shake, add ice and shake again. Double strain over ice and garnish with a cherry.
3 Irish Maid
Irish Maid is another modern classic that makes a great fresh yet floral summer whisky cocktail.
50ml Irish Whiskey (I used Legendary Silkie)
3 slices of Cucumber
15ml Elderflower Liqueur (I used St. Germain but another brand would also work fine)
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
20ml Sugar Syrup (optional)
Muddle the cucumber in the bottom of your shaker, add the remaining ingredients and shake well with ice. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and garnish with a cucumber tongue.
4 Lemon Balm Gin Sour
40ml Navy Strength Gin (I used Kalevala Blue Label Gin)
20ml Green Chartreuse
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
20ml Lemon Balm Syrup
Egg white
Angostura Bitters
Measure all but bitters and dry shake, add ice and shake again. Strain over ice, add in a few drops of bitters and garnish with a sprig of lemon balm.
5 Bitter Margarita
50ml Tequila Blanco (I used Vivir Blanco)
15ml Campari
15ml Cointreau
25ml Fresh Pink Grapefruit Juice
15ml Fresh Lime Juice
Pink Salt
Add Himalayan salt to the rim of the glass. Shake all ingredients together with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.
6 Pineapple & Passionfruit Gin Sour
35ml Pineapple-infused Gin (I used Palma Gin)
20ml Passionfruit Liqueur (I used Nunquam Passiflora Edulis – it really is the BEST!)
7.5ml Sugar Syrup
15ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Egg White
Infuse the gin with pineapple chunks for a few days. Strain once ready and keep storing in the fridge. To make the cocktail, dry shake all ingredients. Add ice and shake again. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and garnish with the rosemary.
7 Beetroot & Ginger
50ml Beetroot-infused Tequila Blanco (I used Patron Blanco)
5ml Fresh Lime Juice
Ginger Ale top up
First infuse tequila with beetroot for a few days. Strain once ready and keep storing in the fridge. Measure the infusion and lime into an ice-filled glass and top up with the ginger ale. Give it a gentle stir before serving.
8 Old Cuban
45ml Aged rum (I used Havana Club 7)
6 Mint leaves
20ml Fresh lime juice
25ml Sugar syrup
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
55ml Champagne
Shake all but Champagne with ice. Double strain into a cocktail glass and top up with the Champagne.
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9 Pineapple & Strawberry Tequila Sour
50ml Pineapple-infused Tequila Blanco (I used El Espolón Blanco)
2 Strawberries
15ml Aperol
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Egg White
First infuse tequila with pineapple chunks for a few days. Strain once ready and keep storing in the fridge. To make the cocktail, start by muddling the strawberries in the bottom of your shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and dry shake. Add ice and shake again. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and garnish.
10 Ciao Bella
A good measure of Malfy Gin Rosa
Limoncello (for sweetness)
Plenty of fresh lemon juice
Prosecco
Rosemary
You can build this directly in the glass (the lazy-day version) or you can shake all but the Prosecco and strain over ice. Top up with Prosecco and garnish with rosemary. You should adjust the measurements according to your glass size/type and to your taste: more limoncello for a sweeter drink, less lemon juice if you don’t like the zing so much.
What are your favourite summer cocktail recipes? Any particular ingredients or spirits that you like to use?
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