Bring a taste of summer to your whisky cocktails with these tips. The image of whisky has changed a lot over recent years and so has the way we enjoy drinking it. Many whisky distillers used to think it was sacrilege to mix anything other than maybe a drop of water or a few ice cubes into their precious creations, but today we are seeing whiskies that have been created with mixology in mind. So, let’s look into ways you can bring summer flavours into your whisky cocktail.
Summer Whisky Cocktail Trends
1 Fresh berries
Who can resist a cocktail with freshly muddled berries? The choices are endless. Some of my favourites are fresh juicy cherries, blackberries and sweet strawberries. They all make an excellent whisky sour that’s tangy yet fruity. Don’t be afraid to use a range of whiskies, from bourbon to single malts.
Kentucky Kiss
60ml Kentucky Bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
2–3 Strawberries
15ml Fresh Lemon Juice
15ml Maple Syrup
Soda Water
Mint for garnish
First muddle the strawberries, lemon and maple syrup in the bottom of a tumbler. Add bourbon and ice and give it a good stir. Add more ice if needed and a splash of soda water. Garnish with mint. Alternatively, you can muddle using your cocktail shaker, then add bourbon and shake before straining over ice and adding soda water.
Blackberry & Mint Whisky Sour
50ml Whisky of your choice (I used Cù Bòcan Signature)
25ml Homemade Blackberry & Mint Syrup*
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Egg White
Measure all ingredients and dry shake. Add ice and shake again. Strain over ice and garnish with a mint sprig and a juicy blackberry.
* To make the syrup, simply add sugar, water and blackberries to a saucepan. Muddle the berries to release flavour. Keep stirring on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let the liquid boil. Take off the heat and add mint. Cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store in the fridge.
Want to learn more about syrups and sweeteners? The Essential Guide to Cocktail Sweeteners
2 Minty fresh
Mint is the herb of summer, especially when it comes to whisky cocktails. For example, add fresh mint into a Highball or make several variations of Whiskey Smash by simply adding in red berries or tropical fruits. Usually created with bourbon, but I also like playing around with scotch whiskies with rum influence for the tropical versions. Mint Julep is very popular in the US, and no wonder, it is simple, quick and very refreshing. We should be enjoying more of them during the hot European summers!
Peach Smash
40ml Whisky with rum influence (I used The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve)
4 Slices of Fresh Peach
Handful of fresh Mint
20ml Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon of Dark Brown Sugar, adjust to taste
20ml Aperol
Simply muddle it all together in the bottom of the glass, add (crushed) ice and give it a good stir.
Tip: Want to make it slightly longer? Top up with soda water.
3 Refreshing Highballs
In Japan, less is more when it comes to highballs, but in Europe, we are more than happy to elevate our serves with a touch of homemade syrup, liqueur or flavoured soda water. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. After all, highball is all about allowing the whisky to shine. The key is to complement it.
Green Tea Highball
Green tea works well with light, zesty and grassy whiskies. If you’d like to add a little sweetness to the drink, add sugar or honey to the green tea when first brewing it. Allow it to cool and measure into the drink.
50ml Grassy, citrusy whisky (I used The Epicurean Blended Malt)
50ml Green Tea, chilled
Soda Water
Lemon Peel for garnish
Put ice into a highball glass. Measure all ingredients and give it a gentle stir. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
See my previous blog post on how to Jazz Up Your Whisky Highball.
4 Aperol
Aperol is not just for the spritz, although a while back I did come across a trend of adding whisky into your Aperol Spritz too. Although I think perhaps it was more like a flavoured Highball than a Spritz…
I have been diving into some delicious modern classics recently and I feel that Paper Plane should be trending right now! It’s simple, with equal measures of bourbon, amaro, Aperol and lemon. Try it! You can thank me later!
Paper Plane
22.5ml Bourbon (ideally 46% ABV)
22.5ml Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
22.5ml Aperol
22.5ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Tip: Replace bourbon with rye and see what happens.
5 Floral flavours
Elderflower is a flavour that returns in many cocktail menus each summer. Try elderflower syrup in a whisky sour with peated scotch. Premade syrups and liqueurs are usually strong in flavour and can become overpowering in many cocktails. However, this is a problem you rarely need to worry about when mixed in with heavily peated whisky. They really complement each other.
Another great floral flavour is hibiscus, although I tend to use it more with tequila and mezcal. Irish Maid is a modern classic that makes a great fresh yet floral summer whisky cocktail.
Irish Maid
50ml Irish Whiskey (although no one will judge if you choose whisky from another category)
3 Slices of Cucumber
15ml St. Germain or other Elderflower Liqueur
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 slice.
6 Celtic Margarita
I’m a huge fan of Margarita cocktails in the summer, but I also love peated scotch, and together they make a great summer whisky cocktail. That’s right – peated whisky is not only for winter! The outcome is savoury, peppery and slightly smoky.
There’s also a new flavoured whisky brand on the market designed with cocktails in mind. Novel’s first release (Volume 1 Laos) is a 7-year-old blend aged in bourbon casks and infused with lime. Their recommended serve is a Margarita.
Rock Island Margarita
In this recipe, I replaced your usual orange liqueur with a tasty Italian bergamot liqueur, but you could easily go for the classic Cointreau as well. The original Celtic Margarita is made only with whisky, but I like to add a touch of tequila to add more of those grassy notes.
45ml Rock Island Blended Malt (or other maritime smoky whisky)
15ml Tequila Plata (optional)
20ml Bergamot Liqueur
25ml Fresh Lime Juice
Touch of Agave Syrup (optional)
Himalayan Sea Salt for the rim (optional)
Coat the rim of the glass with Himalayan Sea salt if used. Measure all the ingredients into the cocktail shaker, add ice and shake well. Double strain into a nice cocktail glass. No garnish needed.
Do you have a favourite whisky cocktail for the summer months? How do you bring a taste of summer to your whisky cocktails?
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