Summer Cocktails

When it comes to summer drinks, you can’t go wrong with classic cocktails.

Bartenders and mixologists love to experiment with what’s in the cabinet to come up with new drinks all the time. While we welcome diversity in all their forms, you can’t go wrong with some classic combos that have stood the test of time. Those wanting to go old-school on cocktails might want to try a few legendary options, some of which have been around for decades.

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Mai Tai (main photo)

This legendary concoction isn’t indigenous to Tahiti;  the nation’s Polynesian heritage inspired restaurant chain Trader Vic to invent the beverage in the 1940s. This one’s the standard that accentuates the qualities of white and dark rum, when balanced with the citrus elements and will let your tastebuds realize why this is such a classic.

• 1 ¼ oz. white rum
• ¾ oz. orange curaçao
• ¾ oz. lime juice, freshly squeezed
• ½ oz. orgeat syrup
• ½ oz. dark rum
• lime wheel for garnish
• mint sprig for garnish

Add the white rum, curaçao, lime juice and orgeat into a shaker with crushed ice and shake lightly for a few seconds. Pour into a double rocks glass and float the dark rum over the top. Shake and serve over crushed ice and garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig.

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Mint Julep

Best known as the choice cocktail of the Kentucky Derby, this concoction is usually served in a rocks glass or more appropriately in a silver julep cup. Use a slightly higher-proof bourbon to keep the crushed ice from diluting the beverage to quickly.

• ¼ oz. simple syrup
• 2 oz. bourbon
• 7 mint leaves
• mint sprig for garnish
• angostura bitters for garnish (optional)

In a Julep cup or rocks glass, lightly muddle the mint leaves in the simple syrup. Add the bourbon then pack the glass tightly with crushed ice. Stir until the cup is frosted on the outside. Top with more crushed ice to form an ice dome, and garnish with a mint sprig and a few drops of bitters (optional)

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Lime Margarita

This cocktail has a complicated history, allegedly created in 1938 by a Mexican restaurateur to impress a showgirl named Margaret, although another story has it that it was invented in the 1940s in Tijuana and named after Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Casino. Regardless of the past, made correctly, this beverage’s taste is timeless.

1 wedge lime

• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, or as needed
• 1 cup ice cubes, or as needed
• 2 oz. white tequila
• 1 ½ oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 slice lime

Moisten the rim of a glass with a lime wedge. Sprinkle salt onto a plate. Lightly dip the moistened rim into the salt. Place a large ice cube in the glass and freeze the prepared glass until ready to serve. Fill a cocktail shaker with fresh ice. Add tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Cover and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker has frosted. Strain margarita into the chilled glass and garnish with a slice of lime.-

Pink Paloma

One of the most popular drinks in Mexico, this concoction has become a hit for its combination of tequila with fruit juice, adding a tarty kick to the imbibing experience.

• 2 oz.  tequila
• 2 oz.  pink grapefruit juice
• 2 oz.  sparkling water
• ¼ oz. lime juice
• ¼ oz. simple syrup
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 lime wedge for garnish
• ice cubes

Fill a glass with ice cubes, then add the tequila, lime juice and salt. Fill the rest of the glass with pink grapefruit juice, then garnish with a lime wedge.

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Strawberry Basil Smash

Strawberries and fresh basil are smashed together until fragrant in this bourbon-based cocktail that’s perfect for those hot summer days just around the corner.

• ¼ c. fresh strawberries, cut into chunks
• 5 leaves fresh basil
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. simple syrup
• 3 oz. bourbon
• ½ cup ice, or as needed
• 3 oz. sparkling water, or as needed

Muddle strawberries, basil, lemon juice, and simple syrup together in a cocktail glass until smashed together and fragrant. Add bourbon and ice, then stir to combine. Top with sparkling water.

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Blue Lagoon

Contrary to popular belief, this beverage wasn’t named after the 1980s Brooke Shields movie, as a Paris-based bar came up with the concoction at least a decade earlier. Still, its exotic moniker might be enticing enough for folks to give this cocktail a shot.

• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. blue curaçao
• 4 oz. lemonade
• lemon wheel for garnish
• maraschino cherry for garnish

Add the vodka, blue curaçao and lemonade to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

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Pisco Sour

A Peruvian favorite, this drink is made from a pisco liqueur, although folks north of the equator are more likely to use brandy as a substitute if the real thing isn’t available. If you’ve never tasted a pisco sour, you’re just in time for its comeback. The smoothness of the star ingredient meets fragrant lime and a silky foam froth.

• 3 oz. pisco
• 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1 impeccably fresh egg white
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

To a cocktail shaker, add the pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white. Secure the lid, and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Remove the lid, fill the shaker with ice, return the lid and shake again for another 15 or 20 seconds. Strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass, add a dash or two of bitters atop the foam and enjoy.

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