13 Easy Cocktails to Savor the Best Of Summer

As August slides into September and the sun dips beneath the horizon, let’s enjoy the best of summer with a dazzling symphony of flavors.

So get your cocktail shaker ready, clear some room in your sun-soaked backyard, and let the warmth of these waning summer days wrap around your senses. Are you ready to meet these easy summer cocktails? Read on, savor, and enjoy!

Dulce Vida Prickly Pear

Delight in Dulce Vida Blanco Tequila’s enchanting allure, expertly mingled with prickly pear cordial and lime juice in this refreshing cocktail with a Tajin rim, the ultimate solution for a quick handheld refresher.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Dulce Vida Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• .75 oz Prickly Pear Cordial
• Garnishes: Tajin Rim, Cucumber

Directions: Using a y peeler, make a long cucumber swath and place along the inside of the glass before placing a large cube inside. Add all ingredients into a shaker tin, fill to top with ice, and shake for 8 seconds. Double strain into a rocks glass over a large format ice cube.

Hot N’ Filthy Martini

Unmask the invigorating blend of lime pickle-celery gin and chili vinegar brine in this custom variation of the classic martini, from Renee Matthews, Beverage Director at Lil Deb’s Oasis in Hudson, New York. This slow sipper is perfectly spiced up for an adventurous night of unwinding.

Ingredients

• 2.5 oz lime pickle-celery gin
• .75 oz chili vinegar brine
• .5 oz salers (or dolin blanc vermouth)
• Shake all ingredients until shakers are frosty, double strain and garnish with lemon peel (as pictured) or a celery twirl for a freshness on the nose.

To make the lime pickle-celery gin:

• 1 750mL bottle Forthave Blue (or any comparable not too floral gin)
• 4 stalks celery, chopped up fine
• 1 oz lime pickle
• 1 TSP tomato paste

Directions: Stir all ingredients together and let sit 24 hours. Strain through cheesecloth. Keeps for weeks in a cool dark place. To make the chili vinegar brine: 1.5 cups Deb’s chili vinegar (recipe in cookbook, or can tbh substitute here for any chili vinegar found in store) 1 cup fermented lemon brine Stir together. Keeps in fridge forever and is great on everything from rice to eggs to in dirty martinis!

The Green Dragon

Stir your senses to this beverage’s intriguing combination of Dulce Vida Pineapple Jalapeno Tequila and Ancho Chile Liqueur. “We wanted to incorporate the lychee which is a tropical fruit in Asia with Pineapple notes. Everything pairs really well together.” says Johnny Soumphonphakdy, the inventive Bar Manager at Wu Chow.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Dulce Vida Pineapple Jalapeno Tequila
• .5 oz Ancho Chile Liqueur
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• 2 oz Lychee Drink
• Splash of Soda
• Garnishes: Pineapple & Jalapeno

Directions: Combine Dulce Vida Pineapple Jalapeno, Ancho Chile Liqueur, Lime Juice and Lychee Drink in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass over ice. Top with a splash of soda and garnish.

Tropical Breeze

Evoke beach vacation fantasies with tequila, Thai bird chili, and Spritz Society Pineapple. A cocktail that’s “the perfect combination of classic summertime classics,” according to Meaghan Levy, Director of Food and Beverage at Canoe Place Inn & Cottages.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Tequila
• .5 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• .5 oz Thai Bird Chili
• 4 oz Spritz Society Pineapple

Directions: Add all ingredients except the Spritz Society Pineapple to a shaker. Add ice and shake for 2 minutes. Strain over fresh ice into a glass and top with Spritz Society Pineapple. Garnish with a lime wedge.

LALO Paloma

Feast on the burst of fruity freshness in this LALO Tequila anchored cocktail, woven with sparkling water and grapefruit juice, resulting in a satisfyingly crisp citrus and tropical fusion.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz LALO Tequila
• 2 oz sparkling water
• 2 oz grapefruit juice
• Pinch of salt
• Lime wedge for garnish

Directions: Rim a highball glass with lime and salt. Fill the glass with ice. Add LALO, grapefruit juice, a pinch of salt, and top with sparkling water. Stir with a bar spoon. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Blood Orange Margarita

Savor the tempting lime, blood orange, and agave blend that enlivens Rancho La Gloria’s Reposado Tequila in this tangy citrus treat.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Rancho La Gloria Reposado Tequila
• 1⁄2 oz Lime Juice
• 1⁄2 oz Blood Orange Juice
• 1⁄2 oz Agave Nectar
• Garnish: Blood Orange Wheel

Directions: Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake hard. Rim a rocks glass with salt (optional) and fill with ice. Strain into glass. Garnish with blood orange wheel.

Blackberry Whiskey Sour

Revel in a fruity rendezvous as Crown Royal Deluxe whisky flirts with blackberry brandy and lemon juice in this captivating number.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Crown Royal Fine De Luxe
• 1 oz Blackberry Brandy
• 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• Garnish: Blackberries, Lemon wedges

Directions: Wet the rim of a low ball glass with a wedge of lemon, then dip it all around in a dish of sugar. Muddle a few blackberries (optional step) in the bottom of the glass, then fill with ice. Add in the whisky, blackberry brandy, fresh lemon juice and stir. Garnish with fresh blackberries and a lemon twist.

J’ackquiri

By Elijah Servance III

Uncover the charm of Sorel liqueur married to Ten to One White Rum and Clairin Communal Rum in a waltz with demerara sugar and tangy lime, elegantly garnished with an edible orchid in this tantalizing turn on the daiquiri.

Ingredients:

• .75 oz Sorel
• 1.5 oz Ten to One White Rum
• .5 oz Clairin Communal Rum
• .5 oz Demerara
• .75 oz Lime
• Garnish: Edible Orchid

Directions: Shake, double strain into coupe glass and garnish with an edible orchid

Hornet’s Nest

Explore the tantalizing depths of Reposado Tequila, Yuzu Honey Syrup, and lemon juice, imbued with Cardamom bitters, manifesting in a cocktail from Rancho La Gloria that resonates with a potent buzz.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Rancho La Gloria Reposado Tequila
• 1⁄2 oz Yuzu Honey Syrup
• 3⁄4 oz Lemon Juice
• 2 Dashes Cardamom Bitters
• Garnish: Dehydrated Lemon Wheel, Bee Pollen (optional)

Directions: To make the yuzu honey syrup combine 1 cup honey with 1 cup hot water mixed with 3 oz of yuzu juice. Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with dehydrated lemon wheel and a little bee pollen (optional).

The Bleeding Heart

Experience the unique sensation concocted by St George Vodka’s blend with Belvedere’s Basil LemonGrass and Rockeys Liqueur, courtesy of the innovative minds at Mulino New York.

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 oz St George Vodka
• 1.5 oz Belvedere Basil Lemon Grass
• 1⁄2 oz Rockeys Liqueur
• 1⁄2 oz Raspberry Juice
• 1⁄2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Aquafaba
• Garnish: Edible Flower

Directions: Dry Shake ingredients until Aquafaba becomes foamy, then shake with ice, strain, and serve.

Devil’s Margarita

Indulge your bold side with this sensational blend featuring Blanco Tequila and a floating layer of Sorel, garnished playfully with a lime wheel for that cheeky kick.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz Sorel
• 1.5 oz Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz fresh Lime Juice
• .75 oz Simple Syrup
• Garnish: Lime Wheel

Directions: Add the tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled. Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass. Carefully float the Sorel on top by slowly pouring it over the back of a bar spoon, so it forms a layer on the surface of the drink. Garnish your delicious Devil’s Margarita with a lime wheel, and savor the mix of flavors!

Anejo Smash

Encounter the refreshing burst of Rancho La Gloria Añejo Tequila in a riveting mingle with agave nectar and breezy citrus undertones, finished off with a sprig of mint for that distinct fresh touch.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Rancho La Gloria Añejo Tequila
• 1⁄2 oz Agave Nectar
• 10 Mint Leaves
• 3⁄4 oz Lemon Juice
• Garnish: Dried Lemon, Mint Sprig, Edible Flower

Directions: Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a double old-fashioned glass with crushed ice. Garnish with dried lemon, mint sprig and edible flower.

Kraken’s Keep

Embark on a tropical adventure with The Kraken Gold Spiced Rum, enhanced by the bright flavors of pineapple and orange, sprinkled with a captivating touch of gold luster dust.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 part The Kraken Gold Spiced Rum
• 1⁄2 part Orange juice
• 2 parts Pineapple juice
• 1 pinch Gold Luster Dust
• Garnish: Two Long Orange Peels, Pineapple Spear, Torched Cinnamon Stick

Directions: Combine in a rocks glass with crushed ice. Garnish with two long orange peels, a pineapple spear, & torched cinnamon stick.