8 Delicious Drinks That Will Still Keep You Hydrated In The Heat

Staying hydrated in the summer heat is key to enjoying outdoor activities. Whether you’re vacationing at the beach or hosting a backyard barbecue, it’s important to maintain your physical well-being even when enjoying cocktails. Make sure you drink plenty of water between drinks, and look for cocktail recipes that include hydration boosting ingredients.

From coconut water to aloe, citrus, pickle brine and electrolytes, these 8 cocktails feature ingredients that will help you stay hydrated while imbibing.

Haiku Spritz

Anyone that has ever had a sunburn or a little kitchen accident knows that aloe is one of nature’s greatest hydration weapons. Here, it combines with cucumber, melon and lemon for extra punch. This recipe comes via Yampa Valley Kitchen, created by Liberty Adams.

• .75 oz Japanese Midori Melon liqueur (or another melon liquor)
• .75 oz Chareau Aloe Liqueur
• .75 oz lemon vodka
• .75 oz lemon juice
• 3 oz. Prosecco
• 1 dash cardamom extract (recipe below)
• Garnishes: Cucumber ribbon, half lemon wheel

In a wine glass, pour 2 oz. Prosecco. Place cucumber in a shaker with ice, add the rest of the ingredients except the remaining 1 oz. of prosecco and garnish. Shake and pour into the wine glass. Top with Prosecco and garnish.

Cardamom Extract

Combine 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds with 3 oz vodka let sit for 24 hours. Strain.

Sour Peach Electrolyte Jello Shot

“It gets hot here in Austin, Texas, and our Sour Peach Electrolyte Jello shot is a great way to get your electrolytes, stay hydrated and keep the party going,” says Dhal Smith, general manager of local microbrewery Central Machine Works.

• 1/2 cup Tito’s Handmade Vodka
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup cold water
• 1/4 cup Peach Schnapps
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 3-oz package Sugar-Free Peach Jello Gelatin
• 1 scoop sugar-free HRDWRK Electrolyte Powder

Empty jello powder into a large mixing bowl and add the boiling water, stirring for two minutes or until the jello is completely dissolved. Add in cold water, peach schnapps, lemon juice, vodka, and electrolyte powder. Stir until mixed and pour into 2oz. cups filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the way and chill until firm.

Spicy Dill Mango Margarita

Live pickle brines, such as Olive My Pickle’s Kosher Dill LiveBrine, are full of healthy probiotics and electrolytes to help you feel great, especially on the morning after a party when you need to rehydrate.

• 1.5 oz Tequila
• .5 oz Cointreau
• 3 oz mango juice
• 1 oz Kosher Dill LiveBrine
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 chile serrano, sliced

Muddle seranno, Kosher Dill LiveBrine, and lime juice. Add tequila mango juice and cointreau and shake well. Rub lime wedge on rim of glass and dip in salt and tajin. Add ice to glass and pour drink from shaker. Garnish with lime, dill sprig and pickle slices.

Aichi Lychee Spritz

Lychee, cucumber, ginger and soda make this recipe courtesy of Parkway Food Hall a perfect cocktail with a high hydration level.

1 oz Haiken Lychee Vodka

.5 oz Shibata Black Yuzu Sake

0.5 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger

0.5 oz Simple syrup

.5 oz Lime

2 oz Fever Tree Sparkling Cucumber Tonic

1 oz Club soda

Fresh basil

Combine all ingredients into a wine glass. Quickly swizzle. Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil.

Bohemian Rhapsody

“Bohemian Rhapsody is an Homage to the Queen Mother. It is a perfect versatile summer cocktail which can also be made as a mocktail,” says Lindy Colvin, bartender at Lutie’s at the Commodore Perry Estate in Austin, Texas. “If you’re making it a mocktail, increase the cucumber juice for ultimate hydration!”

• Spirit of choice (1.5 oz gin & .5 oz Absinthe recommended)
• 1.5 oz jasmine tea
• 1.5 oz cucumber juice
• .25 oz agave
• 5 dashes fee bros foaming bitters
• Cracked pepper

Shake all ingredients to combine and froth. Add ice and shake to chill. Fine strain into your choice of glass. Top with cucumber slice and cracked black pepper.

Matcha Mint Garden & Tonic

Green juice gives this unusual gin & tonic from Yampa Valley Kitchen a different spin, and adds an extra hydrating and healthy element.

• 1.5 oz gin
• 1.5 oz mint syrup (recipe below)
• 1 oz fresh pressed green juice or your favorite store-bought green juice
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened matcha powder
• Tonic

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a goblet glass filled with ice. Top with tonic. Garnish with sliced cucumber and mint sprig.

Mint Syrup

• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves

Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Let it sit overnight then strain into a clean glass jar.

Nothing Grows In August

“This is a late summer stirred cocktail that ties the mellow sweetness of coconut to a sharp pomegranate tang, and is appropriately named for the SL Houser song of the same name,” says Ben Walker, tasting room manager at Fierce Whiskers Distillery.

• 1.5 oz Fierce Whiskers Rye
• 0.25oz Select Aperitif
• 0.75oz Pomegranate juice
• 0.75oz Coconut water
• 0.5oz Rooibos-Honey Syrup

Stir over ice for 8 seconds, strain into a double rocks glass over large cubed ice. Garnish with expressed lemon peel.

* Rooibos-Honey Syrup: Many bars use a 1:1 ratio of honey to hot water to make a honey syrup that is both pourable and soluble. I like to replace the hot water with something that will add more to the cocktail — in this case, freshly brewed rooibos tea.

Tepache for Strangers

“When developing this menu I did a deep dive into San Antonio culture and what the people love to enjoy in the heat of summer because, let’s be real, San Antonio has summer for about 10 months out of the year,” says Michael Sanchez, corporate beverage director at white lodging, who created this cocktail for Anaqua Garden Bar, located inside Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa in San Antonio, Texas.

• 1 oz Dos Hombres Mezcal
• 5 oz Watermelon Tepache (recipe below)
• 2 oz Guava La Croix
• 1 oz Pineapple guava oleo
• 1 mint sprig
• 1 half moon slice pineapple

Combine all ingredients into shaker except for the La Croix. Shake until proper dilution (around 20 seconds). Pour the guava La Croix into an ice filled Collins glass and strain the combined ingredients over top. Garnish with the pineapple slice and mint sprig.

Watermelon Tepache

• 1 medium pineapple, whole
• 350 grams cubed watermelon (about 2.5 cups)
• 0.5 cups brown sugar
• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 64 ounces water

Wash the outside of a pineapple and slice off the crown top. Remove the skin in large slices, keeping half inch of the fruit intact. In a large pot, combine water and brown sugar. Let the mixture dissolve while stirring on low heat. Allow to cool.

In a large pot or plastic or glass container with lid, combine pineapple rind, watermelon, mint, and the sugar-water mixture. Place a large plate on the mixture and push down; make sure the fruit stays completely submerged. Close the lid and allow to sit at room temperature for 2-3 days to ferment. After it has fermented, remove the lid and weighted plate, stir well, and fine strain the mixture into quart containers for use.