Top 10 Cocktails for Your End of Summer Soiree

Summer is coming to an end and we’re doing our best to savor every last moment!  

Here are some of our favorite cocktails to keep your Summer vibes going strong.

1.  Purple Haze

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 6 blackberries
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce lavender simple syrup
• Soda water

DIRECTIONS

1. Muddle blackberries in a mixing tin.
2. Add other ingredients and shake with ice.
3. Double strain into an ice-filled highball glass.
4. Top with soda.
5. Garnish with lavender blossoms and a floated blackberry.

2.  Islander

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces rum
• 1 ounce coconut milk
• ½ banana
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• 1 ounce lemon falernum

DIRECTIONS

1. Muddle banana in a mixing tin.
2. Add remaining ingredients and shake with ice.
3. Double strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice.
4. Garnish with a dissection of pineapple leaves.

 

When watermelon is in abundance, this is a great way to use it. Bobby Flay purees seedless watermelon chunks, then strains the juice through a sieve and mixes it with silver tequila, sugar syrup, blueberries, mint and fresh lime juice.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 3/4 cups blueberries
• 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
• 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
• Ice

 4.  Tabernacle Crush

This light and refreshing cocktail is as reminiscent of the American South as it is of the South of France.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 a large peach, sliced
• 6 small basil leaves plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 oz great lemon juice
• 11/2 oz gin
• 1oz Lilet
• 1/2 oz simple syrup (I like agave syrup)
• Ice
• Club Soda

DIRECTIONS

In a tall glass, muddle the peach with the 6 basil leaves and the lemon juice. Add the gin, Lillet and simple syrup. Add ice cubes and top with club soda. Garnish with basil.

5.   Limoncello Collins

The Collins was most likely named after 19th-century bartender John Collins of London’s Limmer’s Hotel. The Tom Collins was originally made with Old Tom, a sweet style of gin that’s extremely hard to find today.

How to Make Insanely Easy Granita

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces limoncello (lemon-flavored liqueur)
• 12 ounces gin
• 8 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 24 paper–thin lemon slices
• Ice
• 16 ounces chilled club soda
• 8 mint sprigs

 6.  Strawberry-Lemon Mojitos

Strawberries sweeten these mojitos from mixologist Joaquin Simo.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 lemon wedges
• 24 mint leaves, plus 4 mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)
• 4 strawberries, plus 2 halved strawberries, for garnish
• Ice cubes, plus crushed ice
• 8 ounces gold or aged rum
• 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces prepared sugarcane syrup or agave nectar

7.  Cucumber-Honeydew Freeze

Fruit flavors generally mix well if they’re from the same botanical family. This cool and light summer cocktail works because cucumber and melon both belong to the Cucurbitaceae family.

INGREDIENTS

SWEET FENNEL SALT

• 2 tablespoons ground fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

COCKTAIL

• 1 lime wedge
• 8 ounces gin
• 2 cups chilled chopped peeled cucumber
• 2 cups chilled chopped honeydew melon
• 6 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup honey
• 5 cups ice
• Cucumber wheels and honeydew melon balls, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix the kosher salt, sugar and ground fennel seeds.
2. Moisten half of the outer rim of 6 chilled white wine glasses with the lime wedge and coat lightly with the sweet fennel salt.
3. In a blender, combine all of the remaining ingredients except the garnishes and blend until smooth. Pour the drink into the glasses. Garnish the drinks with the cucumber wheels and honeydew melon balls.

8.  California Caipirinha

Duggan McDonnell of San Francisco's Cantinariffs on the caipirinha by embellishing the classic combination of Cachaça, sugar and lime with Essensia Orange Muscat from Quady Winery in Madera, California.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 limes, cut into eighths
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
• 16 ounces Cachaça
• 4 ounces Orange Muscat
• 4 ounces Simple Syrup
• Ice

9. Mango-Peach Sangria

 John Besh serves this lightly sweet, fruity white-wine sangria over plenty of ice cubes. “Use Viognier—it has a nice balance of fruit and acidity,” he says.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup mint
• 1 cup Grand Marnier
• 2 peaches, cut into thin wedges
• 1 bottle Viognier
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 mango, chopped
• 1/3 cup sugar

10.  Rosemary-Infused Honey Sidecars

INGREDIENTS

• 3 sprig fresh rosemary
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 c. Honey
• 2 c. VSOP Cognac
• 1 c. lemon juice

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SOURCES REFERENCED:

http://theglitterguide.com/2016/05/24/fresh-and-colorful-cocktail-recipes/
http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/modern-summer-cocktails/18
http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g1659/summer-drink-recipes/?slide=6