Summertime is the best time to make and drink refreshing summer cocktails at home. Check out our recipes for 25 easy summer cocktails and craft one today.
Summertime is the best time for sipping cocktails.
And to this… we say CHEERS.
Living in Portugal inspired us to craft our first Porto Tonico, the popular Portuguese cocktail made with white port and tonic water. But that wasn’t our last cocktail during the summer or otherwise.
We quickly realized that we love creating easy cocktail recipes that don’t involve a lot of steps or require a lot of time. And we love drinking them even more.
The Best Summer Cocktails
The best summer cocktails will make your summer extra hot while cooling you down from the inside out. Beyond liquor, ingredients include wholesome items like freshly squeezed lime juice and simple syrup.
It’s a given that summer drinks should taste great whether they’re crafted with Campari, gin, rum, tequila or vodka. They should also be easy to make at home with a minimal amount of equipment and ingredients.
Discover the 10 necessary bar tools for lazy mixologists.
Our Top Summer Sippers
Our top summer sippers will take you around the world to countries like Brazil, France, Italy, Cuba, Mexico and the UK. Not surprisingly, we feature a drink from our home base of Portugal too.
We’ve included classic cocktails like the Daiquiri, Margarita and Mojito as well as more exotic Mauresque and Porto Tonico cocktails. It’s our own personal list of the best summer drinks to make at home for lazy mixologists like us.
Make one cocktail or make ten. There’s no rush. You have all summer.
25 Easy Summer Cocktails
Aperol Spritz
Ingredients: Aperol Liqueur, Prosecco, Sparkling Water, Orange Slice (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Cuba Libre
Ingredients: Rum, Coca-Cola, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Lime Wheel or Wedge (garinsh) and Ice Cubes
Dark and Stormy
Ingredients: Goslings Black Seal Rum, Ginger Beer, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Lime Wheel or Wedge (garnish) and ice cubes
Dirty Shirley
Ingredients: Vodka, Grenadine, Lemon-Lime Soda, Maraschino Cherries (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Garibaldi
Ingredients: Campari, Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice, Orange Wheel or Wedge (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Gin and Tonic
Ingredients: Gin, Tonic Water, Lime, Rosemary (garnish), Orange Wheel (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Gin Gimlet
Ingredients: Dry Gin, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Lime Wheel (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Hemingway Daiquiri
Ingredients: Rum, Maraschino Liqueur, Simple Sugar, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice, Lime Wheel (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Hugo Spritz
Ingredients: Elderflower Syrup, Proseco, Sparkling Water, Fresh Mint, Lime and Ice Cubes
Hurricane
Ingredients: Dark Rum, Light Rum, Passion Fruit Juice, Orange Juice, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Grenadine, Simple Syrup, Orange Slice (garnish), Maraschino Cherry (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Margarita
Ingredients: Tequila, Cointreau, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Lime Wheel or Wedge (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Moscow Mule
Ingredients: Vodka, Ginger Beer, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Lime Wheel or Wedge (garnish) and Crushed Ice
Orange Creamsicle
Ingredients: White Chocolate Vanilla Cream Liqueur, Cointreau, Low Fat Milk, Orange Juice, Freshly Squeezed Orange Zest (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Paloma
Ingredients: Blanco Tequila, Grapefruit Soda, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Coarse Salt (for rim), Lime Wedge (for rim), Grapefruit Wheel (for garnish) and Ice Cubes
Pimm's Cup
Ingredients: Pimm's No. 1 Liqueur, Lemonade, Lemon-Lime Soda, Cucumber Slice (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Pink Lady
Ingredients: Dry Gin, Grenadine Syrup, Egg White, Maraschino Cherry (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Porto Tonico
Ingredients: White Port, Tonic Water, Fresh Mint (garnish), Orange (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Ranch Water
Ingredients: Tequila, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Lime Wheel or Wedge (garnish) and Ice Cubes
Tequila Sunrise
Ingredients: Blanco Tequila, Grapefruit Soda, Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, Coarse Salt (for rim), Lime Wedge (for rim), Grapefruit Wheel (for garnish) and Ice Cubes
About the Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.
Original Publication Date: June 28, 2020