With the weather heating up and the days getting longer, almost everyone is searching for that perfect summer cocktail to cool down with. Each cocktail on our list of the best summer cocktails tastes as good as it looks, so prepare for a collection of fruity, sparkling, and downright sensational drinks that will make your next garden party one to remember.
Whether you’re partial to a zingy Mojito or prefer to keep things light and vibrant with an Aperol Spritz, there’s sure to be something among our picks that will appeal to the senses.
If you're ready, then let's dive right in. Bottoms up!
Shake vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice vigorously in a shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with a lime wedge on the rim, and serve.
Shake gin, juice of lemon, and powdered sugar with ice and strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Fill with carbonated water, stir, and serve.
Mix ingredients together over ice in a glass. Pour into a shaker and give one brisk shake. Pour back into the glass and make sure there is a touch of fizz at the top. Garnish with lemon.
Pour light rum, creme de almond and triple sec, in order, into a collins glass. Almost fill with equal parts of sweet and sour mix and pineapple juice. Add dark rum, a large straw, and serve unstirred.
Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.
Place mint leaves in bottom of glass. Add crushed ice, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, sugar, and lime juice, and muddle. Add soda water and garnish with mint leaves.
Put all ingredients into an electric blender with 2 cups of crushed ice. Blend at a high speed for a short length of time. Strain into a collins glass and serve with a straw.
Rub rim of cocktail glass with lemon juice and dip rim in salt. Shake schnapps, tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, and strawberries with ice, strain into the salt-rimmed glass, and serve.
Pour tequila in a highball glass with ice, and top with orange juice. Stir. Add grenadine by tilting glass and pouring grenadine down side by flipping the bottle vertically very quickly. The grenadine should go straight to the bottom and then rise up slowly through the drink. Garnish stirrer, straw and cherry-orange.
Combine the gin, cherry brandy and lime juice in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a collins glass almost filled with ice cubes. Drop the benedictine and brandy into the centre of the drink, and serve.
Add all the ingredients with about 1 1/2 cups of ice into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a stemless wine glass. Garnish with 2 blackberries.
Pour the water, simple syrup, and grapefruit juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well. Strain that grapefruit mix into a beer glass, filling it half-way, and top it with beer. Complete it by garnishing with a grapefruit slice.
Muddle 3 slices of cucumber with the vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, and 3 dashes of hot sauce, in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a cucumber slice and add an extra dash of hot sauce. Note: Take it easy with the hot sauce. One dash too many can easily throw off the balance and burn the drink to the point where it's undrinkable.