Summer is finally upon us! That means it’s time to relax a little bit, work a little less and enjoy the occasional cocktail. With the sun shining, the last thing that you want it to be drinking a heavy stout. Summer cocktails are a breath of fresh air for the pallet. Not only do they refresh you after a hard days work, but they can also be a lot of fun as well.
Ideally, you can enjoy the best summer cocktails when fine dining at your favourite gourmet restaurant. However, there may also be occasions where you want to enjoy a cheeky cocktail at home. Either way, here are four recommendations for the best summer cocktails, along with how to make these beverages:
1. Pina Colada
The first taste of this drink each summer will flood you with memories of past vacations. Sweet and distinctive, a pina colada is the quintessential summer cool-down cocktail. This cocktail hails from Puerto Rico and was first dreamt up in 1952. With the delicious mix of rum, pineapple and coconut cream, you will be imagining your self on a beach and looking for the suntan lotion.
Here’s how you make these summer cocktails:
Ingredients:
- A generous amount of pineapple cut into small pieces.
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp coconut cream
- 50ml of your rum of choice
- Pineapple juice
- Lots of Ice
How to prepare:
1. Blend all of the ingredients until you get that wonderfully smooth texture.
2. For bonus points and some extra flair, be sure to add a pineapple triangle to the rim of the glass. If you’re feeling retro, throw on a cocktail umbrella too!
2. Mojito
This is one of the best summer cocktails to add to your repertoire. This is equal parts refreshing and delicious, with more than just a dash of sophistication. If you are looking for a drink that will start off a Summer evening perfectly then this is a great choice.
Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients:
- 2 parts White Rum, or rum of choice
- Half a fresh lime
- A handful of mint leaves, Even better if you still have the stem
- 2 tsp of sugar
- Soda water
- Ice
How to prepare:
Okay buckle up, there are a few steps to this, but trust us, it’s worth it.
1. Cut the lime into 4 wedges then place them in the glass.
2. Add the sugar and muddle. Muddling is when you take the muddling tool from your cocktail toolkit and squash the limes and release the juice.
3. You’re going to bruise the mint. This is essentially bashing it around a bit to release the flavour. You can use a rolling pin, your hands, a hammer, whatever you like.
4. Place the mint in the glass and muddle some more.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.
6. Serve and sit back and enjoy all the compliments you’re about to receive on your cocktail prowess.
3. Margarita
The margarita is a huge favourite across the world. What makes this cocktail really pop is the huge number of varieties out there. You can get all sorts of flavours and some of them will include a bottle of beer simply turned upside down and placed in the glass. The beer stays in the bottle, because… physics. To start with, you’re better to keep it simple, as there is enough deliciousness to go around with the basic margarita recipe.
Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
- 1 part Tequila
- 0.5 part Triple Sec
- 0.5 part Lime Juice
- Lime
- Salt, The thick and coarse kind
How to prepare
1. Chill the glass. You should really do this will all cocktails, however, I usually skip it with many others due to there being more ice in most other cocktails. The simplest and fastest way to do this is to fill the glass with ice while you gather the other ingredients.
2. Place ice and all the ingredients (minus the lime) into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard. This can be a lot of fun, don’t be afraid to put on a little show.
3. Take the lime wedge and run it along the rim of the glass. This is what makes the salt stick to it.
4. Place enough salt of a plate or small dish so that you can dip and rotate the glass rim in the salt.
5. Strain the mix into the glass.
4. Blue Hawaiian
Yep, you guessed it. This drink is blue. Cocktails are meant to be fun and colourful. So why not enjoy the summer with something that makes a statement. This fruity and tropical cocktail will have you soaking up the sun in style.
Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients
- 50ml Rum of choice
- 50 ml Blue Curaçao
- 1 tsp of coconut cream
- Pineapple juice to taste
How to prepare:
1. For the blue Hawaiian, you’re going to need your cocktail shaker again. Add all the ingredients into the shaker and dazzle the crowd with your flair.
2. Strain into a glass with ice
3. Enjoy! Wait that’s it? Yes, cocktails are not as mysterious as most would have you believe.
