Memorial Day Weekend is finally here, and time to gather together to honor those that gave their lives for our country via parades, picnics and other celebrations. It’s also the start of the summer season and calls for the perfect cocktail. Here are nine we like for this year.
Summer Whisky Buck
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ oz. Buchanan’s DeLuxe Scotch whisky
- 1 oz. Lemon juice
- ½ oz. Triple Sec
- ½ oz. Peach jam or favorite flavor of jam; 1:1 ratio of jam to hot water, mixed and cooled
- Top with ginger ale
Instructions
- Fill a 14-oz. highball glass with ice.
- Pour in first four ingredients.
- Top with ginger ale and stir.
- Garnish with fresh peach slices and a bar spoonful of peach jam.
- Serve with a straw.
Notes
The mixologists at Buchanan’s created this recipe.
Blackberry Mojito
Ingredients
- 3 parts Flor de Caña 12 rum
- 1 part Lemon juice
- 2 tbsps. Sugar
- 4 Blackberries
- 2 parts Club soda or carbonated water
- Fresh peppermint leaves
Instructions
- Add peppermint, berries, sugar and lemon to glass.
- Gently mash with a mortar.
- Add ice, followed by rum.
- Fill with club soda.
- Garnish with a sprig of peppermint
Notes
The mixologists at Flor de Caña created this recipe.
White Sbagliato
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
- ¾ oz. Saint Germain elderflower liqueur
- 4 oz. Fiol prosecco
Instructions
- Fill a wine glass with ice.
- Add ingredients one at a time.
- Top with prosecco and give it a quick stir.
- Garnish with a thyme bouquet.
Notes
Simon Sebbah, beverage director at Saint Theo’s in New York, created this recipe.
Berry Independent Punch
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Nolet’s Silver gin
- ½ cup Chambord liqueur
- ½ cup Maraschino cherry liqueur
- 2 ½ cups Lemonade
- ¼-½ cup Simple syrup
- 1 cup Blackberries or blueberries
- 1 cup Strawberries
- 1 cup Raspberries
Instructions
- Puree fruit in a blender and strain out solids or juice fresh berries in a juicer.
- Mix berry juice with gin, Chambord and maraschino liqueur with lemonade in a large pitcher or punchbowl.
- Taste for sweetness and adjust with simple syrup as needed.
- Add ice to the mixture.
- Serve over ice with fruit or floral garnish in a rocks glass.
Notes
The mixologists at Nolet’s created this recipe.
Summer Cooler
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Iichiko Saiten shochu
- ¾ oz. Matcha syrup
- ½ oz. Lime juice
- ½ oz. Cucumber juice
- ¼ oz. Yuzu juice
- Cucumber slices for garnish
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake, then strain into rocks glass with ice.
- Garnish with cucumber slices.
Notes
The mixologists at Iichiko created this recipe.
High Desert Swizzle
Ingredients
- 1 ½ parts Del Maguey Vida Single Village mezcal
- ¾ parts Freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ parts Strawberry shrub
- ¼ parts Demerara syrup
Instructions
- Combine the mezcal, lime juice, strawberry shrub and Demerara syrup in a highball glass.
- Fill it two-thirds of the way with crushed ice.
- Swizzle like you mean it so the glass frosts up.
- Add more crushed ice, rounding out the top.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Notes
The mixologists at Del Maguey created this recipe.
La Sandia
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. G4 Reposado tequila
- ¼ oz. Dry orange Curaçao
- ¼ oz. Agave nectar/agave syrup
- ¾ oz. Fresh lime juice
- 3 oz. Watermelon soda Jarritos
- Pinch sea salt
- Tajin
Instructions
- Rim half of one side of a 12-oz. rocks glass with tajin and set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, add tequila, dry curaçao, agave nectar, lime juice, a pinch of sea salt, and ice.
- Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, and strain into a rimmed rocks glass.
- Carefully top with fresh ice without disturbing the tajin.
- Fill with Jarritos watermelon soda.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Notes
The mixologists at G4 created this recipe.
