NEW Summer Cocktails

By Annemarie D'Alessandro

In the summertime, it’s very common to see many brands coming out with seasonal liquors. With the pandemic going on it’s best if we all stay home as much as possible, so here are some fun mixed drink recipes to bring the beach bar to your backyard! 

Melon Breeze

Calling all coconut rum lovers! This drink takes advantage of Allen’s Gold Melon Schnapps to give you a bubbly, fruity drink that is sure to make pool days feel more like beach days. For this drink, you will need: 

4 to 6 ounces of lemon-lime soda
1 ounce Allen’s Gold Melon Schnapps
1.5 ounces of coconut rum
Optional: lemon and lime wheels

Place some ice cubes, the melon schnapps, and coconut rum in a shaker and shake for a few seconds until well mixed. Pour the contents of the shaker into a tall glass and top off with the lemon-lime soda. If you don’t have a shaker, you can also put everything into a tall glass with ice, stir thoroughly, and enjoy! If you want, you can also garnish with a lime or lemon wheel. 

Midsummer Gin and Tonic

This cocktail puts a little summer twist on the traditional gin and tonic. To incorporate more floral and citrus notes, this drink features Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice Gin and Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic. Here’s what you’ll need: 

4 ounces Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic
2 ounces Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice Gin
Lemon wedges

For this drink, place some ice cubes into a glass and pour in the Elderflower Tonic and Midsummer Solstice Gin. Squeeze a few fresh lemon wedges to taste, stir, and enjoy! This refreshing drink is great for sipping on those sweltering hot dog days of summer. 

Sunshine in a Glass 

Do you love bourbon? Then this drink is the summer drink for you! The Penelope Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the star of this recipe, complemented by your favorite lemonade. Let’s get to the recipe: 

4 ounces of lemonade
1.5 ounces of Penelope Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Optional: ginger beer
Optional: lemon wheels

Throw some ice cubes in a shaker and add the lemonade and Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Shake it up a bit to thoroughly mix, pour into a glass, and you’re ready to go! If you like the zing of ginger in your drinks, try adding a splash of ginger beer and stir to mix. If you’d like, you can also garnish the glass with a lemon wheel. This drink is perfect for sunny days on the patio or even stormy days when you want to bring some sunshine indoors. 

Sunset Mule

This drink is one of my favorites – I’ve had mules made with blood orange flavored vodka that was delicious, but this one uses the St. Elder Blood Orange Liqueur that is sure to bring the orange flavor up a few notches. What you’ll need: 

4 ounces of ginger beer
1.5 ounces of vodka 
1 ounce of St. Elder Blood Orange Liqueur 
Juice squeezed from half of a lime
A few mint leaves 
Optional: 2 ounces of champagne 

Add some ice, the vodka, Blood Orange Liqueur, lime juice, and mint leaves into a shaker and shake for a few seconds. Pour everything into a glass and top with the ginger beer, stirring to incorporate. If you want some more bubbles, add some champagne to turn it into a stubborn sunset mule! This drink has it all – juicy citrus flavors, bubbles from the ginger beer (and champagne), and refreshing mint to balance it all out. 

A helpful hint for all these recipes: a shot glass can hold about 1.25 to 1.5 ounces of liquid so you can use a shot glass to help you with measurements! No drink recipe is perfect for everyone’s taste, so be sure to try adding more of what you like to the drink or even substitute some liquors for your tried-and-true favorites. I hope you give these recipes a go and take advantage of some of the fantastic seasonal liquors we have in stock!