Top 10 Simple Summer Cocktails

Top 10 Summer Cocktail Recipes Summer cocktail recipes are all about crisp, cool refreshment and using fresh ingredients from the season's harvest. These are our ten favorite summer cocktails and mocktails that make warm, sunny days a touch more relaxing. Jalapeño Margarita A spicy twist on a summer classic. Ingredients: 3 oz Silver Tequila 1 oz Orange liquor 1 tbsp Sugar 14 Fresh squeezed limes 2 Jalapeños Directions: Chop jalapeños, muddle and soak in tequila for 15 mins. Mix sugar with lime juice to shaker. Shake. shaker, then add orange liquor. Remove jalapeños and add tequila Rub rim of glass with jalapeño, rim with salt, add ice and pour margarita over ice. Add sliced jalapeños for garnish. Makes 2 margaritas. Beton An herbal Czech liqueur paired with lemon makes a fresh summer splash reminiscent of a gin and tonic. Ingredients: 1 oz of Becherovka (might be hard to find, but worth it!) 4 oz Tonic water 1 Fresh lemon wedge Directions: Pour the Becherovka into an ice-filled highball glass and top off with the tonic water. Stir gently. Squeeze the juice from the lemon wedge over the surface of the drink and submerge it into the glass. Makes 1 beton. Ingredients: 2 oz Vodka 1 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice .75 oz Simple syrup Summer Berries and Vodka Turn your summer harvest into a refreshing cocktail. Fresh mint Blackberry Preserves 3 qt Fresh blackberries 1 qt White sugar Directions: To make your blackberry preserves, add 2 qt of black- berries and 1 qt of white sugar to a large pot. Heat slowly to a simmer until the berries and sugar have reduced to a syrup (sticks to a spoon). Let the pre- serves cool to room temperature then stick in the fridge. Pour the vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup into a chilled old fashioned glass and stir. Add crushed ice. Top with 2 bar spoons of blackberry preserve and a sprig of mint. Makes cocktail. Ingredients: Blood Orange Cosmo Sweet orange refreshment with a sparkling finish. 2 cups Good vodka 1 cup Orange liqueur 2 cups Blood orange soda (like San Pellegrino) ½ cup Freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes) 6 Generous peels from a fresh blood orange Directions: Combine the vodka, orange liqueur and lime juice in a large pitcher. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice, pour the cocktail mixture in, and shake for a full 30 seconds. Fill chilled martini glasses half way, then add chilled blood orange soda, rub the rim of each glass with a blood orange peel and add as a garnish. Makes Cocktails. Ingredients: 2 oz Light rum 2 oz Dark rum 2 oz Passion fruit juice 1 oz Orange juice ½ oz Fresh lime juice 1 tbsp Simple syrup 1 tbsp Grenadine Garnish: Orange slice and a cherry (fresh or maraschino) The Traditional Hurricane Summer refreshment from the Big Easy. Directions: Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a Hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice. Makes 2. Lava Flow Ingredients: 2 cups Frozen sliced straw- berries in juice, defrosted 2 cans Coconut milk drink Two classic frozen drinks combine into one delicious dessert refresher. mix 2 cups Pineapple juice 6 shots Coconut rum or light rum Directions: 1 Tray of ice Blend strawberries in a blender on high until smooth. Place 1/2 cup strawberry puree in the bottom of 4 hurri- cane or double rocks cocktail glasses. Rinse blender and return to motor base. Place remaining ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour piña coladas into glasses on top of the strawberry puree. The puree will run up through the pina colada, making a lava flow effect. For mocktails, omit liquor and use a few extra ice cubes. Makes 4. Summer Cape Codder You don't have to be on the beach in Wellfleet to enjoy this New England classic. Ingredients: 2 oz Raspberry vodka 2 oz Cranberry juice 2 oz Soda water Lime wedge Fresh raspberries Directions: Half-fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add soda, raspberry vodka and cranberry juice. Squeeze the lime over the top of the drink and submerge. Float 3-4 fresh raspberries on top. Makes 1. Ingredients: 1½ oz Vodka 12 oz Pineapple juice 1% oz Creme of Coconut 34 oz Blue Curacao Blue Hawaiian Sky Tropical refreshment, doubled. Directions: Mix ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker, shake and strain into a double rocks glass. Makes 1. Ingredients: Raspberry Limeade Fresh summer taste for any age. % cup Fresh lime juice ½ cup Sugar 1% cups Raspberries (about 6 ounces), fresh or frozen (thawed) 3 cups Seltzer Ice cubes Directions: Set aside a few whole raspberries for garnish. Press remaining raspberries through a fine mesh sieve to get all of the juice from the berries, while leaving behind the seeds. Combine the lime juice, pressed raspberry juice and sugar into a large pitcher and stir. Pour into glasses over ice. Add seltzer and drop in a berry or two on top. Makes 6. Ingredients: Lime Mint Spritzer All of the refreshment of a Mojito 1 tbsp Sugar Small bunch mint without the alcohol. Juice of 3 limes Soda water Directions: Muddle the sugar with leaves from the mint using a pestle and mortar (or use a small bowl and the end of a rolling pin). Put a handful of crushed ice into 2 tall glasses. Divide the lime juice between the glasses with the mint mix. Add a straw and top up with soda water. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Makes 2. SHARPER IMAGE