Mix it like ITS hot with these 10 summer cocktails
It’s beginning to look a lot like cocktails.
It’s beginning to look a lot like cocktails. Christmas is on its way and we’re all starting to feel santamental. Summer in the southern sphere is all about sun, sand surf and socialising. Show off your mixing skills and help your customers keep cool and refreshed this season with these 10 easy breezy summer cocktails. Some are new, some are old, what they all have in common is that they are cold.
Poetry aside, this is what you will need:
- Well stocked bar
- Blender
- Boston shaker
- Muddle
- Well stocked bar
- Blender
- Boston shaker
- Muddle
- Smile
- Music
- Funky glassware
- Bad jokes
- Smile
- Music
- Funky glassware
- Bad jokes
The bartender looks at them and asks, “Is this some kind of joke?”
Green Apple Mojito
Fun Facts: The mojito was born on the Island of Cuba. It is one of the nation’s oldest cocktails. Originally, the drink was used for medicinal purposes, to help treat scurvy and dysentery.
Ingredients
90ml White rum
10 x mint leaves
Tsp brown sugar
1/4 Granny Smith apple slices
30ml Apple juice
2 x Lime Wedges
Method
In a tall glass muddle the lime, mint, apple juice and sugar to extract the lime juice, dissolve the sugar and gently bruise the mint leaves. Fill the glass to the rim with ice, add white rum, top with soda water, garnish with apple slices, and serve with a smile.
Aperol Spritz
Fun Facts: Aperol is an italian aperitif. The ritual in Veneto is to serve the Aperol Spritz with traditional snacks called cicchetti; small side dishes featuring mini sandwiches, olives and other veggies, boiled eggs halved, and seafood or meats atop polenta or sliced bread.
Ingredients
60ml Aperol
90ml Prosecco
30ml Soda
Method
Fill a large wine glass with ice, add the Aperol and Prosecco and give it a swizzle before topping with soda. Garnish with a slice of orange and voila! So simple it’s beautiful!
Frozen Pineapple Margarita
A supercharged slushy for grownups.
Fun Facts: Did you know pineapples ripen faster when they’re upside down? And they regenerate. If you plant pineapple leaves you can grow a new plant!
Ingredients
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
30ml freshly squeezed lime juice
30ml Jose Cuervo tequila
15ml Triple Sec
½ Cup ice
Mint leaves and pineapple leaf
Method
Add all ingredients minus the mint and pineapple leaf to the blender and blitz until smooth and frothy. Serve in a whiskey glass with a salted rim, and garnish with the mint and pineapple leaf. Or even better, serve in the pineapple skin!
Ginger and Lemon-tini
Fun Fact: Lemon and ginger together are known to refresh the mind, improve concentration and reduce stress.
Ingredients
30ml Good quality Gin
25ml Homemade ginger syrup
25ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice
500g Fresh ginger root
500ml Water
300g White sugar
Bitters
Small lemon rind spiral
Method
To make the ginger syrup, blend the ginger with 250ml water. Pour into a small saucepan and add the other 250ml water, and 300g of white sugar. Simmer gently until reduced. Strain out 90% of the ginger pulp and refrigerate.
Add the Gin, ginger syrup, lemon juice and a tiny dash of bitters to a shaker over ice. Shake very well then double strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon rind spiral.
What did the bartender say after Charles Dickens ordered a martini?
Olive or twist?
Blueberry Lime & Lavender smash
Fun Facts: A natural bug repellant, lavender is a member of the mint family. There are 39 species and 400 different varieties around the world. As well as blue and purple, they can also come in shades of white, pink and green.
Ingredients
15-20g Fresh blueberries
5 x Frozen blueberries
6 tbsp Raw honey
1.5 tsp Dried lavender
60ml Coconut water
2 x Lime wedges
30ml Vodka
15ml Chambord
Method
Pulse fresh blueberries, honey, lavender and 250ml water lightly in the blender to make the lavender infused syrup. Strain the syrup well using a very fine sieve or cheesecloth.
Over Ice in a rocks glass add the chambord, vodka, coconut water, 15ml lavender syrup and squeezed lime wedges. Top with frozen berries.
Quote: The really important things are said over cocktails and are never done.
Kiwi and Grape Sparkle
Fun Facts: Grapes are actually a type of berry! One cup of grapes provides more than a quarter of the recommended daily intake of vitamins K and C. It takes approx 1kg of grapes to make one bottle of wine.
Ingredients
2 x Green kiwis – peeled
70g Seedless grapes
30ml Pineapple juice
30ml Vodka
30ml Sparkling wine
Method
Blend kiwi, grapes, water and pineapple juice with ice until smooth. Pour into wine or champagne glass, top with sparkling wine, and garnish with a strawberry.
Frozen Watermelon Daiquiri
It’s just not summer without watermelon.
Fun Fact: In Egypt and Africa people eat their watermelon with salty feta cheese. The saltiness enhances the flavour of the watermelon. Try it!
Ingredients
2 Cups frozen seedless watermelon cubes
30ml Fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp sugar syrup
30ml Bacardi
30ml Malibu
Method
Blitz all ingredients in a blender until smooth, serve in a hurricane glass, garnish with a wedge of lime and a sprig of mint.
Cherry Fizz
Fun Facts: Eau Claire, Michigan is known as the cherry pit spitting capital of the world. Each year they host the international cherry pit spitting championship. The world record for cherry stone spitting is an impressive 93 feet 6.5 inches.
Summer = cricket and cherries! Chill out and enjoy our summer of sports with this fresh cherry brandy cocktail.
Ingredients
4-5 Fresh cherries, pips removed
60ml Cherry Brandy
15ml Fresh lemon juice
Soda water
Method
Muddle cherries and lemon juice in the boston shaker, then fill with ice. Add cherry brandy and shake well until icy cold, strain into a coupe glass. Top with a dash of soda and garnish with a fresh cherry.
Quote: Spilling your cocktail is the adult version of letting go of a balloon
Pom-Pom Cocktail
Fun Facts: The origin of the word Vodka comes from the Russian word “voda” which means water. Vodka is actually lighter in weight than water. It comes in weird flavours including bacon, buttered popcorn, dill pickle, wild salmon and scorpion. Hmmm I think we’ll give scorpion flavoured vodka a miss – how about raspberry instead.
Ingredients
75ml Pomegranate juice chilled
60ml Raspberry vodka
50g Berry sorbet
Method
Blend all ingredients until smooth and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a raspberry or strawberry.
Blue Hawaiian
Fun Facts: Blue curacao is really an orange liqueur dyed blue. Orange liqueurs used to be made by soaking orange peels in alcohol. Today, many mass-market curacao’s are made with concentrated orange flavouring and artificial food colouring.
Ingredients
30ml White rum
30ml Blue curacao
20ml Coconut cream
45ml Pineapple juice
Method
Place all ingredients in the boston shaker over plenty of ice. Strain into a chilled, sugar-rimmed martini or margarita glass and garnish with a slice of orange.
Merry mixing and happy new silly season!
We hope you have enjoyed our lighthearted and fruity blend of winning summer cocktails. Bartender’s all over the country will be working hard over the silly season so Aussies can enjoy the festivities. Remember to drink in moderation and don’t let those cocktails sneak up on you!
It’s a busy time of year for the hospitality industry and we hope it will prove prosperous for venues and their staff. Cheers!
For Laughs
Santa was having a bad day.
Mrs Claus was nagging. The elves were working too slowly. There were serious toy assembly issues. Rudolf was getting old and stodgy and the sleigh needed repairs.
In the midst of all this a shimmering angel arrived one evening with a lovely tree. As Claus answered the door, frowning and muttering, the angel smiled and said “Merry Christmas, Santa! Here’s your tree. Where do you want me to stick it?”
