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10 classic summer cocktails everyone should know how to make

Enjoy your summer with these incredible, classic drinks

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Gin cocktail
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We are right at the cusp of summer. It’s the season of backyard campfires, yard games, dangling your feet off a dock, and seemingly endless sunny days. It’s a great time of year for refreshing, crisp beer. But it’s also the perfect time for classic summer cocktails. Lucky for you, there are many to choose from. And while we love a rich, complex, boozy Old Fashioned or Manhattan any time of year, in the summer, we tend to opt for thirst-quenching, fresh cocktails.

Classic summer drink recipes

Rum cocktail
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The best part? These iconic, refreshing summer drinks are all reasonably easy to whip up. You don’t need an advanced degree in mixology and a whole cabinet of tinctures, herbs, and other ingredients to make them. Most of them are only a few ingredients and the ones with more are still fairly easy to shake up. These are the summery drinks that everyone should know how to make. Keep scrolling to see them all and learn a few new recipes to wow your friends and family this summer.

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Margarita

Margarita
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In the hierarchy of fresh, flavorful cocktails, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of the classic margarita. This simple, summery drink consists of blanco tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime juice. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, you can add a salt rim to really bring the flavors together.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces blanco tequila
  • 1 1/2 ounces triple sec
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • Salt for the rim

Method:

  1. Add tequila, triple sec, and lime juice to an ice-filled shaker.
  2. Shake until combined.
  3. Strain into a chilled glass.
  4. A salted rim is optional.

Mojito

Mojito
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The mojito is as close to summer in a cocktail glass as you’re ever going to find. This classic Cuban cocktail is made with white rum, sugar, lime juice, mint, and soda water. The combination of sweet, complex rum, fresh mint, and sugar makes for a truly refreshing seasonal cocktail.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces white rum
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce sugar or simple syrup
  • 5-6 mint leaves
  • Soda water topper

Method:

  1. Add mint, sugar (or simple syrup), and lime juice to a pint glass and muddle together.
  2. Add ice and rum before topping with soda water.

Gin and tonic

Gin and tonic
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When it comes to two-ingredient cocktails, there’s one that reigns supreme over all others. The gin & tonic, when made at its simplest level, is just gin and tonic. And while you’ll be refreshed with this combination over ice on a hot day, you can level up by adding a squeeze of lime and a lime wedge.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 4-5 ounces tonic water
  • Lime wedge

Method:

  1. Fill a rocks glass with ice.
  2. Add gin and tonic. Stir together to combine.
  3. Add a squeeze of lime and a lime wedge.

Paloma

Paloma grapefruit cocktail
Alexander Prokopenko / Shutterstock

While the margarita gets much of the hype when it comes to tequila-based cocktails, you shouldn’t sleep on the paloma. The simplest recipe calls for blanco tequila and grapefruit soda, while some recipes add lime juice. If you want to crank it up to eleven, you’ll opt for fresh grapefruit juice and soda water instead of grapefruit soda. The result is a tart, citrus-driven cocktail guaranteed to refresh you on the hottest summer days.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces blanco tequila
  • 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
  • 2 ounces soda water
  • 1 ounce lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (or simple syrup)

Method:

  1. Add all ingredients to an ice-filled shaker.
  2. Shaker vigorously.
  3. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and enjoy.

Ranch Water

A serving of ranch water cocktail
Brent Hofacker / Adobe Stock

If you’ve never tried ranch water, you’re in for something special. This refreshing, warm-weather cocktail of tequila, lime, and sparkling water (usually Top Chico) has been a mainstay in West Texas for decades. But it doesn’t matter where you live, you can whip up this zesty, thirst-quenching cocktail anywhere.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces blanco tequila
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • Sparkling water

Method:

  1. Add tequila and lime juice to a highball glass.
  2. Add ice and stir.
  3. Top with sparkling water of choice.

Moscow Mule

Frozen Moscow Mule cocktail
Victoria Kondysenko / Shutterstock

One of the most popular summer cocktails, the refreshing, lightly spicy cocktail gets its name because of the use of vodka as its base. The recipe is rounded out with ginger beer and lime juice. Not only is it delicious, but it’s visually appealing — especially when the drink is served in a copper mug.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces vodka
  • 4 ounces ginger beer
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

Method:

  1. Add vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice to an ice-filled copper mug. Stir to combine.
  2. Add a lime wedge (for garnish).

Mint julep

Refreshing cold mint julep
Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock

The mint julep has a major connection to the Kentucky Derby. But just because that iconic horse racing event is in our rearview, that doesn’t mean you can sip on this classic cocktail all summer long. All you need to enjoy this drink from now until the leaves start falling (and beyond) is bourbon, simple syrup, crushed ice, and mint.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
  • 4-5 mint leaves
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup

Method:

  1. In a highball glass or julep cup, muddle the mint and simple syrup.
  2. Add crushed ice and bourbon.
  3. Stir to combine.

Daiquiri

Daiquiri
John Maher / The Manual

If you’re not big into classic cocktails, you might assume that all daiquiris are frozen and contain strawberries, bananas, and other fruity flavors. The traditional daiquiri, on the other hand, is much simpler. All you need to make a cocktail Hemingway would have loved is white rum, lime juice, and simple syrup.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces white rum
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup

Method:

  1. Add rum, lime juice, and simple syrup to an ice-filled shaker.
  2. Shake vigorously.
  3. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Negroni

Negroni cocktail served in a glass
Geoff Peters / Flickr

If you’re not one for overly sweet cocktails and you prefer a little bitterness mixed in, the Negroni is the summer drink for you. This popular Italian aperitif is made with gin, Campari, and sweet red vermouth. The result is a thirst-quenching, bittersweet, memorable cocktail.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce gin
  • 1 ounce Campari
  • 1 ounce sweet red vermouth

Method:

  1. Add Campari, gin, and sweet red vermouth to an ice-filled glass.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Garnish with an orange peel.

Tom Collins

Refreshing gin Tom Collins cocktail with lemon
Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock

Tom Collins is one of those summery drinks that seems to get passed over in favor of more popular choices. While you can stop by your local grocery store and grab some Tom Collins mix, we prefer ours a little fresher with gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling water.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce simple syrup
  • 2 ounces sparkling water

Method:

  1. Add gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice to a pint or highball glass with ice.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Top with sparkling water.

Bottom line

Gin and tonic with lemon and lime
voloshin311 / Shutterstock

Depending on where you live, the summer can be downright miserably humid and hot. That’s why you need to hone your summer cocktail skills. Try every one of these drink recipes (or at least the cocktails you enjoy), and find out which ones you make the best and showcase those for your friends and family. The key is the have fun with it. Once you’re done, find a nice comfortable lawn chair, kick your sandals off, and take a moment to enjoy your booze-filled hard work. You deserve it.

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Topics
Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn
Writer
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
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