Check out our work and its impact.
Bring on the heat! Find out our go to, at-home friendly cocktail recipes we’re cooling off with at our next backyard cookout this summer.
Temperatures are heatin’ up and we’re preparing the best way we know how: cocktail parties. So whether you’re gearing up for a summer barbecue or need poolside bevvy ideas for the season, we’ve got you covered with a few of our favorite at home cocktails recipes.
For Those Seeking Easy Prep
Need a cocktail that requires almost zero prep time? Let us present Death Valley. Created by Justin Lavenue of The Roosevelt Room, the Death Valley is a low risk, high reward situation using Topo Chico, absinthe and lime.
What you’ll need:
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3
For an Upgraded Margarita
A well balanced Mezcal cocktail isn’t always an easy accomplishment for a novice bartender. But the folks over at Cork & Barrel have perfected the Smoke and Fire Margarita recipe so you don’t have to.
Needed Supplies:
Prep your glass – use a lowball cocktail glass, which we highly recommend rimming with a chili salt if that’s your jam. Add ice to the glass. You’ll build the cocktail recipe in a tin shaker. Pour .75oz of blanco tequila, .75oz of Mezcal, .75oz of Ancho Reyes Liqueur, 1oz lime juice and .5oz of agave syrup. Shake and serve on ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Because there’s no ice in the tin, you can double or triple the recipe to make a few at a time for friends if you have a big enough shaker!
Mel’s Current Summer Go-To
If there’s one thing that you should know about me is that every summer for me is the summer of the coconut. If there’s coconut in a cocktail, I’m ordering it. If I’m at the beach, I’m making large batches of Piña Coladas (or Miami Vices if you’re really lucky) and delivering them oceanside to my group. So when a newsletter from Imbibe Magazine popped into my inbox (on a Friday, no less) informing me of a Coconut Margarita recipe, you better believe I was at the package store that evening gathering supplies.
Here’s What You’ll Need
Make Ahead
Add 6 oz. simple syrup and 12 oz. Coco Lopez cream of coconut to a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Store in the refrigerator.
When it Comes Time to Imbibe
Pour the following ingredients in an ice filled shaker: 2oz reposado tequila, .5oz fresh lime juice, .75oz of the coconut cream concoction you made, 4 dashes of grapefruit tincture. Shake and strain over ice into a highball glass or tumbler. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge and pineapple fronds to really impress your friends.
Recipe credit: Puesto, La Jolla
So there you have it. Your cocktail recipe rotation for the summer. A pro tip that I learned when hosting friends is to make cocktail recipe cards and place them near your bar set up. That way you’re not stuck bartending all night, and your friends can join in on learning a new skill.
And remember, if all else fails, grab a bottle of Tito’s, a good club soda and a couple of limes and you’ve got yourself the most underrated tried & true (in my humble opinion).
Have fun! Get creative! Drink responsibly!
-Mel
Check out our work and its impact.
