• 06/05/2023

Deliciously Sweet Cocktails for Hot Summer Days

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Ah, summertime — hot days of dipping your toes in the pool, catching a tan and picnicking at the park. The only thing that could make summer days even better are cold, sweet cocktails. 

While there are countless cocktail recipes to mix up for friends, family or just yourself this season, these delicious concoctions should satisfy your taste buds the most.

Stock Up on Popular Warm-Weather Liquors

You’ll want a few essential liquors and syrups on hand for summer barbecues and lazy beach days. The best sweet cocktails usually include the following ingredients:

  • Rum
  • Tequila
  • Vodka
  • Gin
  • Triple Sec
  • Blue Curacao
  • Red and white wine
  • Simple syrup
  • Selection of fruit-flavored liqueurs, such as orange, banana, watermelon and blue raspberries

As the foundation of most summer drinks, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll transform into a master mixologist. Of course, now is also the perfect time to hit up your local farmers market for fresh produce to include for sweetness.

10 Sweet Cocktails for Summer

Sweet cocktails are often a summertime favorite — from tropical mixes to pitchers and slushies. Many people crave something cold and sugary on a hot, sunny afternoon. Here are 10 cocktail recipes you’ll want to try this summer.

1. Frozen Piña Colada

Piña coladas are a standard summertime drink you can find pretty much anywhere. Originating in Puerto Rico in 1954, piña coladas are enjoyed as slushies or strained in a glass over ice. 

Light rum is most suitable for this drink, but what makes it tasty is pineapple juice, coconut cream and lime juice. Blend the ingredients with ice for a frozen piña colada and pour the drink into a tall poco grande glass. Many also like to garnish with a pineapple wedge and Maraschino cherries. 

2. Watermelon Mint Mojito 

Anything with watermelon should suffice if you’re in the mood for sweet cocktails this summer — and this seasonal fruit is perfect for mixing up a classic mint mojito. 

For this cold libation, add one cup of crushed watermelon, fresh mint leaves and lime juice to a shaker. Then add ice, light rum and simple syrup, shaking the ingredients until the drink is cold.

Pour everything into a glass and add cold seltzer water for fizziness. Finally, garnish the drink with extra mint leaves and frozen melon balls for more flavor.

3. Strawberry Lemonade Margaritas 

Who doesn’t love sipping on a frozen strawberry margarita while floating in a pool? There are at least a hundred ways to mix a margarita, but lemonade always rounds out a sweet and sour flavor profile. 

Combine fresh or frozen strawberries, lemonade, tequila and triple sec in a blender — add ice and blend until it has a smooth consistency. Dip the glass rim in honey and salt. Be sure to add strawberries or lemon slices to the drink before serving.

There’s much room for creativity when making margaritas. For instance, feel free to swap out triple sec for a lighter Malibu rum if the drink is too strong. 

4. Sangria Slushies

Sangrias are popular beverages year-round, including holidays like Christmas and Easter. However, sangria slushies may be a real contender to replace the frozen daiquiri. 

Start making your sangria slushies a day in advance by freezing sweet red wine in ice cub trays overnight. Merlot is a good choice since it’s fruitier than cabernets. You’ll also want to refrigerate brandy, orange liqueur and sugar so it’s cold.

When ready, blend the red wine ice cubes, brandy-liqueur mix and frozen berries on high until it’s of a slushy consistency. You can serve your slushy sangria from a large pitcher like the original drink.

5. Strawberry White Wine Sangria 

Of course, some people prefer white wine sangria, for which there’s also the perfect summertime recipe. 

With the peels still attached, toss sliced limes, oranges, strawberries and fresh basil into a pitcher. Then add a bottle of white wine — preferably a Chardonnay — and your choice of tequila, brandy or vodka.

Allow the mix to refrigerate overnight — the flavor profile becomes stronger the longer it sits. Before you serve it, pour club soda or sparkling water for fizz. 

6. Pineapple Strawberry Mimosas 

Whether Sunday brunch or just a regular Tuesday, mimosas are a favorite. However, you can put a twist on a classic mixer with pineapple and strawberry. 

It takes almost no time to whip up a batch of mimosas. Add a couple of strawberries to a champagne flute and muddle them slightly. 

Then pour Prosecco or champagne, leaving room at the top for pineapple juice. Garnish with a slice of pineapple or strawberry. 

7. Rum Punch

Live like you’re on vacation with a rum punch — a sweet, tropical concoction even a pirate would love. 

You’ll need dark and coconut rum for this recipe, as well as grenadine. It also calls for pineapple juice and orange juice. 

Keep in mind that the grenadine should be the second-to-last ingredient. A slow pour of grenadine will create a fabulous color blend at the bottom of the glass. Add one final splash of dark rum and a lime slice and you’re ready to set sail.

8. Sweet Tea Mojito 

Sweet tea is a classic American summertime beverage in the South, but if you’re looking for a buzz, you can turn this drink into a lovely tea mojito.

It’s best to start this rum-based recipe early for it to chill in the refrigerator. While you can serve a sweet tea mojito from a regular glass, drinking it over ice from a mason jar glass is definitely more fun.

Garnish your sweet tea mojito with lime slices and fresh mint leaves — a perfect quencher for rocking on the front porch swing.

9. Blueberry Pitcher Margaritas

Anytime you can put your mix on the standard margarita, you will surely end up with a crowd-pleaser. Regardless of how you make it, it’s best to keep it simple, like a pitcher of blueberry margaritas.

The key to making blueberry pitcher margaritas is to allow blended blueberries, tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice to sit for a half hour — this gives the flavors enough time to steep in the tequila. Of course, some simple syrup will make your blueberry pitcher margaritas sweeter.

Serve the margaritas just as you would any other — with a salt-rimmed glass, lime slices or skewered fruit for garnish.

10. Blue Hawaii Cocktail

Finally, Blue Hawaii cocktails are the perfect tropical drink for the beach — and their bright blue hue should remind you of the ocean. 

Use a shaker filled with ice to mix blue curacao, vodka rum, sour mix and pineapple juice, straining the liquids into a glass of crushed ice. 

Add pineapple slices, cherries or a paper umbrella and enjoy with a straw. 

Enjoy Sweet Cocktails All Summer Long

There are enough sweet cocktails to mix every night throughout the summer, but these may become your new favorites. Take a load off with a cold, delicious drink on the hottest days of the year.

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