Five Of The Most Refreshing Cocktails For Summer Sipping

Midsummer drinks call for lighter flavor profiles and refreshing ingredients – something you can mix up in a batch and hold in one hand while managing your pickleball serve. They also need to be delicious to the last drip, long after the ice melts. Start with Grey Goose’s US Open concoction – a lip-smacking blend of simple ingredients that will see you through a full set of tennis — and finish with a summer sour featuring Metaxa.

Courtside – Honey Deuce (Grey Goose/US Open cocktail): Sip this simple but tasty concoction and cheer on America’s new favorite player, Christopher Eubanks.

• 1 ¼ oz Grey Goose Vodka
• 3 oz fresh lemonade
• ½ oz Chambord
• 3 honeydew melon balls

Directions: Fill a chilled highball glass with cubed ice and add GREY GOOSE Vodka. Top with fresh lemonade and raspberry liqueur. Garnish with a skewer of 1 or multiple frozen honeydew melon balls.

Summer Brunch – Capitol Mary Recipe (St. Regis Hotel, Washington DC): Rooted in the commercial and cultural heritage of nearby Chesapeake Bay, this distinct cocktail celebrates gin, the spirit of choice among the city’s social set—particularly during summers on the shore. Also on display are spices from a classic Chesapeake Bay crab fest.

• 2 oz / 60 ml premium gin
• 5 oz/ 150 ml tomato juice
• ½ oz / 15 ml lemon juice
• ½ tsp / 2 ½ g horseradish
• Few dashes Tabasco sauce
• Few dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch horseradish
• 1 oz / 30 ml clam juice
• 1 pinch Old Bay seasoning
• Juice of 1 lemon slice
• 1 shrimp with tail fan attached (garnish)
• Oyster crackers (for serving)

Directions: Mix tomato juice, lemon juice, horseradish, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and salt. Combine with remaining ingredients in a shaker. Shake well. Strain into an 8 oz / 240 ml wine glass filled with ice. Garnish with a tail-on shrimp, and serve with a small bowl of oyster crackers.

On the Links – Metaxa Summer Sour: Metaxa is the original Greek spirit, neither a cognac or a brandy, it is distilled from Muscat grapes and delivers nuances of sour orange, peach, apricot and some floral notes.

• 1.5 oz METAXA 12 Stars
• 0.50 oz lemon juice
• 0.25 oz sugar syrup
• Optional: 0.50 egg white
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Garnish: lemon zest

Directions: Pour all ingredients in shaker with ice. Strain over ice into a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.

Bonfire Sip – Made in Oaxaca: Crafted by Eleazar Barbosa for Tunki Rooftop by Handshake, a bar nestled within the luxurious Casa De Sierra Nevada resort, this one is simple, elegant, and savory.

• 2 oz of mezcal
• 10ml of natural syrup
• 2 cucumber thin slices
• 5 fresh mint leaves previously washed
• 5 ml absinthe liqueur
• 1 thin slice of habanero chili for decoration, make sure to take the seeds out
• Ice

Directions: All the ingredients are placed in a shaker. Mix with strong movements. Before serving in the glass, use a strain and use a strainer and strain twice. Once the liquid is ready, serve it in a clean cupetini glass.

Poolside – Unexpected: From Ultimate Provence, a rosé-producing winery that is also home to Provence’s first wine cocktail bar, the UP Lounge where mixologists craft drinks bring together the Estate’s wines with flavors from the Provence region and surrounding estate gardens.

• 3 oz. Ultimate Provence Rosé
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves
• 1 oz. cranberry juice
• .5 oz lemon juice
• 1-3 oz. sugar cane
• 5-6 crushed blackberries
• ⅔ oz. sweet vermouth

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a shaker and pour over ice.