Drinks to Make for At-Home Summer Cocktailing

We’ve recently talked about how summer cocktailing is in full swing, gotten some summer drink suggestions from Seattle bartenders, and given suggestions for four great Seattle bars for indoor summer cocktailing and four great Seattle bars for outdoor summer cocktailing.

But sometimes you want to have to summer cocktails at home with your posse of pals, maybe on the deck, or reclining in lawn chairs, or (for those really hot days) while you sit with your feet in the kiddie pool. Never fear! We have you covered for those situations, too, with the following four refreshing drinks, sure to help you beat the heat.

1. Good Luck In Pisticci
Folks don’t often think of the herbal, brown, Italian amari as bubbly ingredients – they tend to be more after dinner digesitfs. But back up on that thought! Used in a balanced way, they can bring a lovely flavor to a refreshing drink. Here, I’m combing Amaro Lucano, which was created in 1894 using mysterious herbs and spices, with a few other choice ingredients into a summertime hit.

1-1/2 ounces gin (I used local Kur gin)

3/4 ounce Amaro Lucano

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

2 dashes Scrappy’s Grapefruit bitters

Ice cubes

4 ounces chilled club soda

Mint sprig

1. Add the gin, Amaro Lucano, Grand Marnier, and Scrappy’s to a mixing glass. Stir well.

2 Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Pour the mix from step 1 into the glass over the top.

3. Top with soda water. Stir briefly. Garnish with the mint sprig

2. The Princess
The Princess (created by my wife Nat) is without a doubt in my all-time top five summer drinks. It’s super easy to make, takes the edge off on a hot day, and doesn’t weigh you down in the least. Traditionally, we make it with fresh raspberries, but most recently we tried it with fresh blueberries, and it was fantastic. Go with which looks ripest to you.

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces Letterpress limoncello

5 or 6 fresh blueberries or raspberries

Chilled club soda

1. Fill a Collins glass three quarters full with ice cubes. Add the limoncello.

2. Fill the glass to about a half-inch from the top with the club soda. Add the fresh berries. Stir slowly, but with purpose. Don’t be afraid (actually you’re encouraged) to bust up the berries a little. You want to stir until every ingredient is well combined.

3. The Americano
This hot weather classic has been a hit since the late 1800s, and was at one time called the Milano-Torino due to the main ingredients: Campari (from Milan) and Cinzano vermouth (from Turin). The name changed due its popularity with visiting Americans, especially soldiers during WW II. You can go with your favorite sweet vermouth here.

Ice cubes

2 ounces Campari

2 ounces sweet vermouth

Chilled club soda

Orange slice, for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the Campari and vermouth. Stir gently.

2. Add club soda to the glass until the glass is almost full. Garnish with an orange slice.

4. The Tartan Swizzle
This drink is an interesting one for the summertime, as it uses Scotch, which tends to bring pictures of windswept highland crags to, not a bunch of folks hanging out in shorts and tank-tops. Take a chance on it though, and you’ll be enthralled by how well the below recipe (from Dark Spirits) matches up with a warm summer evening.

Ice cubes

2 ounces blended Scotch

1-1/2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Crushed ice

Chilled club soda

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Scotch, lime juice, simple syrup, and bitters. Shake well.

2. Fill a Collins glass or the like three-quarters full with crushed ice. Stir the ice briefly to chill the glass, and then strain the mixture from the shaker over the ice.

3. Fill the glass almost to the top with club soda. Stir a bit, to get a little frothiness.