Summer is such a busy time with various events, picnics, camping, days at the beach, kicking back on the porch, or binge watching something on television to fill the days. Here’s a collection of cocktails to enjoy wherever you are during these hot months. Don’t forget to try the Sticky Date Pudding with Laphroaig Toffee Sauce recipe at the end of the post!

Blueberry Pie Cocktail
courtesy of Gastronom
15 blueberries
1 wedge lime
1 oz. Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka
1/2 oz. amaretto
1/2 oz. amaro
3 oz. ginger ale

Combine blueberries and lime wedge in a cocktail shaker. Muddle until macerated. Add in vodka, amaretto and amaro. Shake and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with ginger ale. Garnish with lime and blueberries if desired.

Watermelon Rosé Spritz
1 part SKYY Infusions Sun-Ripened Watermelon Vodka
1 part Aperol
3 parts sparkling rosé
1 part soda or tonic water
melon balls, lime wheels, and cucumber ribbon for garnish

Build in a large wine glass over ice. Garnish with a watermelon ball, lime wheel, and a cucumber ribbon.

Piscine Sidecar
3 parts Rosé Piscine
½ cup pomegranate arils
¾ part brandy
½ part Cointreau
peach bitters (for taste)
sugar

Place a half a cup of pomegranate seeds into glass. Grind pomegranate seeds. Add Rosé Piscine, Brandy, Cointreau, and a couple drops of peach bitters. Add ice, and shake well. Add sugar to a martini glass rim. Filter cocktail, add fruit accents, and enjoy!

Lola’s Gift
by Channing Centeno
1 ½ oz. Cognac
½ oz. St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1 ¼ oz. Lola’s Mix [1 part Tamarind, 1 part Calamansi, and 1 part Pickled Mango — all of these can typically be found at an Asian market or the ethnic section of a chain grocery store]
¼ oz. ginger syrup
1 dash chili tincture
2 dashes Tiki salt
1 oz. egg white
dehydrated roasted garlic for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin; dry shake with 1 ice cube. Add 4 more ice cubes to tin and shake again. Strain into a chilled short rocks glass that has been wrapped with a thin piece of banana leaf with no ice. Grate roasted, dehydrated garlic over top.

Brockmans Frosé
1 1/2 oz. Brockmans Gin
1 oz. Combier Rose liqueur
1/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 1/2 oz. sweet rosé wine
2 small scoops crushed ice

Add Brockmans Gin, Combier Rose Liqueur, lemon juice, and rosé wine to a shaker and shake over ice. Then strain the contents into a large stemmed wine glass filled with crushed ice. Alternatively: add all the ingredients into a blender with ice cubes and blend until the ice is crushed, then scoop the frozen mixture into a large stemmed wine glass. Garnish with sugared or fresh rose petals.

The Grande Dame
1 ½ oz. Beefeater Gin
½ oz. elderberry syrup
½ oz. Meyer lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with Champagne. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Liquid Gold
4 oz. fresh chilled orange juice
1 oz. honey syrup
1 can Sapporo Premium Light beer
2-3 dashes orange bitters

In a tall cocktail glass add orange juice, honey syrup, and orange bitters. Stir. Top with the beer and enjoy,

To make honey syrup
Combine 1 cup each of honey and water in a small pot. Stir on medium heat until the honey is dissolved.

Patrón Piña Colada
2 oz. Patrón Reposado tequila
2 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. passionfruit juice
1 oz. cinnamon cream of coconut
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 dashes pecan bitters
fresh pineapple

Take the top off of the pineapple and cut off the spikes; leave a 2 inch hole in the middle. Hollow out the body of the pineapple. Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into the pineapple with additional ice. Insert a long straw into the hole on the pineapple top and the place it back on top of the pineapple body. Serve and enjoy.

Jim Beam Vanilla Fizz
1 part Jim Beam Vanilla Liqueur infused with Bourbon
2 parts half & half
1 part fresh lemon sour
1 part egg white
club soda

Shake all but the club soda vigorously for as long as you can. Strain into a chilled Collins glass and spritz with club soda (the egg whites will grow out of the glass). Garnish with an orange peel.

Banana Surfer
courtesy of Liquor.com
1 1/2 oz. Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège cognac
1/2 oz. spiced rum
1/2 oz. banana cordial
1/2 oz. cinnamon-honey syrup
1/2 oz. coconut cream
1 dash chocolate mole bitters
cacao powder

Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a Tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with cacao powder before serving.

To make cinnamon-honey syrup
Bring 2 cups of water and 4 cinnamon sticks to a boil, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add 2 cups honey and stir to dissolve. Let cool before using.

Sorbetto and Bubbles
1 oz. Don Julio Tequila
¾ oz. St Germain
1 oz. lemon sorbet
1 oz. raspberry sorbet
3 oz. Chandon Rosé Champagne

Shake all ingredients except champagne. Strain into a champagne and garnish with raspberries. You can sprinkle edible glitter on the raspberries if this is for a special occasion.

Sticky Date Pudding with Laphroaig Toffee Sauce
by Bona Bona
1 stick butter
8 oz. pitted dates, chopped
1 tsp. baking soda
5 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 Tbsp. baking powder

Sauce
1 stick butter
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ c. heavy cream
¼ c. Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch Whisky
4 oz. brown sugar
pinch of salt

Bring oven to 350º. Grease 9” pan. Bring dates to a simmer in water, with just enough to nearly cover the chopped dates, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add baking soda set aside. Cream 1 stick butter with sugar and add eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, salt and vanilla. Stir in baking powder and 1/4 c date cooking liquid. Stir in dates and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked in center.

For Sauce
Combine vanilla, Laphroaig, cream, brown sugar, butter and pinch salt simmering for three minutes. Drizzle over cake while cake is cooling.