Embrace These Spring-Summer Seasonal Cocktail Trends To Stay Chill
The bite of the cold is truly gone and the little shivers of the night are about to wrap their show, as spring takes over and paves the way for humidity, sweltering heat and a need for chilled concoctions. Lucky the spring-summer cocktails offer the season’s freshest and most vibrant hues that make for visually striking cocktails that are a delight to sip on.
Strawberry Margarita
There is nothing like the reddish hue of the strawberry to remind one of the vitality and vivacity of spring and summer. Combined with tequila and orange liqueur, it makes for a fascinating cocktail.
Ingredients
60 ml Strawberry puree
45 ml Tequila
15 ml Orange liqueur
1 Lime
½ cup Ice
1 Strawberry
Instructions
Extract the juice from the lime and mix with the strawberry puree. If you don't have the puree, you can use a blender to puree a couple of whole strawberries.
Mix in the tequila into this fruit-lime mix.
In a cocktail glass, pour this mix over ice.
Pour in the orange liqueur.
Garnish with a lime wheel or wedge and slice the strawberry to float over the margarita.
Summer Mai Tai
One of the most famed tiki cocktails out there, this is the best season to sip on one with a little twist – mint leaves. While mint is generally available throughout the year, it gives off more of a summer vibe that is perfect for this season.
Ingredients
45 ml White rum
25 ml Orange curaçao
25 ml Lime juice
25 ml Orgeat syrup (almond syrup)
6-8 Fresh mint leaves
1 Lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint leaves to release their oils, don’t be too rough otherwise it will turn bitter and ruin the cocktail.
Add the rum, orange curaçao, lime juice, and orgeat syrup to the shaker.
Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
Strain into a chilled mai tai or double old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice.
Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of fresh mint.
Hibiscus French 75
Named after the 75-millimeter field gun used by the French soldiers during World War I, this cocktail usually features gin, champagne and lemon juice. But to give it a nice floral boost, we’ll be adding hibiscus and swapping some ingredients.
Ingredients
90 ml Champagne
45 ml Gin
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp Hibiscus syrup
Ice
Instructions
For the hibiscus syrup, take 30 ml water and 30 gm sugar and heat in a small saucepan. Use fresh or dried hibiscus leaves, around 1 floret if using fresh or a quarter cup for the dried ones. Once the sugar dissolves strain into a container and let it cool.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the gin, lemon juice and hibiscus syrup.
Shake vigorously until the exterior frosts and strain into a champagne flute.
Pour the champagne into the drink and garnish with lemon.
Spring Fever
Warmer days and balmy evenings call for a unique herb that is sweet and fragrant and reminds one of fragrant gardens and intimate soirees – the elderflower. A simple cocktail using this unique herb is perfect for this season.
Ingredients:
45 ml Vodka
30 ml Lemon juice
25 ml Elderflower liqueur
15 ml Simple syrup
4-5 Mint leaves
Lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint leaves to release their flavour, don’t crush it completely.
Add vodka, lemon juice, elderflower liqueur and simple syrup to the shaker.
Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Cucumber Gimlet
Cucumbers are the humble underdogs of summer with intense hydration and with their flavour profile, it makes for unique flavoured cocktails. So, here’s one that shaken and fresh.
Ingredients:
60 ml Gin
30 ml Fresh lime juice
15 ml Simple syrup
3-4 cucumber wheels (1 longitudinal thin slice for garnish)
Instructions:
Grab a cocktail shaker, add the simple syrup and muddle the cucumber slices, save the long one for later.
Add gin, lime juice, and ice and shake vigorously.
Place the long cucumber slice at the bottom of the glass and stick the rest on the sides like an “U”.
Strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe or martini glass.
