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Billed by the book Speakeasy as “the queen of summer cocktails,” this one seemed perfect for a night grilling. And it was! It’s fun, flavorful, and pretty.

• 4 watermelon cubes
• ¾ oz simple syrup
• 1 ½ oz Plymouth Gin
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz Campari
• 1 watermelon wedge

Muddle the watermelon cubes and syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass until the fruit has turned into a juice. Add the gin, juice, and Campari and fill the glass with 5 large ice cubes. Shake briefly and pour unstrained into a Collins glass. Garnish with the watermelon wedge.

This one’s from death and co. It looked just right for my mood; all liquor, rye base, some sweetness, and indeed it was perfect. I drank it and made another straightaway!

• 1 oz Rittenhouse 100-Proof Rye
• 1 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre cognac
• 1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
• 1 tsp Bénédictine
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash Death & Co Peychaud's bitters
• 1 lemon twist

Stir with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Here is an interesting one from Death & Co. that combines tiki flavors with the complex bitterness of beer, of all things. It’s not much beer by volume, so it’s not nearly the predominant flavor. It’s a little weird seeing, but it really works!

• 2 oz Tanqueray No. 10 Gin
• ¾ oz John. D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum liqueur
• 1 oz pineapple juice
• ½ oz lemon juice
• Green Flash West Coast IPA
• Mint sprig

Shake the liquid ingredients (except the IPA) with ice, strain into a Collins glass with ice, and top with the beer. Garnish with the mint sprig (or remember right at this stage that you forgot to buy mint, like me!).

We got to visit a friend with a boat, so I blended up a quick batch of Jeffrey Morganthaler’s Piña Colada for the ride. It’s easy and unreasonably delicious for a hot day on the water!

• 1 ½ oz Coco Lopez
• 1 ½ oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz Puerto Rican rum
• 1 oz Jamaican blended aged rum

Blend with 6-8oz ice until completely smooth, and garnish with an orange slice.

I got this recipe from a now-shuttered bar on NYC’s lower east side called Pouring Ribbons. It’s an interesting mix of tart, smoky, and sweet!

• 1 ½ oz Del Maguey Vida mezcal
• ¾ oz Lustau Palo Cortado Peninsula sherry
• ¾ oz orgeat
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz pineapple juice
• 1 pinch cocoa powder

Shake the liquid ingredients with ice, pour over ice in a rocks glass, and garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder.

It’s finally warm where I live, and that’s cause for celebration with a nice, tart, summery, fun, and pretty drink! This one is from the PDT book.

• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 2 oz ruby red grapefruit juice
• 1 oz Aperol

Shake with ice. Simple and effective!

About a year ago, @RBWells@lemmy.world posted a link to some cocktails with Asian flavors. I had some friends over for mapo tofu tonight and tried this smoky, fruity one. It was really nice! I couldn’t find dragon fruit juice, just a purée, so it was a little close to a smoothie… but still tasty. And goofy photogenic.

• 1 oz mezcal
• ½ oz Baiju
• 1 oz John. D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum liqueur
• ½ oz coconut milk
• 2 oz dragon fruit juice
• toasted coconut

Shake with ice. Garnish with the toasted coconut.

I used a smoking gun to smoke a big batch of Manhattans for a party, and it was so dark and delicious. I love using an Erlenmeyer flask for this; pouring the drink from it with the smoke looks like a science experiment and gets a good laugh.

We cooked a bunch of Trinidadian food last night for a party and so I wanted to do something rum-based and citrusy to compliment the spicy main (doubles, if you’re curious). This fit the bill! Super bright and flavorful. It’s supposed be served in a tall, clear glass with a red sherry floated, but I only had a lighter sherry and wanted to use my pineapple glasses ¯_(ツ)_/¯ This recipe is from Smuggler’s Cove.

• 1 ½ oz lemon juice
• 1 ½ oz orange juice
• ½ oz orgeat
• 1 oz pisco
• ½ oz gin
• 2 oz blended lightly-aged rum
• ½ oz oloroso sherry
• 1 mint sprig

Flash blend all ingredients except the sherry and mint with 12oz crushed ice. Pour into a Zombie glass or Fug Cutter mug and float the sherry, then garnish with a mint sprig.

Here’s one I hadn’t tried from Employees Only in NYC. So simple and so good! I love mezcal and pineapple together. I didn’t mess with honey-pineapple syrup, I used half the quantity of a Demerara simple syrup I had on hand instead and poured the pineapple a little heavy. Delicious!

• 1 ¾ oz Del Maguey Vida mezcal
• 1 oz honey-pineapple syrup
• ¾ oz pineapple juice
• ½ oz lime juice
• 3 dashes Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub

Combine ingredients in a shaker tin with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a cocktail coupe. Sprinkle a small amount of pink peppercorn on top of the drink.

A really delightful equal-parts recipe from The Garret in NYC, presumably it’s a play on The White Lady or The Pink Lady? This is certainly the most recent of the three, and wow, it’s so great… where has it been all my life??

• 1 ½ oz mezcal
• 1 ½ oz Aperol
• 1 ½ oz John. D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum liqueur
• 1 ½ oz lime juice