Summer Cocktails

What are your go-to cocktails for hot summer days? I’m a huge gin and tonic guy, but a change of pace every once in a while is good for a guy.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

What are your go-to cocktails for hot summer days? I’m a huge gin and tonic guy, but a change of pace every once in a while is good for a guy.

…and I will expand on the gin/tonic: Tanqueray is my go to! I will also add Limon n’ Coke can be very refreshing with a lemon slice! RR

roosterrouster wrote:

Tanqueray is my go to!

Not me. I usually drink New Amsterdam in G&Ts, but if I feel like splurging a little, it’s Bombay or Beefeater. Or if I really want to splurge, Norseman Distillery in Minneapolis makes some nice gin.

I have gotten into various Mules:

Moscow Mule – vodka, ginger beer, lime juice
Canadian Mule – Windsor or seagrams, GB, LJ
Irish Mule – Jamison, GB, LJ
Long Island Mule – sub GB for coke in LI Ice Tea
Pineapple Mule – Capt Morgan Pineapple, GB, LJ…this one is dangerous

Dark & Stormy.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Dark & Stormy.

x2
Tanqueray and fresh Lemonade

Freezer Chilled Bourbon- NO ICE!- why wreck a good thing

So Dave, do you have the copper mugs?

Which ginger beer do you use Dave? Crabbies seems to be the most available. Do you use a Non Alchoholic one?

Mules and Big Gingers are my go to. We also do a screw driver, but we also add club soda to it for a little twist.

I’ve been meaning to wake up on a Saturday and mix up a bunch of fruit, rum and perhaps a liquer or two to be readily available.

I used to drink a lot of Gin and tonics, but haven’t in recent years.

* I’d like to clarify my statement now from another post a couple months back about the Not Your Fathers Ginger Ale. I proclaimed I was going to make some Moscow Mules with it, but Hard Ginger Ale IS NOT the same as ginger beer.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Dark & Stormy.

Just looked that one up! Seems like ginger beer goes with everything. I like the ginger “burn” when drinking.

Yes, non-alcoholic ginger beer.

Reed’s Jamaican is really good, I have Gosling’s right now and its ok too.

I don’t have the copper mugs yet, but I have a birthday coming on Monday!!!

I like the classic, hand-made Mojito. It’s worth noting that since this drink went trendy, it was completely monkeybuttized. Many people who say they have had one, have never actually had one, they’ve had the lime soda pop “Mojito Mix” version, which is actually the spawn of satan.

I have a mint patch in one of Mrs. Grouse’s flower beds that has a sign “For Mojito Use Only”. The total yield of this patch is about 4 bushels of mint annually, you can’t be too careful.

The real Mojito contains only these things: Fresh mint, quartered and juiced limes, rum, sugar syrup, soda, ice. If your drink does not look like a lime truck drove off the road and crashed into a mint patch, then you have the wrong drink.

Grouse

I like a good caipirinha, too. Kind of putzy to make, but good.

I’ll admit I have a thing for mojitos. I do the same, all home made.

Try this one.
Lemon basil mojito
Gin
Lemon wedge
Basil
Simple syrup
Ice

If you know how to make a mojito you can make this one.

Gin and tonic is my go-to. Bombay sapphire tops the list.

TFG, I was thinking of going the mojito route this weekend. Stay tuned.

Our family summer drink is Sunday sauce.
One can of frozen lemonade to one can of Bourbon. Servered over ice in a cocktail glass. After a couple of these you don’t care about Monday.

Pauleye wrote:

Our family summer drink is Sunday sauce.
One can of frozen lemonade to one can of Bourbon. Servered over ice in a cocktail glass. After a couple of these you don’t care about Monday.

Whats your bourbon of choice? Definitely going to try this on Sunday now!

Can’t go wrong with Southern Comfort lemonades. I love them and they’re the best with pink lemonade! Served with ice, it’s refreshing on a hot summer day and you can mix it as light or as heavy as you’d like. When I’m feeling too lazy to mix my own, I like Smirnoff Ice in Grape flavor. It’s a light and crisp malt beverage. I keep meaning to try the other flavors, but I always seem to end up with the grape.

Margarita baby! It’s simple but not cheap to do right.

Don Julio silver,
Grand Marnier,
Simply Lime, (It’s pre-sweetened lime. Easier than simple syrup and lime),
A splash of pure lemon juice.
A couple of ice cubes in a mug with a handle. Goes down so easy you don’t know what hit you until it’s too late.

For a less sweet version, add some pure lime juice and water. This takes some of the sweetness off.

Also drink bourbon. Who am I kidding. Bourbon is good all year round. For me, room temp and cut with a bit of water. Never cold.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

What are your go-to cocktails for hot summer days? I’m a huge gin and tonic guy, but a change of pace every once in a while is good for a guy.

Bombay sapphire for sure! And two limes!

Burnett’s is a good and less money second choice for gin.IMHO

Vodka, Squirt and a splash of OJ.

-J.

Gin and Tonic with fresh Lime. For a good cheap Gin try Seagram’s. I tried New Amsterdam and it has a weird taste to me. Tangueray is good but Seagram’s to me is just as good at about 1/2 the cost.

Grouse you have it right on the Mojitos, fresh ingredients and simple is the best. Hurricanes or Margaritas are pretty good as well for something different. I like the premixed Margarita mix kept in the freezer, just add more Tequila and Lime, pour over ice.

Big Ginger
1 shot 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey
Squeeze 1 wedge lime, 1 wedge lemon into glass, and put weges in glass too
Top off with Ginger ale

Nothing beats a Diet Sunkist Lemonade and McAdams.

Redneck to the end….

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

TFG, I was thinking of going the mojito route this weekend. Stay tuned.

Be sure you have plenty of fresh mint and only muddle the leaves, not the stalks.

Limes are always better when they are sun ripened. My parents have a lime tree at their winter home and those limes make the best drinks (of all kinds) because they are naturally ripe and (relatively) sweet.

Use proper sugar syrup, granular white sugar does not dissolve. I make a liter bottle of sugar syrup at a time and keep it in the fridge. It lasts forever.

Grouse

KP wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Pauleye wrote:</div>
Our family summer drink is Sunday sauce.
One can of frozen lemonade to one can of Bourbon. Servered over ice in a cocktail glass. After a couple of these you don’t care about Monday.

Whats your bourbon of choice? Definitely going to try this on Sunday now!

I usually use Jim or Jack.

Great ideas and suggestions….I will add the old “strip and go naked”…Vodka mixed in frozen lemonade and then mixed with beer…Great in pitchers on ice, but can sneak up on a person so beware..

Blueberry Stoli with pink, regular or blueberry lemonade.

Mike Petersen wrote:

I will add the old “strip and go naked”

Oh yes, we do those on occasion!

For sitting around on the deck doing nothing on a warm day, I really like a Negroni. It’s a boozy, classic cocktail. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s fancy. That’s BS. It is bittersweet, though, and you might have to drink two before you’ll love them. There’s more than one way to make a Negroni and to me the ingredients make a big difference, so here’s my recipe:

1 part each (I measure 1 ounce each):
High proof gin, I like Death’s Door
Campari
Sweet Vermouth, I like Carpano Antica

Stir the three parts on ice in a mixing glass and pour it over fresh ice in a rocks glass (the fresh ice keeps it from getting watered down, and yes it does makes a difference).

The key to this drink is the orange peel. Cut a piece of fresh orange peel that’s about the length and width of two fingers. Hold the orange side toward the drink and fold it lengthwise to express the orange oil on the top of the drink. Try to squeeeze the oil out evenly over the top of the drink. Drop the peel in with the booze and you’re done.

Snack on potato chips and olives while you’re drinking these. Sit there long enough and you’ll have trouble getting up.

You guys keep reminding me of other summer drinks. I used to be known for my mojitos, but they were a lot of work. I wouldn’t just simply muddle the mint. I would pulverize it and strain lime juice through it. I also would make my own simple sugar until I started seeing off the shelf simple syrup. And nothing but freshly squeezed lime juice. None of the crap out of a bottle.

I also used to enjoy making martinis. It’s not exactly a thirst quencher on a hot day, but if you ice the glasses in the freezer its not to bad. It’s not ideal though for hanging out on the patio.

Michelle like vodka sodas with a drop of cranberry juice. I do mean drop, not splash. Usually we just get fruit beverages like vitamin water, ICE, Mountain Dew KickStarts and mix with vodka and dilute a little with club soda or plain water. Lately it’s been Petey’s Bing (Cherry) energy drinks.

I feel like making a batch of Rum Runner or Hurricane this Saturday now. What? It’s Wednesday? It’s been a long week…

Greyhounds for me. At least for the mornings and early afternoon. Cant remember what i drink for the evening.