With Fourth of July right around the corner, here are 20 summer-ready cocktails
The first half of 2020 has not been easy for any of us, to say the least, with social distancing and self-quarantining still being the norm for many millions of people. But when you’re keeping a home-based existence more of the day than not, there ought to be plenty of opportunities to utilize that home bar of yours for some top-tier cocktail recipes, especially for the Fourth of July.
The Fourth of July is just around the corner — actually being celebrated on July 3, 2020 this year as part of a long holiday weekend — and plenty of celebrating ought to be ahead.
In turn, on behalf of Guilty Eats, I have gathered another 20 cocktail recipes from a mix of top spirit brands and well-respected American mixologists.
Below are another 20 more summer-friendly cocktail recipes worth preparing at home this Fourth of July:
The French Connection
Made with the Bently Heritage Estate Distillery’s Award-Winning Juniper Grove Atrium Gin, Artisan Mixologist Lucas Huff created this cocktail, which incorporates a series of unique flavors that harmonize beautifully.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Juniper Grove Atrium Gin
- 0.75 oz. Grand Marnier
- 0.5 oz. Aperol
- 0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
- 1 Sprig of Tarragon
Method:
- Add all ingredients with ice into a shaker and shake vigorously.
- Double strain into a small coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
- Garnish with fresh tarragon.
Bently Heritage Estate Distillery’s Ranch Tea
Also created by mixologist Lucas Huff, this cocktail is reportedly a tribute to being an Estate Distillery and respecting the earth.
Ingredients:
- 5 basil leaves muddled in bottom of tumbler
- 1.5 oz Source One Vodka
- 1 oz. Honey Syrup
- 1 oz. Lemon juice
Method:
- Mix the ingredients shown above.
- Top with Fresh Brewed Tea. (please note that this drink can be served iced or hot)
Té Recuerdo Mezcal
Recuerdo is reportedly the top-selling Mezcal available in duty-free airport stores and one of the leading Mezcals in Mexico.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. Recuerdo Joven Mezcal
- 1 1/2 oz. lemongrass tea
- 1/2 oz. lime juice
- 1/2 oz. agave syrup
- Soda water
- Garnish: Pineapple Leaf
Method:
- Mix all the ingredients except the soda water in a shaker with ic.
- Serve in an old fashioned glass with ice.
- Fill with soda
- Garnish with a pineapple leaf.
Clambake Rosé Sorbet
The Clambake is a craft wine label, and its Clambake Limited Edition Rosé boasts some of the very best old-vine Carignan from Mendocino to be had. Its wines are made at a certified sustainable custom crush winery in Healdsburg, California, which operates as a co-op allowing alternating small boutique proprietors like McAuley to make world-class wines.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of Clambake Rosé Wine
- 1 1.2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup frozen black cherries
Method:
- Put the 4 cups of rose in a saucepan bring to boil and reduce to 2 cups. Cool.
- Make a simple syrup using 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of pomegranate juice.
- Put both ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
- Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the frozen cherries an let seep until cool.
- Combine the reduced rose, the simple syrup with cherries, the remaining 1/2 cup pomegranate juice into a blender and puree.
- Chill well in refrigerator.
- Using your ice cream maker, follow instructions to make the sorbet.
- Freeze at least 4 to 6 hours.
- If you do not have an ice cream maker, try this to make your sorbet: Put half of the liquid in a small zip lock bag, then put ice in a large zip lock and add the small bag of liquid to the bag with ice. Make sure the small bag is surrounded with the ice. Add lots of salt to the ice. Close large zip lock and massage it. Adding salt to the ice makes it very cold and will freeze the liquid. By splinting the liquid into two bags it will freeze faster.
Proper & Ginger
Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was helmed by legendary fighter Conor McGregor. Yet the whiskey label has proven to be far more than a celebrity vanity project, selling in high volume all over the world and scoring highly-positive reviews from top critics.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey
- 3 oz. Ginger Ale
- Garnish: 1 Lime Wedge
Method:
- Fill glass with ice.
- Pour Proper No. Twelve over ice.
- Top with ginger ale.
- Stir it all up.
- Garnish with lime wedge.
20 summer-friendly cocktail recipes for the Fourth of July
The Bandero “Quarantina” Margarita
Bandero Tequila’s blue agave plants are grown high in the eastern Los Altos Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The higher elevation is where Bandero’s agave plants experience cooler nights, less rain and colder winters, transforming Bandero into a sweeter, richer “pineapple.”
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. of Bandero Tequila
- 3/4 oz. of Orange Juice (Fresh Squeezed if possible)
- 1 oz. Cointreau, Triple Sec or Another Orange Liqueur
- Splash of Club Soda
- Garnish: 1/2 Orange Wheel
Method:
- Mix in a Large Glass or add the ingredients to a Cocktail Shaker filled with ice and shake.
- Strain into a Rocks Glass over ice.
- Add a splash of Club Soda.
- Garnish with an Orange Wedge.
Southern Comfort Sweet Tea
June recognized as National Iced Tea Month, and Southern Comfort is one of the staple brands when it comes to American whiskey. Thus, 2 Southern traditions coming together in a great way.
Ingredients:
- 2 parts Sweet Tea
- 1 part Southern Comfort Black (80 Proof)
- Garnish: Sliced Lemons
Method:
- Combine sweet tea and Southern Comfort Black together in a glass over ice.
- Stir well.
- Garnish with sliced lemons.
Southern Comfort Southern Lemonade
On the other side of the sweet spectrum from sweet tea is lemonade, which is arguably the most summer-friendly drink there is.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Southern Comfort Original
- 3 oz. Lemon Lime Soda
- Garnish: Lime Wedge
- Optional: 0.5 oz. of grenadine (to make it a Dirty Shirley.)
Method:
- Pour Southern Comfort Original into a glass filled with ice.
- Add lemon lime soda.
- Stir well.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
- Add the grenadine if you wish to.
Casa Red, White & Blue
Casamigos was co-founded in 2013 by George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman. As the story goes, they commissioned a distillery in Jalisco, Mexico to produced a tequila that “tasted great and didn’t burn going down.”
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Casamigos Blanco Tequila
- 1.5 oz. Fresh Watermelon Juice
- 0.25 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 0.25 oz. Grenadine by Liber & Co.
- Splash of Soda Water
- Blue Curacao Sprayed Over Top
- Garnish: Luxardo Cherry
Method:
- Add fresh watermelon juice, fresh lemon juice and grenadine directly into Collins glass.
- Fill Collins glass with crushed ice and pack tightly.
- Add Casamigos Blanco Tequila, then splash of soda water
- Top off with crushed ice and create dome like top.
- Spray blue curacao over top through an atomizer.
- Add garnish.
- Serve in Collins Glass with Pebble OR Crushed Ice
Amaro Manhattan
Cardamaro is an artichoke-based amaro, with primary flavors of cardoon and blessed thistle. Consider using in place of vermouth for you staple after-meal cocktails, like the Amaro Manhattan.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Grace O’Malley Irish Whiskey
- 0.75 oz. Cardamaro
- 0.5 oz. Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro
- Garnish: Cherry
Method:
- Strain into coupe or double rocks glass.
- Stir with ice.
- Garnish with cherry.
Partida Raspberry Collins
Partida offers an ideal harmony and balance between its aromas and flavors, with a complex variety of herbal, earthy and citrus notes. The delicious Partida Raspberry Collins makes for a wonderful lunch cocktail.
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 oz. Partida Blanco Tequila
- 3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 3/4 oz. Agave Nectar (cut 50/50 with water)
- 8 to 10 Raspberries
- Garnish: Lemon Twist and 3 Raspberries on a pick
Method:
- Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice into a highball glass.
- Top with sparkling water or club soda.
- Add garnish.
20 summer-friendly cocktail recipes for the Fourth of July
Angel’s Flight
The Greenbar Distillery is reportedly Los Angeles’s first distillery established since prohibition, carrying a large portfolio of organic spirits.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Fruitlab Orange Liqueur
- 1 oz. Slow Hand Six Woods Whiskey
- 1 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 oz. Simple Syrup
- Garnish: Fresh Orange Wedge
Method:
- Combine all ingredients with ice and shake until your shaker tin goes frosty.
- Strain into a martini glass.
- Garnish with a fresh orange wedge.
Walk In The Woods
Slow Hand Six Woods Whiskey, from Greenbar Distillery, is a unique spirit that has the body of a bourbon and the finish of a scotch. Greenbar Distillery uses SIX woods — white oak, red oak, hickory, hard maple, grapevine and mulberry — to develop the flavor of the whiskey.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Grand Poppy Amaro
- 2 oz Slow Hand Six Woods Whiskey
Method:
- Combine the whiskey and amaro in a rocks glass with a large ice cube.
- Stir until the drink is cool.
Irishman Cold Brew
A Bushmills-centric beverage, this one was inspired by the film The Irishman and is served at New York City’s Parker & Quinn.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. Bushmills Irish Whiskey
- 1 oz. of Cream
- 0.75 oz. Mr.Black Cold Brew Liqueur
- 0.75 oz. of Bailey’s Irish Cream
Method:
- Fill the glass with the ingredients.
- Shake it up.
- Serve the drink on the rocks.
Clément Pina Colada
A fun take on the classic good times, “by the pool” staple.
Ingredients (in equal parts):
- Rhum Clement Mahina Coconut Rum
- Pineapple Juice
- Sweetened Coconut Cream (e.g. Coco Lopez).
Method:
- Blend or shake the ingredients once combined.
- Pour over crushed ice.
Clément Spritz
Ingredients:
- 0.75 oz. Clement Liqueur D’Orange
- 4-5 oz. Dry Sparkling Wine
Method:
- Pour chilled Liqueur D’Orange into a wine glass or flute.
- Top with sparkling wine.
20 summer-friendly cocktail recipes for the Fourth of July
The Barista Old Fashioned
The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey is consciously aged for only four years in Oloroso Sherry casks. It works well in cocktails but also stand up on its own, as blended by Alex Thomas, one of the world’s few female master blenders.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey
- 0.5 oz. coffee liqueur (e.g. Bailey’s, Kahlua)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Garnish: Orange Peel
Method:
- Combine ingredients in a mixing glass.
- Add ice and stir until cold.
- Strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with orange peel.
The 50/50 Martini
With 22 hand-foraged botanicals, The Botanist Gin has a beautifully-balanced flavor profile with notes of citrus and florals and a smooth finish.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. The Botanist Gin
- 1.5 oz. Dry Vermouth
- 2 Dashes of Orange Bitters
- Garnish: Lemon Peel
Method:
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
- Stir and strain into a chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lemon peel.
The Heirloom
Also of note about The Botanist Gin is that The Whisky Exchange named it its “Fine Spirit of the Year” several years back.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. The Botanist Gin
- 0.5 oz. Dry Vermouth
- 1 oz. Tomato Water
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- Garnish: Lemon Peel
Method:
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. (How to make Tomato Water, you ask? Blend one tomato and strain water through cheesecloth.)
- Add ice, stir and strain into a chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lemon peel.
The Whale Hello There
Gray Whale Gin is a California-crafted, coastal-inspired gin which sources its botanicals along the migration path of the Pacific gray whale. With every purchase, Gray Whale Gin donates a percentage of proceeds to help protect the home of its magnificent namesake.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Gray Whale Gin
- 1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 oz. Agave Syrup
- Garnish: Lemon Twist
Method:
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the gin, lime juice, lemon juice and agave.
- Shake vigorously.
- Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass, or strain over a rocks glass filled with ice, depending on preference.
- Garnish with a lemon twist and serve immediately.
Gin & Tonic, The Highclere Way
Famous around the world as “the real Downton Abbey,” the Highclere Castle brand is acclaimed for its award-winning London Dry Gin. Its exceptionally smooth taste begins with botanicals grown on the estate and refined over centuries of harvests, including lavender planted by the Bishops of Winchester in the 9th century, citrus from the Victorian-era orangery and juniper that has grown wild at Highclere since Roman times. Tradition and also top-quality ingredients all at once.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Highclere Castle Gin
- Artisinal Tonic Water
- Fresh Orange Squeeze
- Garnish: Orange Peel, Rosemary Sprig
Method:
- Combine ingredients in a chilled highball or balloon glass.
- Add garnish.
- Enjoy. A lot.
Half KORBEL Brut Rosé + Half Apple Juice
Korbel Champagne Cellars is a winery based in Guerneville, California. Since 1882, Korbel has primarily manufactured sparkling wine using the méthode champenoise process; in this process, sparkling wine is fermented inside the same bottle from which it is served.
Ingredients (equal parts):
- KORBEL Brut Rosé
- Apple Juice
Method:
- Combine the 2 ingredients equally for maximum enjoyment.
- Celebrate the Fourth of July in style via KORBEL.
Which of these recipes will be making at home for the Fourth of July?