Food & Cooking Recipes Drink Recipes Cocktail Recipes 21 Summer Cocktails to Sip All Season Stay cool on hot days with these refreshing drinks. By Jennifer Anderson Jennifer Anderson Jennifer is a writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines and Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years. Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 28, 2024 Close Photo: BRYAN GARDNER Sunny days and warm evenings, cookouts and pool parties, and refreshing summer cocktails—these are the things we look forward to most during the summer. For warm-weather drinks, the ideal quaff is refreshing, fruity, and well-balanced. You can enjoy it while soaking up the sun by the pool, in a hammock, or at an outdoor dinner party—it's cool enough to counteract the hottest afternoons and easy to make. Add the ingredients for these sweet and spicy margaritas, beach-ready rum drinks, bubbly spritzes, and fruity frozen cocktails to your home bar, and you'll be ready to mix up all our favorite summer drinks. 10 Ways to Upgrade Your Summer Cocktails 01 of 21 Martha’s Yellow Watermelon Margaritas Noe Dewitt Martha’s preferred drink for sipping poolside is this sweet, fruity riff on the margarita. She swaps the usual triple sec for the elderflower liqueur St. Germain which compliments the blanco tequila and yellow watermelo puree. View Recipe 02 of 21 Amaro Spritz Nico Schinco If you love the Aperol spritz, you should give this delicious variation a try. It’s made with Campari or Aperol, tonic water, and a slice of lemon for garnish—so it’s a lower ABV refresher. View Recipe 03 of 21 Peach-and-Mint Frappes Matthew Williams Frozen peaches (used in place of ice cubes) make this vodka-based drink slushy and cool. It's easy to make a virgin version of this frappe by simply subbing water for the spirits. View Recipe 04 of 21 Coconut-Water Vodka Cocktail Jen Causey Light and reviving, this simple mix of coconut water with a little vodka and an orange twist is perfect for summer sipping. View Recipe 05 of 21 Pineapple-Rum Cocktail A three-ingredient cocktail that’s just right for summer. Mix pineapple juice with spiced rum and lime juice, and serve over ice garnished with lime slices. Even better? You can make it ahead and pour it as a pitcher drink. View Recipe 06 of 21 Strawberry Daiquiri Mike Krautter A tried and true summer cocktail classic, this boozy relative of the smoothie can be made in a myriad of ways. If you get tired of the strawberry flavor, try our pineapple-mint iteration. View Recipe 07 of 21 Strawberry, Cucumber, Gin, and Elderflower Spritz William Abranowicz This long strawberry gin drink tastes like summer. It starts with muddling strawberries and cucumbers, then adding gin and elderflower liqueur and pouring over ice, topping with club soda. and garnishing with berries and cucumber slices. View Recipe 08 of 21 Pimm's Cup Bryan Gardner This classic English summer cocktail evokes images of croquet lawns and white linen. Pimm's, a gin-based herbal liqueur, works in harmony with ginger ale, fresh mint, cucumber, and strawberries. View Recipe 09 of 21 Mango Mojito Splash some sunshine into a basic minty mojito with the addition of fresh mango. This recipe also works beautifully with other fruits, such as strawberries or pineapple. View Recipe 10 of 21 Texas Margarita Kelsey Hansen Adding fresh orange juice to the classic tequila, triple sec, and lime combination produces a margarita that’s extra easy to sip on a hot day. View Recipe 11 of 21 Lemon Mezcal Margarita Bryan Gardner The traditional margarita gets a smoky twist thanks to the mezcal used to make this delicious drink; don't forget the unexpected salt-and-pepper rim. View Recipe 12 of 21 Summer Spritzes Christopher Testani Making the perfect spritz is easy once you know the formula. Practice makes perfect with three of our summer cocktail favorites: Pineapple-Cucumber Spritz Hibiscus-Ginger Spritz Spicy Grapefruit Spritz 13 of 21 Shaken Piña Colada Bryan Gardner Nothing says beachfront happy hour quite like a piña colada. Ours is shaken, not blended, and the taste transports you to a tropical island. View Recipe 14 of 21 Watermelon-Lime-Mint Cooler Linda Xiao Inspired by the refreshing Mexican agua frescas, this drink is made with watermelon, tequila, mint syrup, and lime juice—and it's just right for sipping poolside. View Recipe 15 of 21 Watermelon-Cucumber Cooler This might be the ultimate hot-weather sipper. Pureeing watermelon with cucumber and vodka, then adding honey, lime juice, and vodka creates a pretty-in-pink sipper. View Recipe 16 of 21 Ginger Caipirinhas Marcus Nilsson This iconic Brazilian cocktail is made with cachaca, a spirit derived from sugarcane, fresh muddled ginger, and lime. View Recipe 17 of 21 Sour-Cherry Cordial Rumored to be a favorite of President George Washington, this sour cherry cocktail is a timeless refresher made with fresh, in-season fruit. View Recipe 18 of 21 Honeydew Cocktail Frosty and refreshing, this cooler combines cubed honeydew, lime juice, mint, and vodka in a blender. The luscious drink is poured over crushed ice. View Recipe 19 of 21 Aperol Jasmine Spritz Petrina Tinslay Light and refreshing, this long drink is a hybrid of the Aperol spritz and the jasmine, a classic gin-based cocktail. View Recipe 20 of 21 Pineapple-Raspberry Bellini Armando Rafael Amp up your summer brunch menu with this refreshing take on a bellini, made with sparkling white wine, raspberries, pineapple juice, seltzer, and vanilla extract. View Recipe 21 of 21 Pineapple Highball Kana Okada This summer cocktail uses a vanilla-and-star-anise syrup, white rum, and seltzer—plus maraschino cherries for a dose of sweetness. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit