It's the first official week of summer, and although cocktails are always in season, I've collected some recipes that I think make great warm-weather treats!
1. Watermelon Bellini

Recipe and photo via Southern Living
Ingredients
1 lime
2 to 3 Tbsp. coarse sugar
3 cups frozen seedless watermelon
1 cup sparkling wine, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Additional sparkling wine
Garnish: watermelon wedges
Preparation
Cut lime in half. Cut 1 half into wedges, and rub on rims of 8 (6-oz.) cocktail glasses; dip rims in coarse sugar to coat. Process frozen watermelon, 1 cup chilled sparkling wine, sugar, salt, and juice from remaining lime half in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared glasses; top off with additional sparkling wine. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.
1 lime
2 to 3 Tbsp. coarse sugar
3 cups frozen seedless watermelon
1 cup sparkling wine, chilled
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
Additional sparkling wine
Garnish: watermelon wedges
Preparation
Cut lime in half. Cut 1 half into wedges, and rub on rims of 8 (6-oz.) cocktail glasses; dip rims in coarse sugar to coat. Process frozen watermelon, 1 cup chilled sparkling wine, sugar, salt, and juice from remaining lime half in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared glasses; top off with additional sparkling wine. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.
2. Rosé Cucumber Cooler
Recipe and photo via Better Homes and Gardens
Ingredients
1 750 milliliter bottle rose wine
1 cup St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 cup lemon juice
Thin lemon slices
English cucumber slices
Ice cubes
Preparation
In a large pitcher combine rose wine, St. Germain, lemon juice, lemon and cucumber slices. Serve over ice.
3. Pink Fizz
Recipe and photo via Punchbowl.com
Ingredients
3 tsp. simple syrup
12 fresh mint leaves
3 ounces fresh lime juice
Crushed ice
8 ounces vodka
Cranberry juice
Champagne or sparkling wine
Preparation
Muddle syrup, mint and lime together in a shaker. Add ice, vodka, 1/8 cup cranberry juice and shake well. Pour mixture into four champagne glasses, evenly and top off with champagne or wine. Garnish with mint.
4. Strawberry-Basil Rosé Sangria

Photo and recipe via O Magazine/Oprah.com
Ingredients
1/2 cup limoncello
1 cup strawberries, sliced
12 basil leaves
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 lemon, thinly sliced, for garnish
1/4 cup lemonade
2 bottles rosé
Directions
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: At least 2 hours
Preparation
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, stir together all ingredients except wine and lemon slices. Refrigerate 2 hours or as long as overnight. When ready to serve, stir in the wine. Pour into ice-filled glasses, garnish with lemon slices, and serve.
5. The St. Germain Cocktail
The St. Germain Cocktail I had at Parc in Philadelphia.
Ingredients
2 parts Brut Champagne or dry sparkling wine
1 1/2 parts St. Germain
2 parts club soda
Preparation
Fill a tall Collins glass with ice. Add Champagne first then St. Germain, then club soda. Stir completely and garnish with a lemon twist.
*A Note about St. Germain: It's a French liquer flavored with elderflowers that debuted in 2007. Since then it's become quite popular, so you've probably seen it in cocktails on many drink menus. It's award-winning and fantastic, so if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend!
Kristina and I are heading home for 4th of July weekend and on a cocktail recipe finding mission. You may have saved me a lot of time :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you make some of these! I have only tried one so far. Maybe we need to try some too during our weekend in July. Or on second note, someone else can make cocktails for us since it is our Lifestyles of the (fake) Rich and Famous trip ;)
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