Sunshine, ice and good spirits — your guide to the freshest drinks of the year
Summer is the season that cocktails were invented for. Long evenings, heat you can feel on your skin, the kind of warmth that makes an icy glass sweat the moment you pour it — every element conspires to make a great drink taste even better. Here are the cocktails we reach for when the temperature climbs.
If you had to design the perfect summer drink from scratch, you'd probably end up with a Mojito. White rum for depth, lime for brightness, sugar to balance, mint for that hit of fresh green — and soda water to make everything sparkle. It's a masterclass in how a few ingredients, treated with care, can produce something that feels effortless.
The secret is the muddling. Press the mint leaves gently — you want to bruise them, not shred them. Torn mint turns bitter; bruised mint releases its oils in the most delicious way possible. Use fresh lime juice, never bottled, and crushed ice for the full experience.
Use a good white Cuban rum like Havana Club 3 or Bacardí. The rum is the backbone — don't cut corners here.
While the Aperol Spritz was conquering the world, the Hugo Spritz was quietly becoming the most-ordered drink in the Alps. Elderflower cordial, prosecco, fresh mint and a splash of soda — it's lighter than an Aperol, sweeter, and utterly disarming on a terrace somewhere warm.
Invented in 2005 by Roland Gruber in South Tyrol, the Hugo went from a local curiosity to a pan-European phenomenon. You'll find it in every bar from Oslo to Sicily now. The floral elderflower note makes it feel special without requiring any bartending skill.
In Mexico, the Paloma outsells the Margarita by a wide margin. Tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt and grapefruit soda — it's everything a summer drink should be. Tart, a little bitter, faintly salty, and ice cold.
The grapefruit does the heavy lifting here. It's more complex than lemon or lime, sitting at the intersection of sweet and bitter in a way that makes you want another sip immediately. Use fresh juice if you can; Jarritos grapefruit soda if you can't.
Tajín salt on the rim — a Mexican chilli-lime salt — takes the Paloma from great to extraordinary.
A few rules for making great summer drinks:
Ice, and lots of it. Under-iced cocktails are a tragedy. Warm drinks make warm evenings feel warmer, and not in a good way. Fill the glass before you pour anything.
Fresh citrus juice only. Bottled lime juice is a shortcut that costs you everything. A bag of limes is inexpensive; use them.
Batch where possible. If you're serving a group, pre-mix the base of your cocktails without ice and keep it chilled. Add ice and top with soda per-glass. You'll thank yourself.
Garnish generously. A mint sprig, a lime wheel, a grapefruit slice — they're not optional decoration. They set the aroma you smell before you sip, which shapes the entire experience.
No summer party is complete without a punch bowl. The formula is simple: a base spirit (or two), citrus, sweetness, something sparkling, and an aromatic element — herbs, flowers or spice.
A crowd-pleasing recipe: combine 1 bottle of rosé, 300ml of St-Germain elderflower, 200ml of vodka, 300ml of fresh lemon juice and 150ml of simple syrup. Chill overnight. At serving time, pour over a large block of ice in your prettiest bowl and top with 2 bottles of Prosecco. Float cucumber slices, lemon wheels and fresh mint on top. Serves 12. Disappears in 20 minutes.