20 Summer Cocktails to Keep You Cool

1. Process chopped watermelon in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour processed watermelon through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a medium bowl to yield 1 1/2 cups watermelon juice (enough for 8 cocktails). Discard solids. Chill juice until ready to make cocktails.

2. Salt half the rim of a chilled coupe glass. Add white rum, lime juice, agave nectar, and 3 tablespoons watermelon juice to a cocktail shaker filled three- fourths of the way with ice. Cover and shake vigorously until well combined, about 10 seconds. Strain into coupe glass. Garnish with a watermelon slice.

1. Pour the lemon juice into a collins glass. Add the superfine sugar and stir briskly to dissolve.

2. Fill the glass with ice and add the gin.

3. Top off the glass with club soda and stir. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the basil sprigs and lemon and orange zests. Let the syrup stand, stirring often, until cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Discard the basil sprigs and zest strips.

2. In a large pitcher, combine the basil syrup with the wine, brandy and orange juice. Pour the sangria into ice-filled glasses, top with club soda and garnish each drink with an orange slice.

1. Fill a stemmed wine glass with ice, and add Prosecco, followed by Aperol.

2. Top with 1 ounce of soda water (or enough to fill to the rim of the glass). Garnish with an orange slice.

Combine gin, syrup, and lemon juice in a Boston cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a cognac snifter glass filled with ice cubes. Top with club soda, and garnish with cucumber strips and dried rose petals.

Combine tamarind-citrus syrup, lemon juice, sherry, mezcal, and bitters in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Cover with lid, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with pineapple fronds, edible flowers, and a skewer of star fruit and orange peel, if desired.

Fill a tall mixing glass with ice cubes. Add bourbon, rum, crème de banane, and bitters. Stir for 5 seconds; strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Twist orange peel strip over cocktail to express oils; tuck orange peel into glass, or discard.

1. Combine honey and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and honey is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. Combine gin, lemon juice, coffee concentrate, ginger syrup, and 11/2 tablespoons honey syrup in a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Insert a swizzle stick bar tool into ice, and spin stick between palms of hands until drink starts to froth and glass frosts. Garnish with grated coffee beans and lemon twist.

1. Bring the strawberries, 1 cup water, lime juice, agave syrup, and ginger to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-low. Cook until mixture is fragrant and strawberries are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool completely, about 1 hour.

2. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a blender. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 5 days. Makes about 2 cups.

3. For each cooler, combine 1⁄4 cup Strawberry-Rum Cooler Base, 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) white rum, 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) dark rum, and 6 dashes of bitters in a mixing glass, and top with ice. Stir mixture until ice dilutes the liquid into a smooth puree. Pour over crushed ice, and top with 1⁄4 cup ginger beer. Garnish with an orange wedge.

1. Fill a collins glass with ice cubes. Line walls with orange, lemon, and cucumber slices.

2. Add Pimms No. 1 and lemon soda to collins glass, stir to combine.

3. Garnish with mint sprigs and apple slices.

1. If using fresh or drained canned pineapple, arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or in a ziplock bag, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

2. Combine frozen pineapple, coconut milk, rums, sugar, lime juice, and vanilla bean paste in a blender; process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Place blender pitcher in refrigerator, and let piña colada mixture rest until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. Return pitcher to blender base; add ice cubes, and process until thick and smooth, about 30 seconds. Divide among tulip wine glasses or hurricane glasses. Float additional dark rum on top of each drink to taste, and garnish as desired.

Make the sour cherry puree

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss together cherries and sugar on a large rimmed baking sheet until fully coated; spread in a single layer. Roast in preheated oven until fruit is soft and juicy, about 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Using a silicone spatula, scrape fruit and any juices on baking sheet into a food processor or a blender; pulse until smooth, 8 to 10 pulses. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Discard solids. Refrigerate, uncovered, until completely cool, about 20 minutes. (You should have about 2 cups sour cherry puree, enough for 10 cocktails.)

Make the cocktail

If using the smoked salt, sprinkle some on a small plate. Lightly moisten rim of a rocks glass with water; dip rim in smoked salt. Combine mezcal, orange liqueur, and 3 tablespoons sour cherry puree in a cocktail shaker filled three-fourths full with ice. Place lid on shaker; shake vigorously until well combined, about 15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube.

1. Add white rum, Curaçao or Grand Marnie, and orgeat into a shaker with crushed ice. Shake for 10 seconds

2. Pour mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice.

3. Float the dark rum over the top by resting a bar spoon over the rocks glass and slowly pouring the dark rum.

4. Garnish with mint leaves and lime wedge

Make the apricot-nectarine puree

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss together apricots, nectarines, and sugar on a large rimmed baking sheet until fully coated; spread in an even layer. Roast in preheated oven until fruit is soft and juicy, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through roasting time. Let cool 5 minutes. Scrape fruit and any liquid on baking sheet into a food processor or blender; pulse until smooth, 5 to 8 pulses. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Refrigerate, uncovered, until completely cool, about 20 minutes. (You should have about 2 cups apricot-nectarine puree, enough for 8 cocktails.)

Make the cocktail

Muddle mint leaves and 1/4 cup apricot-nectarine puree in bottom of a julep cup. Add bourbon and crushed or pebbled ice to cover; stir until chilled, about 20 seconds. Fill cup with additional ice, adding enough to form a small mound on top. Pour 2 to 4 tablespoons apricot-nectarine puree over ice. Garnish with a mint sprig, and serve with a short julep straw.

To Prepare 8 Cocktails

Muddle 2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves and 2 cups apricot-nectarine puree in a pitcher. Add 2 cups bourbon and crushed or pebbled ice to cover, and stir until chilled, about 20 seconds. Serve drinks over ice, and garnish with mint sprigs.

1. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring just to a boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer the simple syrup to a heatproof bowl and let cool.

2. In a food processor or blender, puree the watermelon in batches until smooth. Strain the puree into a large bowl or pitcher. Stir in the simple syrup, tequila, lime slices, 3 mint sprigs and 1/2 cup of water.

3. To serve, pour the watermelon agua fresca into ice-filled glasses, leaving 1 inch at the top. Top off the drinks with Prosecco and garnish with mint leaves.

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the lemon wedges with the whole strawberries and mint leaves. Add ice and the rum, lemon juice and sugarcane syrup; shake well. Strain into crushed ice–filled highball glasses. Garnish with the berry halves and mint sprigs.

1. Place chopped cucumbers in a ziplock plastic freezer bag. Seal and freeze at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

2. Stir together salt, chili powder, and sumac in a small bowl. Spread mixture evenly over a small plate. Add lime juice to blender. Working with 1 glass at a time, rub the rims of 8 rocks glasses with reserved squeezed limes; roll rims in salt mixture until completely coated.

3. Transfer frozen cucumbers to blender with lime juice; add ice cubes, coconut water, tequila, simple syrup, and chopped cilantro. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes.

4. Divide cucumber mixture evenly among prepared glasses; garnish glasses with cucumber slices and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

1. Add the first seven ingredients to a highball glass filled with ice.

2. Top with cola, stir to combine, garnish with lemon wedge.