Satisfying Your Thirst – Refreshing Summer Drink Recipes

In the sun drenched days and long warm nights of summer, it’s so nice to kick back with a homemade, healthful and refreshing drink. Whether you call it a cooler, mocktail, virgin, or simply a non-alcoholic cocktail, it doesn’t need to be bright blue or have an umbrella in it to get the true taste of summer. In fact, by incorporating seasonal produce into a homemade drink, you’ll be much more in tune with the summer palette of sweet, ripe fruit.

Entertaining? Offer a non-alcoholic drink in addition to your beers and cocktails that isn’t Pepsi, Sprite and water – it’s a super easy way to expand your menu in delightful ways. And with the proper glassware, and in some cases a blender, you’ll be flipping cocktails like Tom Cruise in no time.

Try these recipes:

Sparking Strawberry Lemonade

Annie, who by day is a resident physician living in Indianapolis, Indiana, cooks, bakes and entertains in addition to keeping her gorgeous blog. Yes, she does seem to do it all, but don’t be intimidated. Her recipe for Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade is not as intimidating as her resume. Annie uses fresh strawberries and lemon, sugar and sparkling water or club soda.

Check out the full recipe on Annie’s Eats here.

Cucumber Basil and Mint Cocktail

Emily is a nutritionist who loves all things food. She blogs her eating journey which includes a moderate variety from the healthy to the indulgent. So when she wants to sit back and enjoy a summer spritzer in the sun, she does. And we like that. Emily uses vodka, a cucumber basil and mint simple syrup, soda water and garnishes with cucumber slices, basil and mint leaves. How refreshing.

Check out the full recipe on A Nutritionist Eats here.

Peach Cooler

The folks at White on Rice Couple, who write about cooking and photography, welcomed Margaret of Away to Garden to write about summer foods. She touched on the stone fruits that are ubiquitous in the summer months and offers a refreshing cocktail with the optional inclusion of gin. Using fresh peach puree, fresh orange juice, simple syrup, club soda, garnished with slice of peach and a sprig of thyme, she makes a really elegant and timely cooler.

Check out the full recipe on White on Rice here.

Watermelon Jalapeno Cocktail Cooler

Melody Fury, who Andrew Zimmern, the host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, described as a woman after his own heart, will suck the head off a live shrimp. Hey, she eats a lot so sucking the heads of live shrimp comes up from time to time. We guess. Either way, we kinda love her too. Melody has a recipe for a Watermelon Jalapeno Cocktail, which uses limes, herbs, club soda and simple syrup in addition to the watermelon and jalapeno. This cocktail gives the sweetness of the watermelon a nice run for it’s money with the kick from the Jalapeno pepper. This is an adult mocktail.

Check out the full recipe on Melody Fury’s Culinary Misadventures here.

Tasting The Essence

If you’re looking for something even more simple than blended drinks, you can always add sliced lemons, cucumber, orange or whole raspberries into a pitcher of cold water for a very slightly flavored water, pulling out just the essence of whatever fruit you are using as your flavor spike. It’s super refreshing, there is no sugar at all, and it’ll keep you refreshed all day long.

If you use ginger, strain the water after 15 minutes and either drink it straight, add lemon or use it as a base for cocktails, whatever! You can even add ginger to soda water for a version of ginger beer. Yum!

Grab Some Supplies

Did we get you good and inspired, not to mention thirsty? Get on the horn and start planning your next summer cocktail party. If you’re in need of some supplies, try Krrb for your next mouth-watering occasion.

Check out this drink-ware and blender set from Steph’s Krrb corner.

Make it special with these martini glasses on Danielle’s Krrb corner.

Or grab this decanter to elegantly display your summer drink from Kenny B’s Krrb corner.