Updated June 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM EDT
Summer is so close you can almost taste it. As the weather gets warmer and the sunlight more golden, you may need a great drink to keep you cool in the hot sun.
But what is the perfect drink for high temperatures? We put that question to two experts in mixology 鈥� 鈥嬧�� , a home bartender, cocktail content creator, and author of 鈥�,鈥� and , an independent bartender and award-winning mixologist, known online as The Drinking Coach.
Here are five questions about summer drinks 鈥� full of tips and advice to make the perfect refreshing beverage for the coming months.
What makes a summer drink? What distinguishes the summer part of the drink from the other seasons?
Hannah Chamberlain: 鈥淥ne thing that I really look for is something that鈥檚 icy, refreshing, and that stands up really well in the heat and something ideally that isn鈥檛 too boozy 鈥� I often think of the Martini as sort of one of the last things to serve as like an outdoor summer drink because you need it to be ice cold. It鈥檒l warm up too quickly and oh, boy, a glass of warm gin in the heat? Not something that鈥檚 too appealing. So I love things like spritzes like juleps, anything like that that鈥檚 going to keep you nice and cool.鈥�
How much do you think plays into people鈥檚 perfect summer drink choices?
Tiffanie Barriere: 鈥淚 love this question and I love the energy behind it because summer is just connected to joy. During the other months, we鈥檙e thinking school 鈥� our corporate life, the children. But the day summer hits and school鈥檚 out for summer and the energy is there 鈥� As adults, we want that beverage in our mouth, of course. But then sometimes we go all the way back to that favorite vacation or that moment with your spouse or 鈥� .even as a kid. So again, Southern woman, we鈥檙e all about the watermelon flavor, we鈥檙e all about lemonade, we鈥檙e all about teas, because those gave us the biggest joy as kids. And honestly, sometimes it has sugar in it and sugar makes us kind of happy during the summertime.鈥�
If you鈥檙e going to craft the ideal summer cocktail, what would you design for that?
Chamberlain: 鈥淚 make this summer punch every single year and it鈥檚 a play on an Arnold Palmer. So it鈥檚 got some peach in there, it鈥檚 got some whiskey, it鈥檚 got the iced tea, the lemonade and a little bit of ginger 鈥� You don鈥檛 want something too fussy when you鈥檙e entertaining in the summer. You want to put something out that people can serve themselves. And just this romantic idea of sitting on a veranda, sitting on a porch, enjoying the heat and enjoying a cool drink.鈥�
Barriere: 鈥淪o I鈥檓 seeing, you know, ice chest full of champagne or our favorite wines and just having kind of a grab there. But if we鈥檙e having a cocktail, again, always talking about those Southern flavors, a lovely spiked lemonade, a fruit lemonade, even a lovely sangria, is really nice. You want to batch those great flavors so we can continue to be barefoot and sit on that porch and have some fun.鈥�
Lemonade and tea are classic drinks of the summer. How can you jazz them up for the season?
Chamberlain: 鈥淚 love adding some floral flavors to lemonade. And I think tea is a really beautiful way to do that 鈥� I love doing like a jasmine tea with my lemonade 鈥� My fridge is constantly full of syrups like rhubarb or blackberries. So adding a little bit of that in there too is a really nice way to kind of personalize it or give it some special interest.鈥�
Barriere: 鈥淪un tea is the way I grew up having tea 鈥nd those tannins in tea 鈥� it really just goes really well with the citrus. So the tannins in your favorite teas, hibiscus tea, jasmine tea, chai tea 鈥� goes really really fun. So it just gives you some layers of flavor.鈥�
5: If you could only drink one drink for the entire summer, what would it be?
Chamberlain: 鈥淚t鈥檚 called a Caipirinha and it uses cacha莽a and muddled lime and sugar. And the thing that I love about it is鈥� the lime is so different in a Caipirinha because of the muddling and the citrus oil and nothing is more refreshing for me than a Caipirinha in the summer.鈥�
Barriere: 鈥淚 think I could drink champagne all summer鈥ut outside of that goodness, I鈥檓 going to have to go with the 鈥� most popular cocktail in the world: the margarita.鈥�
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produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Saxena also adapted it for the web.
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Summer drink recipes from Tiffanie Barriere and Hannah Chamberlain
Cheers leader
This elderflower and honeydew spritz is a gentle, floral, and fruity twist on the classic Aperol version. It鈥檚 also low in alcohol, making it ideal for day drinking on sunny porches in hot weather. This infused liqueur can also be used in a Margarita, or you can add a splash to a G&T.
- Cubed ice, for stirring
- 2 ounces Honeydew-Infused Elderflower Liqueur (recipe below)
- 3 ounces prosecco
- Squeeze of lime, optional
- 1 ounce club soda
- Honeydew slices or honeydew cutouts, for garnish
Fill a goblet with ice, then add the infused elderflower liqueur, prosecco, lime (if using), and club soda. Stir to combine. Garnish with thinly sliced honeydew or honeydew cutouts made with small cookie cutters and serve.
Honeydew-infused elderflower liqueur
Makes 1 cup
- 1 cup chopped honeydew melon
- 1 cup elderflower liqueur (St-Germain preferred)
Add the melon and liqueur to a 16-ounce mason jar. Allow it to infuse in a cool, dark place for approximately 3 days, agitating it occasionally. Strain out the solids with a fine-mesh strainer, and then it鈥檚 ready to use. Store it in a clean mason jar in the fridge and use it within 5 to 7 days (discard earlier if it changes in flavor, scent, or appearance).
Secret weapon
Serves 1
Vegetal, juicy, and fresh, this recipe is an unstoppable force when it comes to impressing your guests. This mint syrup can also be used in a Mint Julep or Gimlet.
- 1 clean yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut into strips (reserve 1 slice for garnish)
- 2 ounces gin or tequila blanco
- 1.5 ounces pineapple juice
- .75 ounce fresh lime juice
- .5 ounce St-Germain or ginger liqueur .25 ounce Mint Syrup (recipe below)
- Cubed ice, for shaking
- A large ice cube, for serving
- Yellow bell pepper slice or cutouts, for garnish
Add half of the pepper strips to a cocktail shaker; reserve a piece for the garnish.
Add the gin, then muddle thoroughly to infuse the pepper flavor into the gin. Next, add the pineapple and lime juices, St-Germain, and syrup to the shaker, then fill it with ice. Shake for approximately 15 seconds, then double strain (using a Hawthorne and fine- mesh strainer) over a large ice cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with a slice of yellow bell pepper (or make bell pepper cutouts with a cookie cutter) and serve.
Mint syrup
Makes 1录 cups
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup clean mint leaves
Add the water to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, then stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Turn the heat to low and add the mint leaves (try not to include many stems, as it can spoil the flavor). Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool. Strain out and discard the solids. Store the syrup in a mason jar in the fridge and use it within 5 to 7 days (discard sooner if it begins to change in appearance, scent, or flavor).
Watermelon hustle
- 2 oz blanco tequila OR favorite spirit OR Zero Proof
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz watermelon juice
- 0.5 oz agave syrup
- 3 fresh basil leaves
Shake everything with ice, double strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, and garnish with a watermelon cube and a basil leaf. It鈥檚 cooling, herbaceous, and feels like a rooftop day party in a glass.
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