Summer Drink Ideas
A quenching round-up of summer drink ideas that will keep you hydrated and full of good ingredients while enjoying the sunshine.
I'm delivering an updated list of quenchers today. A quick round-up of summer drink ideas that will keep you hydrated and full of good ingredients while enjoying the sunshine. xo -h
Vanilla Rose Water: I've encountered vanilla water in various guises over the past year or two. It's fantastic. The first time was at Héctor Galván's La Casa Tropical studio. He made sparkling water with a small segment of beautiful Mexican vanilla dropped into it. And again, the other night, my friend Bonni made a version combining a vanilla segment with fresh, fragrant rose petals, and a splash of rose water. It was a beautiful refresher. I did this version of Bonni's (pictured above) and added ice-cubes frozen with a mix of summer berries to the rose petals and rose water.
Pineapple Coconut Water: If you've never had absolutely fresh pineapple juice, you are missing out on one of life's simple pleasures. I juiced my little pineapple, enjoyed the first glass straight, and proceeded to use the remaining in this quencher. Made with coconut water, lime, and straight ginger juice, this quencher is invigorating, fragrant, and hydrating. A pure, intense shade of yellow tips us off to its strength and vitality before ever picking up the glass. Top of my favorite summer drink ideas list? Close!
Paloma Rosa: One of our favorite cocktails, Palomas push all the buttons - bright, refreshing, tart, with a kiss of sweet and salty. They also couldn't be simpler. Combine the juices and tequila ahead of time, and mix in a flash.
Yellow Tomato Bloody Mary: Perfect this time of year, it's the bloody mary I want to drink - fragrant herbs, yellow heirloom tomatoes, shallots, and a bit of kick from vodka and serrano pepper.
Iced Green Tea: Cold-brewed after an initial hot splash of water to awaken the leaves. You can enjoy this chilled green tea straight, or accented with rose and a bit of whole coriander. It's a beautiful warm weather hydrator.
White Peach Maple Soda: Make this when stone fruit is at its sweet and ripest.
Blackberry Limeade: Put those plump, juicy summer berries to work. This blackberry limeade is a stunning jeweled-toned refresher, perfect for summer, from the cookbook Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose. Another idea for blackberry lovers is this spicy, homemade blackberry syrup. So good!
Green Juice: Everyone should have a green juice recipe in their repertoire, and this one is a ringer. Its heart and soul is straight green, not at all sweet, with a good amount of lemon-lime tang, and invigorating ginger lift.
Homemade Tarragon Soda: A recipe for homemade tarragon soda, and a long list of other ways you can put the tarragon syrup to use.
More Summer Drink Ideas
Other summer spirited drinks that have caught my eye lately:
- Hibiscus, Lemongrass, Basil and Honey Sweet Iced Tea (Half Baked Harvest)
- Louisa Shafia's Watermelon, Mint, and Cider Vinegar Tonic (Food52)
- Ranier Cherry Muddler (Sprouted Kitchen)
- Pink Grapefruit, Ginger, and Lemongrass Sake Cocktails (The Bojon Gourmet)
- Pink Gin & Tequila & Tonic (New York Times)
- Eleven Slushie Cocktails
Curious about what your go-to summer drink favorites are as well! -h
Premium Ad-Free membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest recipe collection PDF
-Weeknight Express recipe collection PDF
-Surprise bonuses throughout the year
Post Your Comment
Comments
Aww.. Summer might be over, but this is something that I would like to do even during the early fall. Soon! Will share my guests’ opinion. Thank you for sharing.
I love the vanilla rose water idea! (At first glance, I assumed it was going to be something with hibiscus.)
As for me, I’ve been loving this gin, lovage, and lime drink this summer.
These all looks so beautiful and refreshing! Can’t wait to try some. Thanks for sharing your list of ideas!
I’m unfortunately one of those who has never had fresh pineapple juice. I love the idea of yellow tomato bloody mary’s but I don’t drink them that often. The pineapple coconut water, however, just sounds divine!
I’ve never heard of vanilla in water but it sounds so good! By adding a “segment” of vanilla, do you mean a small piece of vanilla bean, or ?
I love your simple, sophisticated recipes. These drinks are inspiring, I don’t drink alcohol so need drinks that are a treat, and also super healthy. Thanks so much for the ideas!
Your pineapple coconut water is excellent and has become a top favourite with my family and friends. We are lucky to have plenty of fresh sweet pineapples in Australia and this drink is what I use them for most of the time. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Our favorite is fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, homemade limoncello and campari on ice. Very refreshing.
HS: YES. This sounds delicious.
These all look fantastic and perfect for this hot weather! I’be never even heard of vanilla rose water, but it sounds so intriguing!
Bummed that I’m on a low/no-acid diet right now and can’t have any of these (maybe the green tea if it’s not too strong). I’ll have to come up with my own concoction using figs, somehow, and that doesn’t sound nearly as refreshing your list! My fennel seed tea was pretty good, and a nice change from alkaline water.
Bookmarking this post as there are some lovely new ideas to try – love the sound of the pineapple juice in particular! My go-to thirst quenchers this summer have been hibiscus ague fresco (I make it with ginger as I find that little bit of heat really refreshing, to serve I add a squeeze of lime), iced matcha and iced matcha lattes, iced plain oolong when I want something simple and raspberry and rose lassis for when I come back from a hot and sweaty run!
I love the Louisa Shafia tonic that you mentioned above, but I make it with cactus fruit instead. It’s the most vibrant pink ever. Recipe (and tips for dealing with the prickly fruit) for anyone interested: http://pleasepassthepeas.com/prickly-pear-shrub/
I made the most lovely, refreshing infused water this weekend – rosemary, cucumber and mint. Last night I actually found myself choosing this over wine.
What a fun round-up of drinks! I’m not the biggest Bloody Mary fan but you have definitely tempted me with this yellow tomato version. I know my husband would love me if I made it, too!
As a Mississippi native, I love Martha’s stories and recipes. I add basil to the blackberry limeade or to a blueberry lemonade. It’s perfect!
Oh, how delicious! Is there a recipe for the vanilla rosewater, or can you explain the process a bit more?
My favorite summer beverage is basil lemonade. And when made with purple ruffles basil, it is a lovely shade of pink! Also lovely with the addition of vanilla vodka.
Oh, these sound lovely! My favorite discovery so far this summer has been how easy it is to make fresh mint tea. I steep a bunch of whole mint sprigs from the farmers market in hot water, stick the whole pitcher in the fridge. Voila!
Love the cold-brew green tea idea. (Especially after I accidentally bought a $7 iced matcha latte at Organic Avenue yesterday #fail)
I bet this would also be lovely with lavender and honey. Yum!
Great recipes! I love refreshing summer drinks and I have to try these out 🙂 No alcohol thought – 3 months pregnant 🙂
x M.
The Cherry Muddler sounds yummy!
Hi! I’ve never commented on here before, but, when preparing for a going-away party this past Friday, I remembered you had a few punch recipes floating around. So, I used your Winter Punch Recipe–which turns out to be quite summery as well. I added a titch more gin and I don’t think people complained. 🙂 So, thank you!
Otherwise, I’m making this by the gallon: black tea, a splash of simple syrup, mint sprigs and lemon juice. Then iced.
More Recipes
Weekly recipes and inspirations.
Popular Ingredients