3 Cocktails for Summer At The Pool, Campground & Beach
for BCLiving
July 2021
The heat is definitely on, and you deserve a cocktail while you try to keep cool. Here are three drinks designed specifically for summer fun.
A punch you can have while you dip your toes into the pool, kiddie or otherwise, a woods-inspired gin frizz to enough after you set up camp, and a sangria to sip while you read a book at the beach.
Pool-Blue Punch
This is a fun one because you get to match the blue of the cocktail to the blue of the pool! It’s pretty boozy, so maybe make some blue Kool-Aid for the kids if you need to. Fun tip if you don’t have a reservoir for ice in your bowl, freeze some grapes and toss them in if it starts to warm up, this way the punch won’t get watered down.
Makes: ~3L of Punch
Ingredients:
- 750ml Vodka
- 2L of lemonade
- several splashes of Blue Curacao
- 2-3 lemons
- sugar or simple syrup (optional)
- lemon flavored sparkling water (optional)
Instructions:
Mix vodka and lemonade together in whatever you’ll be serving the punch in. Add small amounts of blue curacao and stir until you get the color you want.
Give the punch a try and decide if you want it more on the tart-side or sugary-side. If you want more sugar, you can either stir in some white or raw sugar, or add it via a simple syrup.
Slice a lemon into rounds and add to the punch just before it’s ready to be served (or else they’ll start to become quite blue).
For serving, add a lemon wedge, and if you’d like some bubbles, or to cut it down a bit, you can top off with some sparkling water or soda.
Into The Woods Rosemary Gin Fizz
When you’re surrounded by nature and the fresh woodland air, it just makes sense to have a drink with botanicals in it. Prep the simple syrup before you head to the campground, and bring some fresh rosemary along for garnish. You can use the extra for camping potatoes at breakfast the next day.
And you can make the drink even prettier by using some purple gin from Victoria Distillers.
Makes: 1 Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz gin
- 1oz rosemary simple syrup
- 0.5oz lemon juice (approx. half a lemon)
- fresh rosemary sprigs (additional for garnish)
- club soda
- ice
Instructions:
To make the simple syrup, bring ½ cup of water to a boil, turn off the heat, then add ½ cup of sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add a large sprig of rosemary and let steep for an hour then remove the rosemary and cool the syrup in the fridge.
This can be doubled and should keep for about a week in the fridge.
To make the cocktail, fill your camping glass with ice, then add the gin, simple syrup and lemon juice. Top with soda (you don’t need tonic as you’re using the simple syrup), and garnish with rosemary and admire your camp set up.
Sand & Sunshine Sangria
One of the best things about sangria is that it’s hard to mess it up and it’s incredibly versatile. You can pick the fruit that you enjoy, the wine you prefer, and the sweetness level.
I went with a dry white wine for this one, so be sure to give the mix a taste and then determine if you’d like more sweetness (add in some simple syrup).
I also wanted some bubbles, so I added in sparkling wine too right into the glasses at the beach.
If you want to skip the alcohol, use a dry non-alcoholic wine, and add half a cup of orange juice instead of the triple sec, and ginger ale to top it off.
Ingredients:
- 750mL bottle of white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
- ½ cup triple sec
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1 granny smith apple, thinly sliced
- 1.5 cup of grapes
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
- sparkling wine, to top (optional)
Instructions:
Slice up your fruit and add to the base of your pitcher. Fill with the white wine, add the triple sec and stir.
Give it a taste and decide if you’d like to add some simple syrup/sugar, and tweak until you have it the way you’d like it.
Chill for at least a few hours.
Pour into glasses (ice optional), top with sparkling wine, and garnish with fresh mint.
Should be consumed within 24 hours.
CHEERS!
