Spring Cocktails to Enjoy on Your Porch

There’s no better feeling than enjoying a spring cocktail out on the porch in the sunshine. Need a few new recipes to enjoy this year? We have you covered with some of our favorites. Whether you like vodka, tequila, or bourbon, these test your bartending skills with these 10 spring cocktails to enjoy on your porch.

Ingredients: 

• 2 ounces vodka
• 2 ounces mango juice
• 0.5 ounces of lime juice
• 0.5 ounce of mint simple syrup 

Instructions: 

1. In a highball or doubled old fashioned glass (10-12 ounces) filled with ice and add in ingredients.
2. Stir with a bar spoon to combine. 
3. Top off with club soda (or unflavored sparkling water) and give one final stir. 
4.  Garnish with extra mint! Then serve with any extra ingredients you have! 

Recipe from: Elle Talk

Ingredients: 

• Lemons (for real lemon juice): You must use fresh lemon juice for this cocktail. 
• Dried Lavender : To make the lavender simple syrup. Make sure it’s edible dried lavender! 
• Organic sugar 
• Water 
• Vodka: I prefer vodka, but feel free to sub in gin if you’d prefer a lemon lavender gin drink instead! 
• Ice 
• Cocktail shaker 
• Citrus Juicer/Reamer 
• Dried lemon slices (optional as a garnish) 

Instructions: 

1. First, make the lavender simple syrup. Add the water and sugar to a pan and heat over low/medium heat, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is beginning to bubble. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat, add in the dried lavender, and stir. Let the lavender steep in the syrup for about 10 minutes to infuse flavor, then strain the syrup to remove the dried lavender. 
2. Next, fill a cocktail shaker about ¾ full with ice. Then, add the fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and vodka to the cocktail shaker. 
3. Secure the lid or shaker tin and shake vigorously until the shaker frosts up. 
4. Strain the cocktail into two chilled glasses and garnish.

Recipe from: Short Girl Tall Order

Ingredients: 

• ½ pint fresh strawberries 
• ½ c. blanco tequila 
• 1.5 oz. Cointreau 
• 1 lime, juiced (about an ounce) 
• 1 tbsp honey, raw if you have it 
• 2-3 basil sprigs 
• ice 
• kosher salt 

Instructions: 

On the Rocks 

1. Pour about ¼ cup of kosher salt onto a small side plate. Rub the juiced lime rhine around the edge of two rocks glasses, then dip each glass into the plate of salt to rim the edges. Fill each glass with crushed ice or several ice cubs. 
2. Place the strawberries, tequila, cointreau, lime juice and honey into a blender. Blend thoroughly on high until the strawberries are pulverized. Finely chop the basil and place into the bottom of a decanter or cocktail shaker. Muddle the basil to release the flavors and oils. Pour the blended margarita ingredients into the decanter along with the muddle basil and stir vigorously to incorporate. Pour into salted, iced glasses and serve immediately. 

Frozen 

1. Pour about ¼ cup of kosher salt onto a small side plate. Rub the juiced lime rhine around the edge of two rocks glasses, then dip each glass into the plate of salt. 
2. Place the strawberries, basil, tequila, cointreau, lime juice, honey and a few handfuls of ice (6-8 cubses) into a blender. Blend thoroughly on high until the strawberries, basil, and ice are pulverized. Pour into the salted glasses and serve immediately. 

Recipe from: Our Salty Kitchen

Ingredients: 

• indigo gin
• pomegranate juice
• grapefruit seltzer
• lime

Instructions: 

1. Fill a 10 oz glass with ice. 
2. Add pomegranate juice, then the grapefruit seltzer. 
3. Fill a shot glass with 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin and pour slowly on top of seltzer. 
4. Garnish with lime wheel and enjoy. 

Recipe from: Superman Cooks

Ingredients: 

• 8 Thin Slices Peach plus more for garnish (about 1/3 of a peach) 
• 8 Blackberries plus more for garnish 
• 8 Mint Leaves plus more for garnish 
• 4 ounces Vodka * 
• 2 ounces Elderflower Liqueur 
• ½ Lemon – juiced 
• Agave Nectar to taste (optional) 
• Sprite to taste (optional) 

Instructions: 

1. In a cocktail shaker (or glass), muddle the blackberries, peach slices and mint leaves until the fruit releases its juices. 
2. Add in the vodka, liqueur, lemon juice, agave (if using) and ice. Shake vigorously until the shaker is very cold to the touch. 
3. Fill two rocks glass with ice. 
4. Strain cocktail into glasses and top with sprite if using. Garnish as desired. Enjoy! 

Recipe from: No Spoon Necessary

Ingredients: 

• 2 ounces grapefruit juice 
• 1/2 ounce gin 
• 1 teaspoon thyme simple syrup 
• 4 ounces Pellegrino, or sparkling water

Thyme Simple Syrup : Bring 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup water, and 2 sprigs of thyme to a simmer, until sugar dissolves. 

Instructions: 

1. Pour grapefruit juice, gin, and syrup into the glass over ice.
2. Add the pellegrino and stir.
3. Garnish with sprigs of thyme. 

Recipe from: Caitlin Confidential

Ingredients: 

• 1 bottle of pink lemonade 
• 1 bottle of brut or another dry sparkling wine 
• Raspberries 

Instructions: 

1. In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar and water and heat over MED heat.  Heat until sugar dissolves into water and mixture is clear.  Simmer 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat. 
2. Add lemon juice, mint leaves, and Bourbon, then let mixture cool. 
3. Pour mixture through a fine strainer into a large pitcher to remove solid particles and mint leaves.  Add ginger ale and stir to combine.  Add ice and lemon slices and serve cold. 
4. To serve as pictured:  Add a bit of water, lemon juice or light corn syrup to a shallow plate.  To another shallow plate, add coarse white sugar.  Dip the open end of glasses onto the liquid plate, then onto the sugar plate to create the sugar rim.  Serve drink over ice cubes, garnish with a lemon slice and sprig of mint. 

 Recipe from: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients: 

• 1 bottle of pink lemonade 
• 1 bottle of brut or another dry sparkling wine 
• Raspberries 

Instructions: 

1. In a champagne flute or wine glass, fill the glass 2/3 of the way with your brut or sparkling wine. 
2. Fill the rest of the way with pink lemonade, leaving some room to drop in a few raspberries. 
3. Don’t want as much alcohol? Switch the ratio! 

Recipe from: Kiersten Hickman

Ingredients: 

• 2 ounces vodka, chilled 
•  2 ounces freshly squeezed chilled pink grapefruit juice (about 1/2 grapefruit) 
•  juice of 1/2 a lime 
•  3 ounces chilled ginger beer (I prefer the spiciness of Fevertree) 
•  1 sprig fresh rosemary 
•  sliced grapefruit to garnish 

Instructions: 

1. Using a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, grapefruit juice, and lime juice. Shake until well mixed. 
2. Fill a copper mug (or a rocks glass) 3/4 full with crushed ice. Add cocktail mixture to the mug, top it off with chilled ginger beer and give it a brief stir. 
3. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and a slice of grapefruit and serve. 

 Recipe from: Tidy Mom

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 to 1 ounce brown sugar simple syrup (see note) 
• 1/2 large peach , diced (about 1/2 cup) 
• 3-4 large mint leaves 
• 2 ounces bourbon 
• splash ginger beer (preferred) or seltzer water , chilled 
• ice 
• fresh mint and peach slices , for garnish 

Instructions: 

1. Add peaches, mint leaves, and simple syrup to the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle to release the peach juices and mint oils. (Over-muddling the mint will cause it to become bitter.) 
2. Add bourbon, fill the shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. 
3. Top with ginger beer or seltzer water. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and a peach slice. 

 Recipe from: Striped Spatula

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups orange juice 
• 4 cups pineapple juice 
• 1 – 1 1/2 cup coconut rum 
• ice cubes 
• Slices of fruits for garnish/decoration optional 

Instructions: 

1. Mix orange juice, pineapple juice and coconut rum in a pitcher. Add more coconut rum if you like it more boozy. 
2. Add ice. 
3. Pour into glasses and serve! Add fruits to the side of glasses if desire. 
4. Enjoy! 

 Recipe from: Joyous Apron