If you’ve been thinking of giving flavored spirits a try, summer is the perfect time to get experimental. Tropical summer flavors make for top-tier summer sips, especially here in Florida where every day is a beach or pool day.
Keep reading for our top 10 spirits that capture the essence of summer—think tropically delicious flavors, juicy fruit infusions and endless vacation vibes.
Jim Beam has added a brand-new flavor to its lineup of flavored whiskeys, and it deserves a treasured spot on your home bar cart all summer long. The juicy, succulent pineapple flavor adds a brightness to the bourbon’s warmth and spice for a flavor combo like no other. Mix it with a lemon lime soda for an easy weekend or after work cocktail.
The Recipe:
3 ounces lemon lime soda
Add Jim Beam and lemon lime soda to a tall glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Not a fan of fruit-flavored spirits? No problem! Try 21SEEDS Cucumber Jalapeño Tequila for all your spicy margarita needs this summer. This tequila is infused with real cucumber, jalapeño and other natural flavors for a clean-drinking spirit that will yield refreshing cocktails all summer long.
The Recipe:
1 ½ ounces 21SEEDS Cucumber Jalapeño Tequila
1 ounce blackberry simple syrup*
1 ounce fresh lime juice
Blackberries
Jalapeño coins
Cucumber slices
*Blackberry simple syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup blackberries
For the blackberry simple syrup: Simmer equal parts sugar, water and fresh blackberries for 20–30 minutes. Let cool, then strain into an airtight container. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
For the cocktail: Add tequila, blackberry simple syrup and lime juice to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a cocktail pick skewered with a blackberries and a jalapeño coin.
A tasty, flavored rum is a must on any spirits shelf, and Palms offers plenty of mouthwatering options: strawberry, watermelon, mango, peach, pineapple, black cherry, banana, pink lemonade and, of course, coconut. Mix it with coconut water and fresh lemon juice for an adult lemonade that’s also delectable as a frozen treat if you pop it in a popsicle mold.
The Recipe:
3 ounces coconut water
2 ounces Palms Coconut Rum
1 ½ ounces fresh lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
Add coconut water, rum, lemon juice and simple syrup to a tall glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Cooper’s Mark recently introduced a blackberry whiskey to their catalogue, and it’s as good as it sounds. It has notes of ripe blackberries with hints of vanilla and oak with a smooth, slightly sweet and balanced finish. Perfect for whiskey sours or a blackberry sidecar like the recipe below!
The Recipe:
¼ cup fresh blackberries
1 ounce Cooper’s Mark Blackberry Whiskey
½ ounce Charles Regnier Triple Sec
¾ ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Fresh thyme
Muddle blackberries and whiskey in a cocktail shaker. Add triple sec, lemon juice and a sprig of thyme with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a skewer of blackberries and a sprig of thyme.
You might not think summertime when you think espresso, but riddle us this: where is Sabrina Carpenter in the "Espresso” music video?
Exactly.
When you need a summertime pick-me-up or caffeinated night cap, V5 Espresso Vodka is the perfect choice. Add a chocolate-coated, citrusy summer spin on the classic espresso martini by mixing in triple sec and chocolate liqueur instead of coffee liqueur.
The Recipe:
1 ½ ounces V5 Espresso Vodka
1 ounce espresso
½ ounce Charles Regnier Triple Sec
Add vodka, espresso, chocolate liqueur and triple sec to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Rub an orange peel around the rim of the glass to express the oils. Garnish with espresso beans and an orange peel.
SVEDKA Mango Pineapple Vodka tastes like a freshly scored Filipino mango with a side of juicy, vibrant pineapple. It doesn’t get more summery than that! Add some of this to your favorite juice or soda and get ready to laze around in your pool floaty allllll day.
The Recipe:
1 ounce SVEDKA Mango Pineapple Vodka
2 ounces orange juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
Splash of grenadine
Add vodka, rum, orange juice and pineapple juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass with fresh ice. Slowly pour grenadine for the “sunset” effect.
If you’ve never considered adding a bottle of Scotch to your spirits shelf, much less a flavored Scotch, allow us to introduce you to Buchanan’s Pineapple. This spirit blends the sophisticated structure of good Scotch with flavors of juicy pineapple and a hint of zesty citrus. It’s perfect for adding a hint of depth to your favorite fruity summer cocktails...like the Buchacolada, a twist on the traditional piña colada.
The Recipe:
1 ½ ounces Buchanan’s Pineapple Scotch
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce coconut cream
¾ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
Add scotch, pineapple juice, coconut cream and lime juice to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Top with a float of Angostura bitters. Garnish with a lime wheel.
If you’re that person who never stops yapping about the summer they studied abroad in Italy, we’re 99% certain you already own a bottle of Aperol Aperitivo. It’s the base ingredient of the famed Aperol Spritz, but this bitter orange aperitif is also lovely in a paper plane, negroni, boulevardier or simple Aperol and soda.
The Recipe:
3 ounces La Bella Prosecco DOC
2 ounces Aperol Aperitivo
1 ounce soda water
In a wine glass with ice, add Prosecco, Aperol and soda water. Garnish with an orange slice.
Lemonade is a summer staple beverage, and there’s no better base spirit for a boozy lemonade than Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka. This flavored spirit is no one-trick pony, though – just take a look at the juicy Peach on the Beach cocktail featured below. Either your mouth is watering or you’re a liar.
The Recipe:
1 ounce Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 ounce Stella Rosa Peach
Peach slice
Mint sprig
Combine vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a glass. Top with Stella Rosa Peach and stir. Garnish with a peach slice and some mint.
Rounding out our list is a guest favorite rum made right here in the Sunshine State. Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum is made by infusing real toasted coconut flakes into their award-winning rum. ABC guest Destin2Bfun said in their 5-star review on our site, “Truly the best flavored rum I've tasted. This has a real natural coconut flavor with no artificial taste. So good, I'll actually have it over rocks. Tastes great in mixed drinks.”
The Recipe:
1 ½ ounces Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum
1 ¼ ounces pineapple juice
¼ ounce cream of coconut
Nutmeg
Add rum, pineapple juice and cream of coconut to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Top with grated nutmeg.
