Great Summer Cocktails: Up Your Entertaining Game With Punch

We have hit the midway point of the summer. The heat is still intense and patio season seems to have no end in sight. But as you stop and look at your bank account, you realize all that patio drinking has been adding up. And not in a good way. Here’s a great solution, spruce up your patio and invite some friends over. Don’t worry, we have some easy drink solutions for you…  Just make up a great big batch of summer cocktails, either in some giant pitchers or a punch bowl, and enjoy the afternoons, or evenings, of summer. Punches are no longer just for winter get-togethers, they are the perfect way to summer entertain (and save some dollars).

Here are some of our favourite summer cocktails.

Silly Goose Cocktail

• 750 ml Grey Goose Le Citron
• 1 litre Salted Watermelon Juice
• 250 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
• 250 ml Light Cinnamon Syrup
• Cucumbers as garnish

1. Combine all ingredients in a big jug. Stir well and chill in your fridge for a few hours.
2. When serving, add fresh ice cubes to a rocks glass and pour.
3. Garnish with cucumber wheels or ribbons.
4. Enjoy.

To make Salted Watermelon juice – carve out the meat of a watermelon and blitz it in a blender until liquefied. Strain the juice through a sieve. For a medium sized watermelon, the juice yield is usually 1 L. For every litre of juice, mix in 1 pinch of Maldon Salt. Stir well to combine.

To make light cinnamon syrup: bring 500ml of water up to a boil, add 500g of granulated sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add a 3-inch-long cinnamon stick to the syrup and let it infuse overnight. Bottle and keep refrigerated.

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Les Baccahanales Cocktail

• 750 ml Grey Goose Vodka
• 1L Lemon Juice
• 1L Water
• 500g Sugar
• 2 tbsp Turmeric
• 100g Sugar
• 6 Whole Tonka Beans

1. Combine 1L Lemon, 1L water, 500g sugar in a metal pot. Simmer on high heat but do not let the contents boil. Add spices; 2 tbsp powdered turmeric, 6 whole Tonka beans and 100g of peeled ginger.
2. Let it steep just under the point of simmering for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Add 1 whole bottle of GREY GOOSE Vodka. Let it sit overnight in a cool area in an airtight container. Bottle and keep refrigerated.
5. When serving, pour 1.5 parts of chilled Grey Goose Mix into a champagne flute and top with 2.5 parts of Champagne or French Sparkling wine.