8 delicious, easy cocktails you can make at home this Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the de facto start of summer, when long, hot days demand cool drinks. 

This year, we’re looking forward to breaking out our bartending kit and impressing friends with balanced, tantalizing classics like the Sea Breeze, Paloma and Long Island Iced Tea. We’re opting for drinks that don’t require a laundry list of ingredients, but hit all the right notes on coolness and flavor.

So, whether you’re having a party and are in search of slushy frozen concoctions perfect for pitchers, or you’re keeping things low-key with single-serve cocktails, we’ve got eight drink recipes to help keep you refreshed during the holiday weekend.

Long Island Iced Tea

If you have a stacked liquor cabinet – or a surplus of airplane bottles stashed away – this is a deceptively strong summer cocktail that tastes more like sweet tea.  

• ½ oz. of white rum
• ½ oz. of vodka
• ½ oz. of tequila
• ½ oz. of gin
• ½ oz. of triple sec 
• ¾ oz. of simple syrup
• ¾ oz. of lemon juice
• 1 oz. of Coca-Cola. 
• Lemon for garnish

1. Fill a glass with ice.

2. Pour vodka, tequila, white rum, gin, triple sec, simple syrup and lemon juice into glass. 

3. Stir together. 

4. Top with cola and garnish with lemon slice. 

Sea Breeze

This retro cocktail looks nice and is exceptionally easy to make – which is handy when you’re making refills after a dip in the water. We like the tartness of unsweetened cranberry juice, but if you like your cocktails on the sweeter side, use cranberry cocktail instead or add 1 to 1.5 teaspoons simple syrup to the mix.  

• 1.5 ounces vodka
• 1.5 ounces grapefruit juice
• 3 ounces unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1 lime wedge

1. Pour vodka, grapefruit juice and cranberry juice in a glass and stir.

2. Add ice.

3. Garnish with lime wedge.

Hurricane 

One of our favorite cocktails originated at Pat O’Brien’s bar in New Orleans in the 1940s. It’s perfect if you want to re-create that canceled trip to the French Quarter in your living room, but be careful: The high rum content sneaks up on you. 

• 2 oz. of dark rum
• 2 oz. of light rum
• 2 oz. of passion fruit juice
• 1 oz. of orange juice
• 1 tbsp. of simple syrup
• 1 tbsp. of grenadine
• ½ of lime
• Orange and maraschino cherry for garnish 

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. 

2. Pour light rum, dark rum, passion fruit juice, orange juice, simple syrup, grenadine and lime juice into cocktail shaker. 

3. Squeeze half a lime into shaker and close tightly. 

4. Shake well – until outside of cocktail shaker is frosty – and pour into glass with ice. 

5. Garnish with cherry and orange slice. 

Paloma

If you’re out of margarita mix or Cointreau, the Paloma is a fun, fruity alternative for a Mexican tequila-based cocktail. 

• 2 oz. of tequila
• 1 oz. of grapefruit juice 
• ½ oz. of lime juice
• 1 oz. of club soda
• ¾ oz. of simple syrup 
• Lime and/or grapefruit for garnish 
• Salt for rim (optional) 

1. If desired, rim a glass with salt. Lightly wet the rim of the glass with water or a lime wedge, before rolling it in a small plate of salt. 

2. Fill the glass with ice. 

3. Pour in tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice and simple syrup.

4. Stir together. 

5. Top with club soda and add lime and/or grapefruit for garnish. 

Pina Colada

Bring the beach to your backyard with a Pina Colada, which can be blended or poured over ice. 

• 2 oz. of white rum 
• 2 oz. of pineapple juice 
• 1 oz. of canned coconut cream
• 1 oz. of canned coconut milk
• Ground cinnamon, angostura bitters, pineapple and cherry for garnish

1. Pour ice into cocktail shaker. 

2. Combine light rum, coconut cream, coconut milk and pineapple juice in cocktail shaker and close tight.  

3. Shake well – until outside of cocktail shaker is frosty – and pour into glass with ice. 

4. Lightly sprinkle ground cinnamon on top and add a dash of bitters. 

5. Garnish with pineapple wedge and cherry. 

Crimson Jim 

Also known as a Lounge Lizard or Mixy’s, depending on who you ask, this is basically a glorified rum and coke with a slightly bitter, cherry-flavored kick. (Trust us, it’s delicious.) 

• 2 oz. of dark rum
• ¾ oz. of amaretto liqueur 
• 4 oz. of Coca-Cola
• Lemon or lime for garnish. 

1. Fill a glass with ice. 

2. Pour in dark rum, amaretto and cola. 

3. Stir together and garnish with lime or lemon slice. 

John Collins

A simple happy hour staple that’s light and refreshing. If you prefer vodka, simply sub out the gin to make a Vodka Collins.

• 1½ oz. of gin 
• ½ oz. of simple syrup
• 1 oz. of lemon juice
• 2 oz. of club soda
• 1 dash of angostura bitters (about 8 drops) 
• Lemon and cherry for garnish 

1. Fill a glass with ice. 

2. Pour gin, simple syrup and lemon juice into the glass. 

3. Stir together.

4. Top with club soda and a dash of bitters. 

5. Garnish with cherry and lemon slice. 

Manhattan

If you still like to imagine you’re in “Mad Men,” this is a boozy classic that’s easy to make. It can also be served straight up (without ice) or on the rocks – whichever you prefer. 

• 2 oz. of whiskey (rye, bourbon or Canadian)
• ¾ oz. of sweet vermouth
• 1 to 2 dashes of angostura bitters (about 8-16 drops) 
• Cherry and/or orange for garnish

1. Pour ice into cocktail shaker.

2. Pour whiskey, vermouth and bitters into shaker and close tight. 

3. Shake cocktail and strain into glass (with or without ice).

4. Garnish with cherry and/or orange slice. 

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game: 

• Hard-boiled eggs: Two easy ways to hard boil eggs to perfection
• Creamy risotto:Pearl couscous is the trick ingredient for creamy risotto
• Fried rice:The secret to making great fried rice at home
• Jambalaya:How to make Cheesecake Factory’s Cajun jambalaya pasta at home
• Mustard makes it better:How to use mustard not as a condiment but as an ingredient
• Pasta salad:Perfect every time: The only pasta salad recipe you’ll ever need
• Cranberry sauce:Three cranberry sauce recipes you need to try
• Sugar cookies:‘The best sugar cookie I’ve ever baked.’ Here’s the recipe.
• Kale can be tough:Raw kale can be tough. Here’s how salt can help

Article source: https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/697720274/0/usatoday-lifetopstories~delicious-easy-cocktails-you-can-make-at-home-this-Memorial-Day/