I'm having some friends over for a good old fashioned bbq, and we've decided to get pished in style with cocktails - one problem, we're all total newbies to it. The furthest I've ever stretched is to pina coladas.

I'm looking for light, summery drinks (nothing scary!) to hopefully match the evening, and I've also got an excess of vodka, mailbu and limoncello knocking about. Something I can throw together when half cut would also be a bonus, so complex recipes probably aren't the best idea.

Thanks in advance!

Mojitos are fanatastic, taste really fresh and delicious!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojito
I like to add fresh raspberries to mine

An obvious answer, but Pimm's. Dead easy, just make up in jugs. 1:3 parts Pimms and lemonade, add sliced fruit , cucumber, mint and ice.

If you want to get really sozzled you could add some gin, or use a sparkling wine like cava instead of lemonade.

Market Kitchen is currently having a competition for the bast summer cocktail. The first winner was a Long Island Iced Tea, which is probably my fave but you need a lot of bottles to make it properly.

They have recipies for all the competitors though (mojito, mai tai, run punch etc). Check out the website.


My fave drink of the moment is vokda, red charge (cranberry), dr pepper and sprite.

It's fruity but light. You can change the ingredients. Use lemonade or cola. Add a couple of dashes of angusturas bitters etc.

I love summer cocktail time. I have been trying to conjure up a new recipe so if anyone has any ideas using Gin please let me know. I shall go with the French 75 for my recommendation for a refreshing summer cocktail. As you are into BBQ mode you might want to break this one later on in the night as a specialty.

Instructional video shows you what to do.

I would also recommend the John Collins for the actual BBQ. Recipe is as folows:
2 PARTS Beefeater London Dry Gin

1 PART Fresh lemon juice

3 BARSPOONS Castor sugar

BUILD Ingredients into a Catalina glass over crushed ice and churn

TOP UP Soda water

FINISH With another topping of crushed ice

GARNISH With 2 lemon slices and serve with 2 straws

Lemon Cooler Cocktail:

* 1 scoop lemon sorbet
* 1 part lemon vodka
* 1 part limoncello (lemon liquer)
* ice cubes
* top up with traditional lemonade
* 1 slice of fresh lemon for garnish


Also Harvey Wallbangers are good on hot days (vodka, fresh orange, ice and a Galliano float).

I quite like one I found recently called a Jamaican Sunset -

1 Part Vokda
1 Part Malibu
Ice
Orange Juice

Put those ingredients in a shaker, shake it up and pour into a long glass, then pour in a little grenadine to give the effect of the sunset, it's yummy!

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm sure they'll go down well. (Hopefully they'll stay down too!)

Woo Woo's are yummy...

peach schnapps
vodka
cranberry juice

I prefer it to have more of a peach taste to it but mix it all to taste.. With lots of ice. Lush! Enjoy...

I love Pimms.

I always make mine with ginger ale instead of lemonade though, and frozen raspberries for the fruit (no need for ice then, and the boozy raspberries that you don't eat while you're drinking are GREAT on ice cream later) - and sometimes I add a good dash of a liqueur like raspberry or whatever, and limoncello works well with it, which you've already got!

Have you tried the Monkey Gland?

Equal parts fresh orange juice & gin, a measure of pernod*, shake with ice, strain and pour. Add a little grenadine which sinks to the bottom giving a pleasing two-tone red/orange effect.

Alternatively you can shake in the grenadine, but I prefer the former method.

Another refreshing Summery drink is dry vermouth and lemonade, in roughly half & half ratio.

*the classic ingredient is actually absinthe not pernod, but good luck if you want to try it.

Brilliant! Shall try that next time.

Thanks Randy.. Will have to try out the Monkey Gland this weekend. If you were to make it would you use the absinthe or the pernod? each to their own i suppose. Perhaps ill try both or will i be on the floor in no time..

I'd use absinthe if I had any in, but it's a wee bit pricey. I should caution you that the overriding taste of the Monkey Gland is aniseed, not gin, even though gin is the dominant spirit by volume. It's a delicious cocktail though.

If you're looking for more gin-tasting things, which I get the hint of from your username, there's always the martini, which is frankly just a delivery system for gin.