Ten cocktails not to be missed for spring summer

With the arrival of spring, the desire to be outdoors and to make tasty aperitifs with seasonal products returns. Of course, there are fruits and vegetables of the period but cocktails also have their own seasonality and if some of them are good for the winter months, for the warmer ones there are others to taste.

The experts know this very well and our trusted bartender, Emilio Socci, concept & Bar Manager of the AT HOME Exclusive Drinkers Club, also knows perfectly well.

“In the ranking of the 10 most drunk and recommended cocktails for the summer, certainly those prepared with fresh fruit, rich in color, already captivating for the presentation and the garnishes but also, why not, for their inevitable history. Even behind the recipe for a simple cocktail, in fact, tales and legends can hide that speak of great loves, pirates conquering unexplored lands and distant journeys to warm places that can be imagined".

SUMMER COCKTAIL: LIST

• Mojito
• Daiquiri
• Margarita
• Moscow Mule
• Pina Colada
• Mint Julep
• Mai Tai
• Bramble
• Russian Spring Punch
• Camparissoa
• Achinos

1. Cocktail MOJITO

In my list of cocktails for spring-summer, we can only start with the undisputed king of the period: the MOJITO, created by Barman Angel Martinez in 1942 and made with ingredients made in Cuba, but easily available: rum, cane sugar , yerba buena (here damnably replaced with mint), lime juice and sparkling water. Simple ingredients that well combined together make Mojito one of the most famous and drunk drinks in the world and on which many legends run. It has always (perhaps erroneously) been associated with the well-known writer Ernest Hemingway, who in the period in which he was in Cuba to write "The old man and the sea" quoted the drink with the phrase "Mi Mojito en la Bodeguita, mi Daiquiri en la Floridita".

2. Cocktail DAIQUIRI

So, the second drink that comes to me is definitely the Hemingway Daiquiri or the PAPA DOBLE or HEMINGWAY SPECIAL. Unlike the classic Cuban Daiquiri (rum, sugar and lime juice shaken and served), it is decidedly less sweet in taste thanks to the presence of grapefruit juice and a slightly higher quantity than that of the classic Daiquiri. It is said that the great writer was diabetic and for which he did not prefer to drink very sugary drinks, so he would have asked the Barman to completely replace the sugar with grapefruit juice, then a double ration of Rum, a teaspoon of Maraschino, the juice of half. lime and half a grapefruit, all shaken and filtered into a double cocktail glass, hence the adjective "Doble".

3. Cocktail MARGARITA

The third drink that cannot be avoided in this period is the timeless Margarita's, based on Tequila, Triple Sec and Lime Juice, with the classic rim of the glass stained with salt. Lately, among lovers of MARGARITA'S the alternative called TOMMY'S MARGARITA is very popular and appreciated, which presents in its variant the presence of Agave nectar instead of Triple Sec.

4. Cocktail MOSCOW MULE

The fourth cocktail that must be on your drink list is certainly the much talked about and discussed MOSCOW MULE. Chatted because it gave way to raise awareness and depopulate the use and consumption of ginger root, discussed because it leaves many drinkers and operators in the sector the perplexity of the optional addition or not inside the cucumber slices. Its characteristic is certainly the use of the "Mug", that is a cup preferably made of copper, where 2 oz of Vodka, the juice of half a lime are poured inside and then filled with Ginger Beer. that is, a soda drink obtained from the fermentation of ginger root. An alternative to the classic MOSCOW MULE can be tasted and requested at the At Home Exclusive Drinkers Club, called SPEEDY MULE where tequila, sugar syrup and half lime juice, with the addition of a sweetly pounded green Italian chilli and the addition of ginger beer, make this variant a much loved and appreciated drink by many.

5. Cocktail PINA COLADA

The fifth drink that I would like to offer you is the stainless PINA COLADA, which has always charmed the palates of women with its delicate and fresh flavor thanks to the presence of milk, or coconut syrup, and pieces or fresh pineapple juice. , all pureed with the addition of ice in a blender. Its birth dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, when it immediately became the Puerto Rican national drink, a sort of icon of Hawaii.

6. Cocktail MINT JULEP

The sixth drink that is preferred on hot days is certainly MINT JULEP, the drink of horse racing, so it is often identified. He became famous thanks to the 2 greatest minutes of US sport: The Kentucky Derby. It is said that during the competition dedicated to thoroughbreds, Mint Julep was the must drink, served in a silver cup (Julep Cup), which creates a layer of ice on the outside that allows you to keep it well refrigerated throughout. the duration of the race. Based on Bourbon Whiskey, a mix of water, sugar and lightly pounded mint leaves, this drink is much loved and appreciated all over the world.

7. Cocktail MAI TAI

At number seven on this list I cannot fail to mention the MAI TAI, emblem of "tiki" mixing (Polynesian deity originating from the Marquesas Islands), since since the 1950s it became fashionable in the United States to depict Polynesia, through food, the architecture, the cocktails, the bars, the lounges, the bowling alleys ... everything became "tiki" style. One of these most representative cocktails was certainly the MAI TAI, which in Polynesian means "beautiful thing". White rum, barley syrup, orange curacao and lime juice shaken and poured into these glasses representing the faces and faces of the Maohi Gods, all sprinkled with high-strength dark spiced rum, cinnamon, mint, oranges, and so on. has more to garnish and make a drink with a unique and exceptional flavor scenic.

8 -9. Cocktail BRAMBLE e Cocktail RUSSIAN SPRING PUNCH

The BRAMBLE and the RUSSIAN SPRING PUNCH, created by the contemporary Bartender Dick Bradsell who died in 2016, must absolutely be entered at number eight and nine. The BRAMBLE, which in 2015 was mentioned in the list of the best 50 drinks in the world, leaves everyone amazed: Gin, Sugar syrup, lemon juice and blackberry liqueur make this drink an easily forgotten blend for drinkers who have the opportunity to savor it.

The RUSSIAN SPRING PUNCH, on the other hand, is aimed at a public with the most demanding palate: vodka, creme de cassis, sugar syrup and lemon juice, all filled with prosecco or champagne in the case, garnished with lots of freshly cut fruit. This drink is a good, classy and more masculine alternative to the now banal Spritz.

10. Cocktail CAMPARISSOA

And finally the number ten. If you really want to catapult yourself into a new and totally exceptional adventure, you could always try my alternative proposals made in by At Home: the CAMPARISSOA, a sort of Italian-Caribbean Long Island where Gin joins the Passion Fruit liqueur , with Triple Sec and the strong flavor of Bitter Campari, filling it all with a splash of fresh lemonade.

+ Cocktail ACHINOS

If this still does not satisfy you, then you could try something even more extrovert like the ACHINOS, where the sea enters decisively and as the main protagonist in our alcoholic compound: vodka, fresh orange juice and lemon juice and a teaspoon of syrup of sugar, they are mixed and emulsified with the pulp of a sea urchin, all filtered and poured into a flute and filled with chilled champagne!

And so ... go on all summer, we are waiting for you !!!

Cheers...

Discover here our TOP 10 winter cocktail!