Summer Cocktails

We're exactly two weeks out from Memorial Day, so we need to gear up for fresh summer cocktails, like these:

Watermelon Tequila

Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 3/4 cups blueberries
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
1 1/4 cups silver tequila (try Sauza 901 or Peligroso Silver)
Ice

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool. As an alternative, use store-bought simple syrup.

In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.

In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.

Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

Sunset Punch

Because sometimes, a punch bowl is the best choice.

Ingredients

8 ounces bourbon (Buffalo Trace or Maker's Mark)

8 ounces white vermouth (Cinzano Bianco)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus lemon slices for garnish

1/4 cup simple syrup 

12 ounces chilled Gosling's ginger beer

In a punch bowl, combine the bourbon, vermouth, lemon juice and syrup. Add the ginger beer and lemon slices and serve over ice.

The Colorado Cooler

From the state that "enjoyed" snow on Mother's Day for the second consecutive year.

Ingredients
1 ounce chilled club soda
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce Simple Syrup
2 ounces malt whiskey, preferably Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey
Ice
2 dashes of celery bitters (optional)
4 cherries, preferably Rainier, pitted, plus 1 cherry for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the 4 pitted cherries. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients except the club soda and garnish. Shake well. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass, stir in the club soda and garnish with a cherry.

California Caipirinha

Pitcher drinks are also good for entertaining.

Ingredients
6 limes, cut into eighths
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
16 ounces Pirassununga 51 Cachaça
4 ounces Quady Winery Essencia Orange Muscat
4 ounces Simple Syrup
Ice

In a pitcher, muddle the lime wedges with the sugar. Add the Cachaça, Orange Muscat and Simple Syrup and stir well. Add ice, stir again and strain the caipirinha into ice-filled rocks glasses.