Summer cocktails shouldnβt be complicated. When the humidity is through the roof and itβs so hot your rubber flip-flops melt to the sidewalk, you canβt be tasked with making complicated syrups or carving intricate flowers out of orange peels. But you can dump three ingredients and a lot of ice into a blender and press puree. Thatβs all thatβs required of these five refreshing, frozen summer cocktails.
Watermelon + White Rum + Lime Juice
Watermelon is so good, it doesnβt take much to turn it into a delicious cocktail. First, get the ripest watermelon you can findβsince this drink is so simple, the watermelon replaces any simple syrup you might usually use in a drink, so the riper the watermelon, the better. Next, throw the watermelon chunks into a blender along with fresh lime juice for a tart kick, white rum and ice. Blend it all together until the drink is smooth and ice cold, then divide it into glasses. Itβs a big step above the classic booze-infused watermelon.The Essentials
Watermelon
White Rum
Lime Juice
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Banana + Dark Rum + Honey
A banana smoothie is a perfectly decent on-the-go breakfast. But add a little rum to the mix and you have yourself an icy, creamy cocktail that is made for poolside sippingβor slurping down next to a baby pool filled with a hose. We donβt judge. Made with dark rum (go for something very dark and rich like Goslings or Plantationβs OFTD), ripe banana and honey, itβs so good youβll have to stop yourself from drinking down the entire blenderful.The Essentials
Dark Rum
Banana
Honey
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Pineapple + Blanco Tequila + Agave Nectar
This simplified take on a frozen Pineapple Margarita leaves out the lime juiceβbut you wonβt miss it. This frosty drink calls for just three ingredients (aside from the ice): blanco tequila (pick a nice, citrusy, grassy bottling), fresh pineapple chunks and agave nectar. Blend everything together and youβll be rewarded with a bright, zesty, tropical cocktail that is far more complex than you might expect from such a basic drink.The Essentials
Blanco Tequila
Pineapple
Agave Nectar
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Peach + Whiskey + Honey
There arenβt many frozen whiskey drinks out there. Typically, these slushie-style cocktails are made with a base of rum or vodka or perhaps tequila. But why leave whiskey out of the summertime fun? The mellow, vanilla-twinged spirit is just as good paired with bright fruits and ice as any other. And this drink proves it. An ode to summers in the South, this frosty cocktail pairs whiskey with fresh peaches and honeyβand nothing else, aside from a couple cups of ice. The flavors come together like a well-choreographed hoedown.The Essentials
Whiskey
Peach
Honey
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Grapefruit Juice + Gin + Simple Syrup
A Greyhound is one of the great, underappreciated two-ingredient drinks, and this frozen take on the drink pays homage to the delicious grapefruit drink. In place of the usual vodka, though, we use gin at the base for this riffβit was, after all, the spirit used in the original recipe from Harry Craddock. A splash of simple syrup makes sure all of the sweet-tart grapefruit flavors still pop, even after being diluted with a couple cups of ice. And a sprinkling of grapefruit zest on top of the finished drink will bring out those tangy notes even more, especially as you lift the drink to your lips.The Essentials
Gin
Grapefruit Juice
simple syrup
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