Entertaining

11 Refreshing Cocktails to Serve at a Father’s Day Cookout

Upgrade dad’s standard brewski by turning it into a zesty, luau-inspired Michelada, made with Mexican lager, lime juice and homemade pineapple shrub. The shrub is easily made by simmering ingredients like pineapple juice, hot sauce and tamarind nectar. The result is a deliciously sweet, savory and spicy blend that also makes for a killer barbecued pork marinade.

This paradise-in-a-glass is a nod to another proud papa—Ernest Hemingway. The Hemingway Daiquiri’s signature maraschino liqueur gets blended with the traditional Daiquiri mixture of rum, lime and sugar to create a frosty beverage that’s easy to scale up into pitcher-size proportions.

After a long year of tirelessly working, Father’s Day is the holiday when daddy gets to take a nap any darn time he pleases. Help lull him into his siesta by serving him this sunny tequila, grapefruit and Campari cocktail, which he can sip before snoring poolside while you prep dinner.

Not only is this white Sangria named after a song from every dad's favorite singer; it's also a delicious complement to any cookout. Bursting with tropical flavors such as grapefruit, pineapple and funky rhum agricole, this pungent Sangria won’t have dad wondering why his cocktail “is soft in the middle now."

If dad is demanding steak for dinner, this smoky, savory Dirty Martini makes for the perfect pairing. Castelvetrano olives are smoked with mesquite flavors and aromatics, which yields a brine that tastes like it was cooked on the barbecue alongside that filet mignon.

For the fathers that scoff at fancy cocktails and just want their whiskey straight, insist that they try this southern Old Fashioned variation instead. The Midnight Train puts bourbon in the spotlight and uses only a splash of peach liqueur to sweeten the deal. Even dads with the stiffest of upper lips won’t be able to turn down a cocktail that tastes like freshly baked, boozy peach pie.

This old-school, spritzy tiki cocktail combines white rum with absinthe and grenadine for a complexly flavored yet super simple island tipple. Just be prepared to tolerate your corny father insisting that he is the true Dr. Funk, even as he breaks into song and dance to prove it. Go ahead and let him believe he has rhythm; it’s his special day after all.

 

Your dad can probably quote the entire Godfather series on command, complete with his “perfect” Marlon Brando impression. But if you want to honor your own don, mix him this two part cocktail of scotch and amaretto, to which the star himself took a liking. Your dad may not sound like Brando, but on his day, he can at least drink like him.

After letting your old man sleep in as late as he wants on this lazy Sunday, wake him up with a tiki-fied cold brew Highball. An ounce of rum over quick-melting crushed ice won’t get him so buzzed on alcohol that he just goes back to bed, but it will give him a decent caffeine jolt. A flamed orange peel evokes those smoky smells of the grill and will get him in the mood for the day ahead.

Whoever said an old dog can’t learn new tricks was totally mistaken. This drop shot is the perfect celebration for a dad who loves to party with the youngins. Scotch gets mixed into a shot with white crème de cacao, and then it’s dropped into a tall glass of ginger ale for a fizzy explosion of sweet, creamy Highball. It’s ridiculously satisfying, so don’t be surprised if your dad wants to try other drop shots later that night. Jagerbombs make for great parental bonding, after all.

If your dad is the type to cling to his Bud until the day he dies, don’t try to convince him to give up his favorite beer in favor of a fancy cocktail. Instead, give him the gift of better drinking by spiking his standard Budweiser with a quick pour of amaro. This twofer, inspired by the French tradition of Picon Bière (beer mixed with Amer Picon), requires only that you spill a little Amaro CioCiaro into your dad’s bottle. The amaro’s notes of bitter orange, cola and floral gentian will add complexity to the brew, but the bottle will still feel familiar to your pop.