Cocktails for Grilling

By Food & Wine
Updated January 13, 2017
These refreshing cocktails include Riesling sangria with lychees, and blackberry-mint juleps.
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Tom Terrific

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This slightly spritzy cocktail features India Pale Ale and Old Tom, an 18th-century-style of gin that's a little sweeter and less juniper-forward than modern versions.

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Porch Crawler

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Chef-partners Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, along with their friend Travis Kauffman, concocted this terrifically refreshing cooler one hot summer night with ingredients from Falcinelli's rooftop garden.

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Agricole-Guava Cooler

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Rhum agricole has a grassy flavor that's delicious in this cocktail from San Francisco's rum-loving Smuggler's Cove.

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Lani Kai Sling

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Julie Reiner created this rum-based Sling specifically for Lani Kai, her rum-centric, “modern tropical” restaurant and lounge.

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Tabernacle Crush

Credit: © John Kernick
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This light and refreshing cocktail is as reminiscent of the American South as it is of the South of France.

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Grilled Citrus and Grape Sangria

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Michael Chiarello prefers cooking fruit near the beginning of the grilling session, when the grate is cleanest. Here, grilled oranges, lemons and grapes add a wonderful, subtle smokiness to sangria. If you grill twice as much fruit as the recipe calls for, you’ll be all ready to make a second batch.

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Amante Picante Margarita

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Mixologists are still reacting against too-sweet drinks. This spicy margarita combines three savory ingredients: jalapeño, cilantro and cucumber.

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Riesling Sangria with Lychees

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“Our consulting beverage director, Peter Vestinos, makes fun of my drinks because they’re always a little sweeter than he likes,” says chef Bill Kim. Kim’s fruit-filled sangria is a bit sweet, yes, but it’s also refreshing, thanks to the lemon juice.

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Georgia on My Mind

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Beer, an increasingly popular mixer, adds carbonation and a pleasant funkiness to cocktails. The apricot ale here offers fruitiness, too.

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Watermelon-Tequila Cocktails

Credit: JOHN KERNICK
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When watermelon is in abundance, this is a great way to use it. Bobby Flay purees seedless watermelon chunks, then strains the juice through a sieve and mixes it with silver tequila, sugar syrup, blueberries, mint and fresh lime juice.

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Mojito

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Although there have been versions of this rum-mint cocktail in Cuba since the late 1800s, it became an international sensation when Ernest Hemingway endorsed the Mojitos at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana.

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Descanso Beach Smash

Credit: TINA RUPP
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While vacationing in 2008 with his wife's family on a boat near Catalina Island, California, John Coltharp was dismayed to see that all the beach bars focused on sweet drinks like piña coladas. Back on his father-in-law's boat, he came up with this pleasantly bitter and refreshing concoction—with Aperol from the well-stocked bar.

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Parsley Gin Julep

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Bartender Alan Walter remembers the genesis of this refreshing drink: "It was summer. I had already used up the restaurant's supply of fruit and was looking for a new ingredient. Half an hour later the chef, Ian Schnoebelen, asked, 'Hey, what did you do with the parsley?'"

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