Cocktails for Grilling

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.

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.

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

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

This light and refreshing cocktail is as reminiscent of the American South as it is of the South of France.

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.

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

“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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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?'"