Summer Fruit Cocktails

By Food & Wine
Updated February 27, 2017
These refreshing recipes include star chef Bobby Flay's watermelon-tequila cocktails and strawberry-lemon mojitos.
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Blackberry-Mint Julep

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Adding blackberries to a mint julep adds fruity flavor to the classic warm-weather cocktail.

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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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Sour-Cherry Gin Slings

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This sweet-tart concoction is based on the classic Singapore sling, replacing the traditional cherry brandy with an intensely vibrant homemade sour-cherry syrup. With a squirt of sparkling water, the syrup also makes a great base for kid-friendly cherry soda.

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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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Watermelon Sangria

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Sangria, a Spanish variation on traditional punch composed of wine, fruit and brandy, was formally introduced to America at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. This seasonal version uses vodka instead of brandy.

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Blueberry Cosmopolitan

Credit: © Lucas Allen
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For anyone who wants to flaunt a love of Cosmos, muddled blueberries tint this version a gorgeous hot pink.

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Strawberry-Lemon Mojitos

Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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Strawberries sweeten these mojitos from Joaquin Simo. “This is a great drink when you’re in the mood for something fruity,” says Simo. Use a molasses-based rum (like white Brugal) for a smoother drink, or a sugarcane-based rum (such as white Barbancourt) for a drier cocktail.

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Okanagan

Credit: © Wendell T. Webber
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This drink pays homage to the orchards and vineyards of British Columbia’s fertile Okanagan Valley.

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Melon Sparkler with Tapioca Pearls

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Mixing honeydew juice with the fizzy Italian wine Moscato makes a super-refreshing cocktail. Melon balls and chewy tapioca pearls are fun to eat and cute to look at.

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Watermelon-Honey-Citrus Refresher

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One great thing about blender drinks: The machine does all the work. Adam Seger prefers Vita-Mix blenders, which create especially smooth purees.

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Indian Summer Cup

Credit: TINA RUPP
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Master bartender Wayne Collins prefers using premium, naturally sweetened tonic water (sometimes called Indian tonic water) in this punch. Q Tonic, made with agave nectar, and Fever-Tree, sweetened with cane sugar, are both excellent brands.

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Peach Donkey

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Blueberries Gone Wild

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Health-conscious bar chef Debbi Peek created this gin drink to showcase antioxidant-dense ingredients, including blueberries and pomegranate.

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Bourbon Blackberry Collins

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Many spirits and fruits and herbs can work in a Tom Collins riff. In place of blackberries and bourbon, try raspberries and vodka or cherries and rum.

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Black Pepper-Raspberry Sorbet with Prosecco

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Chef James Holmes topped raw oysters with this sweet-savory sorbet before deciding it would make an excellent cocktail with Prosecco. A good-quality, store-bought raspberry sorbet is a fine shortcut.

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The Don's Bramble

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Mixologist Jackson Cannon calls this drink a celebration of late summer.

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Porch Crawler

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New York chef-partners Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo and their friend Travis Kauffman concocted this terrifically refreshing cooler one hot summer night with ingredients from Falcinelli’s rooftop garden.

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Bitter Peach

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While playing with leftover ingredients one night, Jamie Boudreau combined grappa and peach puree. The mixture was sweet, so he added Aperol, a bitter orange liqueur, then Champagne, resulting in this well-balanced cocktail.

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Cholo Fresco

Credit: TINA RUPP
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Cholo fresco means “somebody who is fresh in every sense,” Hans Hilburg says. “Light, saucy, naughty, audacious . . . And what’s fresher than cucumber, melon, mint and lime?”

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In-Sandíary

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This cocktail’s name is a play on both the Spanish word for watermelon, sandía, and “incendiary,” referring to the peppery tequila and the spicy ancho chile rim.

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Cucumber-Honeydew Freeze

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Fruit flavors generally mix well if they’re from the same botanical family. This cool and light summer cocktail works because cucumber and melon both belong to the Cucurbitaceae family.

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