7 Of The Best Summer Cocktails For Garden Parties

It doesn’t get much better than drifting around the garden with your nearest and dearest, a glass of bubbly champagne in hand and snacks and nibbles no more than a few strides away. Garden parties feel far more relaxed than indoor gatherings and offer a wonderfully jovial way to spend time outdoors.

The garden at our beachfront restaurant becomes a lively hub in the warmer months, where we serve refreshing cocktails and light bites for our guests to enjoy. For your own garden party, make sure you have a dedicated outdoor table where guests can comfortably collect their drinks — a linen tablecloth is a simple way to elevate the presentation. It’s also worth considering practicality: an ice trough filled with water bottles will save guests from repeatedly nipping inside.

With that said, here are seven of our best summer cocktail recipes, perfect for garden parties. Whether you’re planning an informal gathering or something a little more refined, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in this guide.

1. Classic Mojito

Havana, Cuba, is widely credited as the birthplace of the mojito. It is said that locals originally used the ingredients for their medicinal properties to help treat tropical ailments, with rum later added by Americans as the spirit grew in popularity during the 18th century.

For garden parties, you ideally want something that’s easy to prepare and universally enjoyed. A mojito is both refreshing and a true crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients

• 50ml white rum

• 1 tsp muscovado sugar

• A generous handful of fresh mint leaves

• 4 lime wedges

• 20ml lime juice

• Soda water (to top up)

• Sugar syrup (optional, to taste)

Method

1. Place the mint leaves, muscovado sugar and lime wedges into a highball glass.

2. Gently muddle the ingredients together to release the lime juice and mint oils.

3. Add the lime juice and white rum then stir well with a bar spoon.

4. Fill the glass to the top with ice.

5. Top up with soda water.

6. Stir again gently to combine.

7. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and serve immediately.

2. Ruby’s Garden

Ruby’s Garden was one of the first original creations at The Club House, devised by one of the club’s youngest bartenders, Caitlin Warren. The concept behind the drink was to pair a classic London dry gin with a Club favourite — ruby grapefruit. Its subtle brilliance lies in the addition of sweet green herbs such as basil and mint, combined with a quality grapefruit liqueur. The result is a refreshing, aromatic cocktail that quickly became a firm favourite on long, sunny afternoons. The garden-inspired theme also led us to experiment with more elaborate garnishes.

Ingredients

• 50ml London dry gin

• 35ml pamplemousse (grapefruit) liqueur

• 25ml mint syrup

• A squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice

• Mediterranean tonic water (to top up)

• A handful of basil leaves (garnish)

• Grapefruit slice (garnish)

• Edible flowers (garnish)

Method

1. Add the gin, grapefruit liqueur, mint syrup and fresh grapefruit juice to a shaker or directly into your serving glass.

2. If using a shaker, fill with ice, shake well and strain into a glass. If building in the glass, stir the ingredients together היט

3. Fill the glass with ice.

4. Add a few basil leaves, gently bruised to release their aroma.

5. Top up with Mediterranean tonic water.

6. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit and a selection of edible flowers for a vibrant, garden-inspired finish.

3. Tom Collins

Like many cocktails we know and love, the origin of this drink is not entirely clear. Most people believe it dates back to the “Tom Collins” hoax of 1874. The joke went like this: one person would ask, “Have you seen Tom Collins?” and the other would reply, “I don’t know anyone called Tom Collins.” They would then be told, “Well, he certainly knows you, and he’s in the bar two streets down — I’d pay him a visit if I were you!” The unsuspecting victim would rush off in search of this fictional character, only to be served a Tom Collins cocktail by a bartender who was in on the joke. There are, we suppose, worse things to be tricked into…

The first written record of the cocktail appeared in the 1876 edition of Jerry Thomas’ Bartender’s Guide. Thomas, known as the “Professor of Cocktails,” is widely regarded as the world’s first mixologist.

Ingredients

• 50ml Hive London Dry Gin

• 25ml lime juice

• 25ml gum syrup

• Soda water (to top up)

Method

1. Add the gin, lime juice, and gum syrup to a highball glass.

2. Fill the glass with ice.

3. Top up with soda water.

4. Stir well with a bar spoon to combine.

5. Garnish with two slices of lemon.

You can rest your weary arms — this cocktail doesn’t need shaking.

For a more decorative finish, you can also add rosemary or edible flowers.

This is a cocktail that lends itself to seasonal variations. However, this is the traditional version, allowing the gin to shine without being overpowered by other flavours. Sometimes simplicity is best.

4. Grapefruit Bliss

I have always loved grapefruit. I even try to eat one every morning for its health benefits and sharp, awakening flavour. This cocktail came about when we were updating our seasonal menu. My aim was to create something quick to make, packed with refreshing grapefruit character.

I browsed our spirits collection and was drawn to our Hive Pineapple & Grapefruit Gin. As grapefruit needs balance, elderflower was introduced to soften its sharpness. To finish, I topped it with my favourite tonic from Double Dutch and voilà — a refreshing, zingy long drink was born.

Ingredients

• 50ml Hive Pineapple & Grapefruit Gin

• 25ml elderflower cordial

• 25ml lime juice

• Double Dutch Grapefruit Tonic (to top up)

• Grapefruit slice (garnish)

• Edible flowers (garnish)

Method

1. Add the gin, elderflower cordial and lime juice to a glass.

2. Stir well with a bar spoon.

3. Fill the glass with ice.

4. Top up with Double Dutch Grapefruit Tonic.

5. Stir gently for around 20 seconds to combine.

6. Garnish with a slice of fresh grapefruit and rosemary.

5. Tropical Punch

“One for sour, two for sweet, three for strong, four for weak. A dash of bitters and a sprinkle of spice, serve well chilled with plenty of ice.”

That’s how you make a rum punch, according to a traditional Caribbean rhyme. In this case, I’ve slightly adapted it to create a tropical drink without rum (although the rhyme still helps when building the cocktail — I promise).

Sour comes from lime, sweet from grenadine, strength from gin liqueur and the “weak” element from refreshing flavoured lemonade. The result is a perfectly balanced summer drink.

Ingredients

• 35ml Hive Pineapple & Grapefruit Gin

• 15ml grenadine

• 30ml lime juice

• 25ml Passoã

• 1 can Bradley’s Raspberry Lemonade

• Mint leaves (garnish)

• 1 orange slice (garnish)

Method

1. Add all ingredients except the raspberry lemonade to a glass.

2. Stir well to combine.

3. Fill the glass with ice.

4. Top up with raspberry lemonade.

5. Stir gently once more.

6. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a slice of orange.

6. Sunrise At The Club

This cocktail was created just after lockdown, when we moved into a busy summer season of alfresco dining. Strawberries felt like an obvious choice, especially as we had our own strawberry-infused vodka liqueur.

You can make this cocktail with Mediterranean tonic, or — if you prefer a more complex flavour — I recommend the Watermelon & Cucumber Tonic from Double Dutch. The name comes from its appearance in the glass, which resembles a sunrise over Chesil Beach.

Ingredients

• 50ml Hive Strawberry Vodka Liqueur

• 25ml Fragola liqueur

• 20ml elderflower cordial

• 25ml lemon juice

• Double Dutch Cucumber & Watermelon Tonic (to top up)

• Mint (garnish)

• 1 strawberry (garnish)

Method

1. Add the vodka liqueur, strawberry liqueur, lemon juice and elderflower cordial to a balloon glass.

2. Fill the glass with ice.

3. Stir well to combine.

4. Top up with tonic water.

5. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and a strawberry.

7. Lime & Elderflower Cooler

This cocktail was created one early spring day, when the changing seasons called for something fresher to replace our winter drinks list. The lime zest vodka provides a bright, zesty base, balanced beautifully by floral notes from St-Germain and elderflower cordial. The addition of tonic water adds a refreshing, bubbly finish — spring has definitely sprung.

Ingredients

• 50ml Hive Lime Zest Vodka

• 20ml St-Germain liqueur

• 15ml elderflower cordial

• 25ml lime juice

• Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic (to top up)

• Mint (garnish)

• Rosemary (garnish)

• Edible flowers (garnish)

Method

1. Add all ingredients except the tonic water to a glass.

2. Stir well to combine.

3. Fill the glass with ice.

4. Top up with tonic water.

5. Stir again gently.

6. Garnish with a sprig of mint, rosemary and edible flowers.

Find More Cocktail Recipes For Garden Parties

These recipes, among many more, can be found in our cocktail books the St Dunstan Cocktail Collection and The Club House Cocktail Collection which are both available to purchase on the Hive Beach Café online shop.