8 great cocktail recipes to take you through all of summer

3/4 overhead shot of five glasses with a cucumber-grapefruit drink inside them. the backdrop is bright pink.

Keep summer drinking fun and effortless

(Image credit: Maren Caruso / Getty Images)

Summer's drink needs are a bit all over the place. Sometimes you want a tropical getaway in a glass. Sometimes you crave a lively cocktail that has no alcohol. And sometimes you scream for a classic. This collection has it all.

BA's Best Piña Colada

side shot of the top of a pi&ntilde;a colada, with a paper-umbrella and maraschino cherry garnish — Beachify your summer

The extravagance of a good piña colada is central to its draw. That frozen intermingling of sweet coconut cream, fresh pineapple, light rum and lime juice is transporting. This recipe includes an optional float of dark rum to finish the drink, though optional, in this instance, is best interpreted as vital.

Breakfast Martini

3/4 shot of the top of a coupe filled with yellow cocktail and garnished with a lemon wheel — Martini for breakfast

The only element of the Breakfast Martini that speaks to the first meal of the day is the drink's orange marmalade. Could you drink this merging of gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice and marmalade in the a.m.? Certainly. That said, you could also drink it whenever you like.

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Caribbean Ember

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A tropical cocktail that ran into an old fashioned wall when it was looking the other way. The collision is lithe with dark rum, pineapple juice and ginger beer and heavy with rye whiskey and Angostura bitters. The Caribbean Ember is the drink for when you know you want the best of two worlds.

Cucumber Basil Margarita

side shot of a ribbed rocks glass with green drink and a plank of cucumber as a garnish — The margarita gets all-the-more summer-ed

Two summer-produce icons, basil and cucumber, take a holiday weekend together in this margarita variation. Elderflower liqueur (remember her?) inserts a gentle floral touch, and blanco tequila provides the fiery base.

Dirty Spritz

For all the verve and lightness of a spritz but without a touch of alcohol, this Dirty Spritz recruits tonic, olive brine and a nonalcoholic aperitivo. It's salty, lush and effervescent — just what summer demands.

Garibaldi Granita

Three ingredients — orange juice, Campari and vodka — are thrown together, then frozen. After a day in the freezer, you scrape the icy results with a fork and get yourself a fluffy, boozy granita. Snow cones are for amateurs, right?

Gin Gimlet

side shot of two martini glasses filled with gimlets against a blue surface and blue wall — The charm of a true classic drink

Yes, technically, a gimlet can be made with both gin and vodka. Still, there is a special glamour to one made with gin, the spirit's wily botanicals encircling the lime juice and simple syrup.

Yazoo Street Scandal

the top of a collins glass, with a skewered lemon wheel and a metal straw — The skewered lemon wheel signals great drinking ahead

Bourbon, two syrups (hibiscus and ginger), lemon juice, cold black tea: A cocktail that is breezy and powerful. It will lift you up, even as it takes you down. Serving a crowd? Multiply the recipe's proportions, and batch that Scandal.

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Scott Hocker is an award-winning freelance writer and editor at The Week Digital. He has written food, travel, culture and lifestyle stories for local, national and international publications for more than 20 years. Scott also has more than 15 years of experience creating, implementing and managing content initiatives while working across departments to grow companies. His most recent editorial post was as editor-in-chief of Liquor.com. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Tasting Table and a senior editor at San Francisco magazine.