The sun is shining and the vibes are high. Keep the good times rolling with some delicious (and attainable) cocktail recipes from Toronto's best bars and restaurants.
Is there anything better than a cool summer cocktail in hand when the sun is shining and the days stretch on and on? The answer is a resounding no — although we could definitely use a few new go-to summer cocktail recipes to round out our bar cart repertoire.
Whether you have big plans for hosting a BBQ at the cottage this summer, or are keeping your calendar as easy breezy as the season itself, we've got some delicious ways for you to unwind. But, if you can't bear to shake anything other than a fan in the heat, we've also got you covered for Canadian wine, coolers and liqueurs.
So fill that ice tray, restock the bar cart and dust off your best cocktail glasses. Here are six summer cocktail recipes to suit every taste and summer vibe. Dive in.
Dillon's Vodka Mule
Make this classic summer cocktail with a homegrown spirit, then get creative with fresh local fruit or syrups.
Pop your favourite copper mug in the freezer to chill for an hour.
In your mug, add the vodka, lime juice, and bitters. Fill the mug with ice and top with ginger beer.
Give your cocktail a quick stir and garnish with a fresh lime wheel.
*If you want to get a bit more creative, try muddling some fresh fruit in your mug before adding the ingredients or adding a splash of Niagara Grenadine or Peach & Lavender syrup for a slightly sweeter but super flavourful version.
Glendalough Wild Botanical Negroni
Add a herbal summer twist to the classic negroni cocktail by making it with Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin.
Combine the Glendalough Wild Botanical Irish Gin, Campari and Vermouth to a mixing glass filled with ice.
Stir until well chilled.
Strain slowly into a rocks glass with large ice cubes.
Garnish with orange peel.
Bearface Campfire Old Fashioned
This smoky take on the classic cocktail is reminiscent of summer camping — and it can be made with all Canadian ingredients, including BEARFACE Whisky.
In a small pot over high heat, add 1 part maple syrup to 1 part water by weight. Add a pinch of sea salt and a tsp of butter.
Bring to a boil and cool slowly.
Once cooled, strain off any solid buttery parts.
Bearface Campfire Old Fashioned
Add BEARFACE Whisky, Buttery Maple Syrup and bitters to mixing glass with ice and stir well.
Smoke an old fashioned glass with your choice of wood smoke.
Strain the mixture into the smoked glass over ice, and garnish with twist of orange.
Enigma's Golden Hour
This fresh and citrusy sour is smooth and crushable, with unique notes of clementine that make it stand out from other summer cocktails.
Makes 1
Ingredients
1⅓ oz Canadian gin
⅔ oz plum liqueur
¾ oz clementine cordial
1 oz egg white
Clementine sugar, for rim (optional)
Clementine twist or dried citrus wheel, to garnish
Clementine Cordial
200ml fresh clementine juice
Zest of 3 clementines
100 g white sugar
1 tsp citric acid (optional)
Method
Clementine Cordial Method
Gently heat juice, zest and sugar until dissolved. Add citric acid, if using.
Steep 20 mins, strain and chill.
Golden Hour
Chill a coupe or nick and nora glass. Rim with clementine sugar, if using.
Add all ingredients to a shaker. Dry shake (without ice) to blend egg white.
Add ice and shake again until chilled and frothy.
Double strain into the glass.
Garnish with a citrus twist or dried wheel.
Ace Hotel Toronto's Strawberry Fields
Ace Hotel Toronto's bar manager Aaron Hatchell designed this summer cocktail to beat the heat and make use of ingredients that would normally be thrown out.
Makes 1
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes
Daniel Neuhaus
Ingredients
1 ½ oz strawberry tip-infused Campari
¾ oz Heavenly Cream Syrup
2 oz soda
2 oz sparkling wine
Edible flowers, to garnish
Strawberry tip-infused Campari
¼ cup strawberry tips
1 bottle Campari
Heavenly Cream Syrup
1 bag Sloane Fine Tea Merchants Heavenly Cream tea
Method
To make the strawberry tip-infused Campari: Add strawberry tips (what you would normally not consume or throw out when you cut up strawberries) to 1 bottle Campari. Let sit for 2 days. Strain.
To make the Heavenly Cream Syrup: Steep 1 bag of Sloane Fine Tea Merchants Heavenly Cream tea in 500 ml hot tea water for 10 mins. Remove bags and add equal parts sugar.
To build your cocktail: Add all ingredients to a wine glass, stir gently and add ice. Garnish with edible flowers.
Enigma's Perilla Highball
A complex summer cocktail for when you're feeling fancy, this sparkling serve is savoury and herbal with two kinds of tea.
Makes 1
Preparation time 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 oz ml Shiso-Infused Shochu
½ oz Fino Sherry
⅓ oz Darjeeling Tea Syrup
1 oz Hojicha Tea, cold brewed
2–3 oz soda water, to top
Shiso leaf or thin cucumber ribbon, to garnish
Shiso-Infused Shochu
Shiso leaves
Shochu
Darjeeling Tea Syrup
2 tsp loose-leaf Darjeeling tea
200 ml water
200 g white sugar
Method
Shiso-Infused Shochu
Lightly infuse a neutral shochu with fresh shiso leaves for 1–2 hours for a subtle herbaceous character.
Darjeeling Tea Syrup
Brew tea in hot water (95 C) for 3–4 minutes.
Strain, and stir in sugar until dissolved.
Cool and store in fridge (lasts about 1 week).
Perilla Highball Method
In a highball glass, combine shiso shochu, fino sherry, tea syrup and cold hojicha tea.
Fill glass with clear ice.
Stir gently to integrate.
Top with chilled soda water.
Adjust sweetness or dilution to balance the Fino Sherry’s dryness and tea tannins.
Garnish with a fresh shiso leaf or a cucumber ribbon along the side of the glass.
