As I scrolled through everyone summer vacation pictures recently, I realized that maybe I should write about popular Summer European Cocktails. Everyone knows the famous Italian aperol spritz but have you tried the rest? Some are proper cocktails but some are just a simple mix that people serve on European summer days.
Italian Aperol Spritz
Classic Aperol Spritz has become almost synonym with summer entertainment not only in Italy, but throughout Europe and more. Aperol Spritz is served over ice and it’s composed of 2 ounces Aperol, 2 ounces Prosecco, a splash of soda or sparkling water and an orange slice as garnish.
If you’re interested in an Aperol drink with a twist check out: Frozen Aperol Spritz
Spanish Tinto de Verano
Tinto de verano is a Spanish refreshing drink made with red wine and a lemon lime soda, served over ice and slices or wedges of oranges or lemons. This drink is a lighter alternative to sangria, it’s faster to prepare and with fewer ingredients. But it’s very satisfying on a hot summer day.
Get Recipe: Tinto de Verano
Summer Sangria
I had a great time trying different summer type sangrias across Europe last summer. This year I tried to make different variations at home while i dreamed of last year’s vacation. You can flavor summer sangrias with fruits of choice and I can definitely say that peach was a great choice.
As a personal preference, I loved the cava sangria I had in Castelldefels, Spain!! One of the best honestly:).
Get Recipe of Peach Rose Sangria: Peach Rose Sangria
Gin and Tonic & Pimm’s Cup
Pimm’s Cup is a quintessential British summer drink. It’s made with a gin based liqueur, sparkling lemonade or ginger ale and garnished with lots of fruits and mint leaves.
Kalimotxo
Back in college, some of my friends used to make kalimotxo but they didn’t call it by its name. It was a great drink to share on our movie nights with pizza, economical for college students, not too strong but still refreshing and enjoyable.
However, kalimotxo is a drink that started in the Basque region in Spain. It’s made by mixing red wine with coca cola, over ice and served with a slice of lemon. When I had the drink in Spain I noticed a little difference in taste even though we mixed it correctly. One of my friends pointed out that maybe it’s the cane sugar cola that makes a difference in taste compared to when having the drink in US.
Or maybe the wine makes a difference too:). Hope you try it as it’s an easy drink to make at home!
Mojitos
While Mojitos are a Caribbean invention, they have made their way to Europe and are available in many beach resorts and places frequented by tourists. I ran a poll in a European subreddit many Europeans said they prefer mojitos during summer time, especially on a hot day.
Classic Mojito Recipe: Mojito
Negroni
If you’re a foodie like me, you might have heard how much Anthony Boourdain enjoyed his negronis. He’s demonstrated quite few times how to make one and here’s one of my favorite videos of him making a negroni. Enjoy!
Negroni is made with Campari, sweet Vermouth and gin, serve it over ice with a orange slice /wedge garnish.
White Wine Spritz, Limoncello Spritz etc
Throughout my travels I have noticed a lot of spritz drink over summer in Europe. Sometimes they’re made with white wines, roses, limoncellos etc etc. But they tend to gravitate towards a light alcoholic drink mixed with a sparkling mixer, lemon flavored or lemon garnishes as well as mint.
If you have the chance to sit anywhere in the Mediterranean, people watch and slowly sip on your spritz drink, let me know what you think:). Cheers!
Vermouth Spritz and other Vermouth Mixes
Vermouth was my Spanish discovery last year! Yes, I had had vermouth before but usually as part of a cocktail. In Spain last year I had several locally made vermouth drinks that were perfect for before having a meal.
I loved having a vermouth mixed with soda in Sitges by the beach and I tried to recreate that drink back home. Add some ice and lemon slice and enjoy:).
Hugo Spritz
I love elderflower cocktails, you can make them with St. Germain liqueur or (affiliate) Elderflower Syrup . I usually make a grapefruit variation of Hugo spritz during the holidays and garnishe it with rosemary.
But if you’re looking for a refreshing summer cocktail, you have to consider this Italian cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco and sparkling water. Garnish with lemon and mint and serve chilled!! Salute!
Recipe for Grapefruit Elderflower cocktail recipe: Grapefruit Elderflower Cocktail
French Rosè Piscine
French get food and drinks right! It’s been awhile since I last went to France and last time I went I was pregnant with my son so couldn’t enjoy any cocktails, but I fore sure enjoyed plenty of good food.
French piscine is so simple, you really just need your favorite rose or white wine and lots of ice. Ice floats on the drink like in a swimming pool which is where the name of the drink comes from. Some mint is optional as garnish.
Greek Ouzo
And finally we go to Greece, my southern neighbors from when I lived back home in Albania. In Albania we make a strong liquor called raki or rakia but my southern neighbors make a strong anise based drink called ouzo.
Usually ouzo is served mixed with some cold water and ice, it’s supposed to be sipped slowly. People usually serve it with small plates called mezes. Some people might have it as a shot, but it’s really strong so be careful with that. Don’t chug it, slowly savor it:).
There’s something called an ouzo effect that happens when you mix cold water, ice and ouzo. The drink becomes cloudy, almost white and the aroma of the ouzo really comes through then!
Some of the ideas for this post came from a Reddit post on popular European cocktails. Read some of the comments on the this forum thread.
I have plenty of other cocktail recipes in my blog, so feel free to go through those recipes. If you need any specific recipe, just leave me a comment under this post and I’ll try to get it for you:).
Now that summer is over, I will be looking through to next year’s summer vacation and hopefully one of these drink on a hot summer day!
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