This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Connor Hanrahan. Find him on Instagram at @hannerhansmh. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Nothing sets the scene for a beautiful summer afternoon like an appropriate beverage and a perfect vibe. Unfortunately, we at The Zillennial cannot provide you with a recipe for your perfect vibe, but we sure can provide you with fun summer drinks to make at home.
Some of these are rudimentary, others require effort, and some of them were created for zillennials by zillennials after drinking some of the other recipes in this article. Now, let’s cook up a fun summer afternoon, shall we?
Watermelon Margs
Nothing screams summer like a colorful margarita in a proper margarita glass and nothing adds to a margarita like some fresh watermelon juice. While camping this summer, my friend Jessica saw we were all drinking margs and offered to pour some of the juice from the watermelon she had brought into our glasses. We obliged and our jaws collectively hit the floor, yielding tremors felt in adjacent neighborhoods. It was the best drink I’ve ever had in my life. I speak with bias because I already love a good marg but this is a recipe modification I implemented into my routine immediately.
Surge-a-rita
Have you ever had a White Claw Surge? I have and I think they’re horrible. The fruit flavor doesn’t mask the aftertaste of grain alcohol in the slightest and the carbonation does not do it for me.
However…
My buddy Nolan was spouting a thorough mix of hyperbole and exposition one day when he brought up making a “Surg-a-rita”. We laughed, despite our intrinsic acknowledgement of the potential that drink had. I mean, why not mix two fruity drinks? What could go wrong?
Well, you know what went wrong? Absolutely nothing. I mixed a green apple White Claw Surge in with my huge thermos of margarita and sure enough, the only part of the Surge I could still taste was a hint of the apple flavoring that accented the marg perfectly. All you have to do is make your marg and add whichever flavor Surge you think will make your marg taste best. All of our friends love this drink now and it’s a creative little concoction that will hopefully bring the same smile to your friends’ faces that it did ours.
Paloma
Palomas can be a real hit or miss, depending solely on whether you like grapefruit or not. Quite a few people don’t but I feel that the grapefruit flavor matches perfectly with the sweetness of a reposado tequila. Much like a Mai Tai, this drink feels like it should be consumed on a beach, in your bathing suit, while knee deep in a book you love. This drink further epitomizes the combination of tequila and lime.
Mai Tai
No matter where I am on Earth, a cool glass of Mai Tai brings me back to the family trips we used to take to Hawaii. Even just the way it looks reminds me of a pineapple and maybe a nice warm breeze between snorkel sessions at the beach. Maybe it’s the Caribbean origin of the rum that makes it feel so tropical. Maybe it’s the sweetness of the curacao. I couldn’t say, but if you’re planning a fun day in the sun
Malibu Pine
Welcome to the sweetest drink on the list. Malibu is the perfect alcohol to mix with fruit juice because it isn’t too pungent. The booze taste is easily masked by whatever it’s mixed with while the flavor of the rum accents the flavor of the juice nicely. My personal favorite iteration of this is strawberry Malibu with pineapple juice. I find that the strawberry and coconut of the Malibu mixes perfectly with the pineapple juice. Who wouldn’t love a delicious drink that only has two ingredients?
Daiquiris
Obviously a daiquiri requires a blender, so if you’re looking for a minimum effort drink, keep scrolling! Daiquiris are my personal favorite blended drink because they taste like the smoothies I drank as a child, but with the tartness I always seemed but never found. I even drink the strawberry version of this virgin because the flavor is just so nice and refreshing, especially poolside under an umbrella. This is THE vacation drink.
Sangria
I could never just up and forget about the wine fans. However, sitting in the sun on a beautiful summer day drinking a bottle of wine is a terrific way to get really drunk really quickly and have a pretty gnarly headache later. One of those real “every rose has its thorn” situations. So if you’re gonna dive into a bottle of wine, why not make it fruity, fun, and several bottles instead of one!
A pitcher of sangria can even last a week, and unlike the other drinks on this list, sangria tastes its best after a few days in the fridge. We all love a gift that keeps on giving and sangria is just that!
Let us know what you thought of these in the comments below!
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