When you think about Summer drinks, you probably think about frozen and blended drinks made with vodka. But champagne can make for sweet, refreshing drinks, which is great on hot days. It’s also not usually so strong as to get you completely intoxicated with one glass, which is good because dehydration is a real concern during the hot months. But, with these champagne cocktails for summer, you can enjoy a drink in the sun, or the shade, at a cookout or a formal garden party.
Fruity Cocktails
- Raspberry Lime Champagne Punch: sugar, lime juice, tonic water, a sliced lime, water, vodka, raspberries, a bottle of champagne
The combination of berries, lime and champagne make this cocktail sweet, fruity, citrusy and refreshing. It’s sort of like drinking an alcoholic raspberry limeade. You can either make it by making a simple syrup, then adding lime juice, tonic water and vodka when it cools, or by buying store bought simple syrup and adding the aforementioned ingredients to it. Then you add the raspberries and sliced lime. Chill it and then add champagne when you’re ready to serve. It’s simple, delicious, and very colorful.
- Sparkling Berry Champagne Cocktail: Vodka, Raspberry simple syrup, Champagne
This drink is as fun to look at as it is to drink. It’s a fun, festive pink color and you can add berries and mint leaves to garnish, which adds extra color and flavor. Although making the syrup does require a bit of preparation beforehand, it’s relatively easy to do and it makes preparing the drinks easier because you can make that part ahead and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve. It’s easy to drink because it’s sweet and fruity, plus because of the bubbles. It makes for a great addition to any celebration or get-together, no matter how formal or casual.
- Bellini: Peach puree, dry champagne
This has been a favorite on upscale brunch menus for ages. It’s crisp and refreshing, a little sweet and just the right amount of tart. It’s also very easy to make. And you never have to worry about having difficulty converting the recipe for a large crowd. It doesn’t matter if you make one glass or many, stick to one part peach puree and two parts champagne. This serves to dilute the thick puree, and to add some sweetness to the tart peaches.
Creative and Refreshing Cocktails
- Cucumber Mint Sparkler: Seedless cucumber, lime juice, vodka, mint simple syrup, champagne
This refreshing cocktail has a delightful light green tint that’s reminiscent of vegetation. The vegetable/fruit/mint combination works really well together to make for a crisp, minty, invigorating flavor profile. It’s also slightly sweet, which is perfect for summer cocktails. The most complicated part about making this particular drink is the mint simple syrup, but once you’ve got it done, it makes up to 15 drinks and can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks, meaning you can enjoy it more than once.
- Champagne Lemonade: Sugar, water, lemon juice, Moscato champagne, sliced lemons
This is super easy to make. You can do it two ways: home made simple syrup and home made lemonade, or store bought syrup and lemonade. It will taste great either way, and it’s sure to be a big hit at your next party. It’s pink, festive color (thanks to the Moscato champagne) makes it perfect for fancy celebrations like bridal showers, but its refreshing lemonade flavor is suitable for any situation where you would serve hard lemonade.
- The Ghost: Midori Melon Liqueur, dry champagne
Although the name of this drink is reminiscent of Halloween parties, its sweet melon flavor makes it great for summer celebrations. It’s great with some fruit salad. It’s also easy to make. Pour some Midori in the bottom of a glass and then top it with champagne and stir. It looks great at tropical- themed parties, and it looks cool with UV lights.
Crowd Pleasers
- Frozen Champagne Margaritas: Ice, lime juice, sugar, a sliced lime, Cointreau or Triple Sec, silver tequila, brut champagne
This crisp and refreshing cocktail is a new twist on a classic drink. It’s super easy to make, too. You simply add the ingredients in a blender and pulse until you get delicious, alcoholic slushies, sugar the rims of glasses, pour it in and enjoy. It’s a great way to cool down on a hot day. They’re also very easy to drink, but watch out because the combination of different types of alcohol can pack a punch.
- Summer Fling Champagne Cocktail: Bottle of Rose’, Strawberries, Lemon, Lemonade, Bottle of Champagne
This cocktail is great for hot days, hot nights, at parties, or just relaxing on the front porch. It’s essentially an alcoholic version of a summer favorite: strawberry lemonade. It’s a little fruity, a little sweet, quite refreshing and a whole lot of delicious. To make it, put the cut strawberries, half a lemon, Rose’ and 2.5 cups of lemonade in a pitcher and then refrigerate for 4 hours. Then, fill flutes half full and top with champagne. You can garnish it with strawberries for extra color and flavor. It’s sure to please a whole crowd, but it’s so good you can relax and drink it on your own, which might be the best option because you’re probably not going to want to share it.
- Barbotage: Cognac, Grand Mariner, brut champagne
This cocktail is great for nearly everyone. Even the men in the crowd will be pleased. It doesn’t look fruity, doesn’t taste fruity and it packs a real punch with all the alcohol in it. It’s a great way to enjoy the hard stuff with some bubbles to make it easier to drink. It’s easy to make, which is good because if you serve these at a party, they may disappear fast, so you might want to have enough to make two batches.
Any of these champagne cocktails for summer would make an excellent addition to any summer celebration or party. If you don’t like champagne, there are several options on this list that have other varieties of alcohol in them that you can try out. You can really add most anything to champagne, so get creative and use any combination of festive ingredients and decorations. The possibilities are nearly