Labor Day is the perfect time to celebrate with refreshing cocktails that capture the essence of summer
For example, margaritas and mojitos are always popular due to their citrusy flavors and refreshing mint. If you want to try something new, consider adding vodka and fresh berries into your lemonade or mixing tequila with sweet watermelon juice and lime.
Alternatively, create an elegant atmosphere by serving sparkling sangria made from seasonal fruits topped off with some prosecco. Whichever drink you choose, it will definitely keep the party spirit alive!
Here are some of my absolutely favorites!
The 13 Best Labor day cocktails and recipes
1. Margarita
One of my favorite drinks of all time is a good margarita. The taste of tequila mixed with fresh lime juice and a note of sweetness is perfect.
In my opinion, it goes well with almost anything – be it a sun lounger or a dinner party table. It’s easy to prepare.
Hassle-free and not complicated. Plus, it has a very fresh taste.
I don’t always drink them the same way – I like my margaritas either with a salted rim or with different berry flavors added.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1/2 oz Triple sec (such as Cointreau)
- Salt (for rimming the glass)
- Ice
- Lime wedge (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Rim the glass with salt . Run a slice of lime around the rim and then dip it into coarse salt.
2. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
3. Mix the tequila, fresh lime juice and triple sec in a cocktail shaker.
4. Add ice cubes and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds until well-chilled.
5. Strain the mixture into the prepared glass over the ice.
6. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately. Enjoy your Margarita!
2. Mojito
I love Mojitos – the minty freshness of them, the shine of lime and just a touch of sweetness. The first time I was served this classic cocktail, I knew it would be a drink I would love.
I love the mint leaves that have been mashed and released their oils and the taste of that essential oil at the back of the tongue and in the throat. Whether at home or out with friends, the Mojito always delivers a good, fresh taste.
Ingredients
- 2 oz white rum
- 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 8-10 fresh mint leaves
- Club soda
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Mint leaves and 1 lime wedge, muddled in a sturdy glass to release lime juice and mint oils.
2. Muddle two more lime wedges and the sugar, together.
3. Fill the glass with ice cubes, then pour the rum over the ice.
4. Fill the glass with club soda and stir well.
5. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge and a sprig of mint.
3. Piña Colada
I love a well-made Piña Colada. It’s such a satisfying mix of creamy coconut, tangy pineapple and rum, and transports me to the tropics.
It’s my drink to relax into that holiday mode, poolside or hosting guests in the summer months. I find the rich, velvety mouthfeel and sweetness irresistible, and it’s one of my favorite cocktails.
Ingredients
2 ounces white rum
1 ounce coconut cream
1 ounce heavy cream
6 ounces fresh pineapple juice
1/2 cup crushed ice
Pineapple slice and maraschino cherry for garnish (optional)
Instructions
1. Put the white rum, coconut cream, heavy cream, and fresh pineapple juice into the blender.
2. Add the crushed ice to the blender.
3. Blend the mixture on high speed until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into a chilled glass.
5. Garnish with a pineapple slice and maraschino cherry if desired.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your Piña Colada!
4. Mai Tai
I love a good Mai Tai – rum, lime, a little almond – served up and properly balanced.
Ingredients
- 2 oz white rum
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz orange curaçao
- 1/2 oz orgeat syrup
- 1/2 oz dark rum
- Mint sprig, for garnish
- Lime wheel, for garnish
Instructions
1. Shake well in an iced shaker with white rum, fresh lime juice, orange curaçao and orgeat syrup.
2. Shake the mixture well until thoroughly chilled.
3. Strain the mixture into a chilled rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
4. Carefully pour dark rum over the back of a spoon so it floats atop the liquid.
5. Garnish with a mint sprig and lime wheel.
6. Serve immediately with a straw.
5. Whiskey Sour
I prefer a good cocktail with just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. In my view, this old classic is the perfect balance of two natural flavors.
The combination of citrus to balance the whiskey warmth makes for a delicious and inviting blend of flavors. I often get asked for the recipe.
It’s a simple, but satisfying mix with sophistication on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon whiskey
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- Ice
- Lemon wheel or cherry (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Add the bourbon, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker.
2. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds.
3. Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice.
4. Garnish with a lemon wheel or a cherry.
5. Serve immediately and enjoy responsibly.
6. Long Island Iced Tea
Its great taste, and the fact that it’s made with all different types of spirits, is one of the things I love about this drink. Creating mine involves a balance of vodka, rum, gin, tequila and triple sec, topped off with a hint of cola for that classic color and the fizz that keeps me coming back for more.
Ingredients
- 1/2 ounce vodka
- 1/2 ounce white rum
- 1/2 ounce gin
- 1/2 ounce tequila
- 1/2 ounce triple sec
- 1 ounce sour mix
- Cola, to top off
- Lemon wedge, for garnish
- Ice
Instructions
1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. 2) Pour the vodka, white rum, gin, tequila, triple sec, and sour mix into the shaker.
3. Shake well until the mixture is thoroughly chilled.
4. Pour the mixture into a tall glass filled with ice.
5. Top off with cola.
6. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve immediately.
7. Blue Hawaiian
I love discovering unusual cocktail recipes, and the Blue Hawaiian is my favorite. That one sip makes me feel like I’m in paradise.
When I make it for my friends and family, people are always blown away by the color. It’s such a fun drink to serve, with a fantastic mix of flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 oz light rum
- 1 oz blue curaçao
- 2 oz pineapple juice
- 1 oz cream of coconut
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Pineapple slice (for garnish)
- Maraschino cherry (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Put the rum, blue curaçao, pineapple juice, cream of coconut and crushed ice into a blender.
2. Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth and slushy.
3. Pour the mixture into a chilled hurricane or highball glass.
4. Garnish with a pineapple slice and maraschino cherry.
5. Serve immediately and enjoy your refreshing Blue Hawaiian!
8. Daiquiri
I love exploring the origins and stories of cocktails as much as I love their flavors, and the Daiquiri is one that I always look forward to learning more about. It’s so unpretentious, so straightforward in construction but with such a complex history and so many modern variations made on its theme.
The first time I tried the original Daiquiri it made me think that maybe cocktails didn’t just have to be complex, convoluted, sweet, insipid or visually contrived – they could be simple. They could benefit from the virtue of simplicity.
Ingredients
- 2 oz white rum
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz simple syrup
- Ice cubes
- Lime wheel (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
2. Add white rum, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup to the shaker.
3. Shake well until the mixture is thoroughly chilled.
4. Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass.
5. Garnish with a lime wheel.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your Daiquiri!
9. Paloma
The cocktail I am thinking of is so tempting, the combination of flavors and sensations so satisfying, that I am not even sure where to begin to describe this wonder. Perhaps the mixture of fizzy soda and the fresh zing of citrus fruit, or the pleasure of seeing it in the glass?
This is my all-time cocktail – and favorite drink of all my friends, whenever we get together. The balance of flavors is so well judged that it is simply impossible to resist.
Ingredients
- 2 oz tequila
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- Pinch of salt
- Grapefruit soda (such as Squirt or Jarritos)
- Ice
- Lime wedge (for garnish)
- Salt (for rimming the glass, optional)
Instructions
1. Rim the glass by rubbing a lime wedge around its outer edge, then dipping the glass upside down into a small dish of salt.
2. Fill the glass with ice.
3. Pour the tequila and lime juice over the ice.
4. Add a pinch of salt.
5. Top off the drink with grapefruit soda.
6. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.
10. Tequila Sunrise
I love the colors of the drink and how refreshing it is. This cocktail is an experience for me, I feel as if I’m in paradise eating my favorite fruit while sipping this vibrant cocktail.
The orange and red blend together perfectly in the glass. With each sip, I taste the perfect combination of tequila, orange juice, and grenadine.
To me, this is the perfect way to end a long day.
Ingredients
- 2 oz tequila
- 4 oz orange juice
- 1/2 oz grenadine syrup
- Ice cubes
- Orange slice (for garnish)
- Maraschino cherry (for garnish)
Instructions
1. Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
2. Pour in the tequila and orange juice over the ice.
3. Pour the grenadine syrup into the glass very slowly: it will slip to the base and then work its way back up, mixing with the other ingredients, so making a kind of gradient, or sunrise.
4. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
5. Serve immediately without stirring to maintain the layered effect.
11. Bloody Mary
I’m a big fan of folklore and scary stories, and as far as stories go I can’t think of one that gives me the creeps quite like bloody Mary. Her theatricality and legendary iconic status—as well as the sheer creepiness of the story in each iteration—strikes me as the quintessence of a good ghost story.
Ingredients
- 2 oz vodka
- 4 oz tomato juice
- 1/2 oz lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dashes hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of ground black pepper
- Pinch of smoked paprika (optional)
- Celery stalk, olives, lemon wedge, and/or pickles for garnish
Instructions
1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Pour in the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika with the ice.
3. Shake gently to combine the ingredients.
4. Strain the mixture into a tall glass filled with ice.
5. Garnish with a celery stalk, olives, lemon wedge, and/or pickles.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your Bloody Mary!
12. Moscow Mule
The combination of vodka, ginger beer and lime just works together perfectly.
It is as simple as that. The copper mug keeps it so ice cold and completes the drinking experience.
If I want to impress my friends then this is my automatic choice.
Ingredients
- 2 oz vodka
- 4-6 oz ginger beer
- 0.5 oz lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- Ice cubes
- Lime wedge (for garnish)
- Fresh mint leaves (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
1. Fill a copper mug or highball glass with ice cubes.
2. Pour in the vodka and lime juice.
3. Top off the mug with ginger beer.
4. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
5. Garnish with a lime wedge and fresh mint leaves, if desired.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your Moscow Mule!