40 Cool Drinks for a Hot Day

A gallery of cocktails, iced teas, lemonades, and other drinks to slake your thirst.

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Nonalcoholic Beverages

Ngoc Minh Ngo

This tangy basil-infused drink is made for summer.

Get the recipe for Basil Lemonade.

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Mix up this hibiscus-tea refresher in just 5 minutes.

Francesco Lagnese

Get the recipe for the Hibiscus Mocktini.

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Despite its name, Ginger Beer is kid-friendly.

Petrina Tinslay

Get the recipe for Ginger-Beer.

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Upgrade iced tea with anything from ginger and honey to peach and mint.

James Baigrie

Get the recipes for Iced Tea Four Ways.

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Instant espresso gives a low-cal drink some kick.

Charles Maraia

Get the recipe for the Espresso Slushy.

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Top a ginger ale–cranberry juice combo with scoops of raspberry sorbet.

Charles Maraia

Get the recipe for Raspberry Fizz.

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When life hands you lemons, make one of these versions of the hot-weather classic.

Antonis Achilleos

Get the recipes for Lemonade, Remade.

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Green tea is spiced with ginger and mint.

Charles Maraia

Get the recipe for Iced Green Tea With Ginger and Mint.

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As juicy and refreshing as a slice of watermelon on a sweltering afternoon.

Yunhee Kim

Get the recipe for Watermelon-Mint Cooler.

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Slightly tart and brisk, this is a drink for grown-ups.

Yunhee Kim

Get the recipe for Cucumber and Lime Spritzer.

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Pineapple sweetens the tang of ginger ale.

Yunhee Kim

Get the recipe for Sparkling Pineapple Ginger Ale.

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Make store-bought lemonade special by adding fresh blueberries and mint.

Charles Masters

Get the recipe for Frozen Blueberry Lemonade.

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Fresh strawberries are at the heart of these thick, rich, and totally decadent frappes.

James Baigrie

Get the recipe for Fresh-Strawberry-Shake.

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Serve this fruit-and-herb blend as a nonalcoholic sipper or spike it with bourbon.

Yunhee Kim

Get the recipe for Iced Tea With Plums and Thyme.

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An old-fashioned treat: homemade ginger ale.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for Ginger-Ale.

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Lemon and mint give zing to bracing black tea.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for Lemon-Iced-Tea.

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A frothy concoction of ice cream and berries is a sweet, satisying treat, especially when the weather swelters.

Quentin Bacon

Get the recipe for Mixed-Berry-Shake.

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This cranberry-apple-strawberry mash-up gets extra kick from a sugary rim garnish.

Alexandra Grablewski

Get the recipe for Cranberry Spritzer.

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A lively version of lemonade fizzes with carbonated water.

Christopher Baker

Get the recipe for Strawberry-Lemonade.

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Alcoholic Beverages

Beatriz da Costa

A sparkling combination of juice and vodka.

Get the recipe for the Simpleton Cocktail.

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Triple Sec and lime give a margarita zest.

Dana Gallagher

Get the recipe for Classic Margaritas.

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Apricot nectar is the secret of this sangria.

Francesco Lagnese

Get the recipe for Sparkling White Sangria.

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Three ingredients are all that’s needed for this bourbon cocktail.

Francesco Lagnese

Get the recipe for the Bourbon and Blood Orange Blast.

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Classic summer drinks: sangria, daiquiri, and margarita.

Quentin Bacon

Get the recipes for shortcut versions of these Easy Summer Cocktails.

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Thank rum for this mango concoction’s tropical punch.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for the Mango Colada.

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To garnish with olives or a twist? Take your pick.

Jeremy Samuelson

Get the recipe for the Martini.

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Champagne and pear nectar combine in a delicate drink.

William Meppem

Get the recipe for Pear Mimosas.

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Learn how to mix up these standbys, plus 7 more party beverages.

Anita Calero

Get the recipes for Martinis, Sangria, and more.

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This take on the margarita features fresh strawberries and bananas.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for the Strawberry-Banana-Margarita.

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For an unconventional garnish, try a sprig of lavender or thyme.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for the Stay Dry Vodka Martini.

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Juicy berries and flavorful orange slices transform Rioja into sangria.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for Red Wine Sangria.

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Is it a drink or is it dessert? Perhaps a little bit of both.

Quentin Bacon

Get the recipe for Lime Sorbet Margaritas.

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Club soda adds fizz to white wine and a veritable fruit medley.

Charles Maraia

Get the recipe for white sangria.

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Lime slices are a tangy note in light, bubbly spritzers.

Johnny Valiant

Get the recipe for Lime Spritzers and more in Throw an Easy Outdoor Cocktail Party.

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If you wish, eliminate the vodka from this recipe for a refreshing, nonalcoholic quencher.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for the Watermelon-Lime-Cooler.

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Bring a bit of the beach to your backyard: a quartet of drinks (piña colada, mojito, and more) offer a tropical twist.

Kathryn Barnard and Greg Kessler

Get 4 tropical cocktail recipes.

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Bubbles dance on the tongue with this fruit-flavored sipper.

Minh&Wass

Get the recipe for Sparkling Passion-Fruit Aperitifs.

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Cucumber meets sake in an invigorating cocktail.

Francesco Lagnese

Get the recipe for Cucumber-Saketini.

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An icy take on an old favorite.

Maura McEvoy

Get the recipe for the Cosmopolitan-Slushy.

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A vodka-and–club soda mix is chock-full of fresh fruit.

Rob Howard

Get the recipe for Berry-Vodka-Spritzers.

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