The Best Cocktails for Warm Weather

List of the best cocktails to drink on lazy summer afternoons. (Or, okay, fine, evenings... Be that way.) These are the most refreshing and light libations that are ideal for hot weather. Any cocktail can be great for unwinding at the end of a long day, but it's only certain cocktails that work ideally for hot summer days. Drinking Negronis and Old Fashioneds may be your ideal way to enjoy alcohol, but surely, when it's hot outside, a Campari Sour or even a Gin Fizz might be more appropriate?

Several ingredients pop up again and again when discussing the ideal cocktail recipes for summer. For the most part, summer cocktails tend to go a bit easier on alcohol content than their winter-time counterparts. Summer days are just longer (which means more drinking time), and it's much easier to get dehydrated quickly when enjoying drinks outside by the pool than it is huddled up by a warm fire. As well, summer cocktails often include the flavorful, sweet fruits that are in season, particularly exotic flavors like pineapple and watermelon. (In some ways, these cocktails harken back to the days of Prohibition, when fruit was frequently included in cocktails in order to blunt the harsh, unpleasant flavor of homemade alcohol.)

Finally, summer is often associated with "tiki cocktails" that tend to include a lot of rum or vodka and fruit flavors, and are associated primarily with the tropics. Drinks like the "Zombie," the Pina Colada and the Mai Tai bring to mind relaxing Hawaiian beachscapes and late-night luaus. Vote on the list below for your favorite cocktails for summer, and if we've left out your favorite hot-weather mix, add it in the space provided at the bottom of the list.

And for garnish, check out this list of the best summer fruits.