Top cocktail recipes for July 2026
Our July roundup features 20 recipes as we assume your at-home cocktail-making might increase this month, considering heatwaves and all that.
It might have been mentioned once or twice, but it’s been pretty damn hot in the Northern Hemisphere over the last few weeks. Don’t fear, though, July’s roundup of recipes features plenty of cocktails to help you beat the heat; from Highballs to a Basil Smash and a Frozen Margarita.
Scroll down for the best recipes to make from home this month.
For more cocktail inspiration, see our previous roundups from May and June.
Smoke & Pepper Highball
This Highball has a kick to it and really magnifies Glen Moray’s peated single malt. Perfect for a summer’s evening gazing out across the rolling Speyside hills.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Glen Moray Peated
- 150ml Soda water
- Ice
- Crack of black pepper
Method: Fill the glass with ice and pour Glen Moray Peated. Top up with soda water, stir gently, and garnish with black pepper.
Summer Tonic
This cocktail’s aim is in its name, with the dried fruits, complexity and woody notes of Beehive’s French brandy making the ideal companion for the tonic.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Beehive VSOP
- Tonic water
- A splash of fresh citrus
- Optional: 10ml grapefruit or lemon juice
- Two slices of lemon
Method: Pour Beehive VSOP into a glass filled with ice and a small splash of fresh citrus juice, then top with chilled tonic water. Stir lightly and garnish with two lemon slices.
The Hibiscus Sour
A velvety Tequila Sour that balances bright lemon citrus with vibrant hibiscus notes and is finished with a delicate floral foam.
Ingredients:
- 40ml Tequila Ocho Blanco
- 20ml Lemon juice
- 20ml Hibiscus syrup
- 10ml Egg white
- Garnish: Edible flower
Method: Dry shake all ingredients without ice to create a rich foam. Add ice and shake again until well chilled. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass and serve.
Bahama Mama
Get out the wide-brimmed straw hat for this cocktail (even if you’re not under the sun), which brings tropical holiday vibes and a herbal element through Tatratea’s coconut tea liqueur.
Ingredients:
- 25ml Tatratea 22% Coconut
- 15ml Kavalero coffee liqueur
- 25ml Rum
- 15ml Lime juice
- 90ml Pineapple juice or pineapple soda
Method: Pour lime juice, Tatratea 22% Coconut, Kavalero, and rum into a shaker. Shake everything together thoroughly and strain into a long glass. Add ice and top up with pineapple juice. Garnish with a pineapple slice or an edible flower.
Assam Black Punch
Got a big dinner party coming up? Perhaps with, say, 10 guests? Then this bold and aromatic punch is your ticket to success
Ingredients: For 10 guests
- 400ml Desi Daru Original
- 150ml King’s Ginger liqueur
- 150ml Crème de Peche liqueur
- 250ml Fresh lemon juice
- 100ml Honey
- 350ml Cold Assam black tea*
- Garnish: Lemon wheels, dried fruits, flowers, grated nutmeg
- Glassware: Punch bowl and rocks glasses
Method: Make the Assam tea in advance and store it in the fridge. Add Desi Daru Original and all the ingredients, including the cold Assam tea, in a punch bowl. Add ice and garnish. Serve with a ladle in rocks glasses on ice.
*For the black tea: 8g Assam loose leaf black tea, 500ml boiling water.
In a bowl, add the leaves to the hot water. Let the tea brew for five minutes. Fine strain, bottle, and keep in the fridge until needed for the Punch.
Second Breakfast
We’re all for second breakfasts, and this liquid one is described as a silky cocktail to enjoy alongside your long, leisurely morning meal.
Ingredients:
- 40ml Croissant-infused Witchmark Wiltshire Gin
- 15ml Raspberry jam syrup
- 15ml Lemon juice
- 2 Dashes of coffee bitters
- 1 Egg white
Method: Shake all the ingredients over ice. Double strain and then dry shake. Strain into a large coupe. Garnish with a stripe of coffee bitters.
Club 1865
A smooth and slightly sweeter take on an Old Fashioned, which keeps the cocktail’s traditional essence but adds complexity from Curaçao rum AnnaBay Club’s molasses and caramel notes.
Ingredients:
- 50ml AnnaBay Club Aged 5 Years Rum
- 5ml Vanilla liqueur
- 5ml Agave syrup
- 3 Dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 Dash orange bitters
- Orange peel
Method: Mix the ingredients together in a mixing glass with lots of ice and stir for a few seconds. Strain and pour into a tumbler over fresh ice. Use a peeler to make a strip of orange. Give the peel a good squeeze and spritz the cocktail. Rim the lip of the glass with the orange peel, twist it, and use it to garnish.
Passoã Frozen Margarita
Nothing says summer like a frozen Marg, so get the ingredients of this sweet passion fruit version from Passoã into your blender and slurp away – just mind the brain freeze.
Ingredients:
- 20ml Passoã
- 35ml Tequila silver (blanco)
- 10ml Triple sec
- 20ml Fresh lime juice
- 15ml Sugar water
- 40ml Cold water
- 1 Passion fruit
Method: Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add ice and blend until slushy. Serve in a Margarita glass with a garnish of a lime wheel and half a passion fruit.
Fluère Lowgroni Sbagliato
A low-ABV version of the Milan-born cocktail, so you can enjoy an aperitivo at home without the threat of a heavy head.
Ingredients:
- 30ml Fluère Bitter
- 20ml Galliano L’Aperitivo
- 10ml Sweet vermouth
- 40ml Prosecco (with or without alcohol)
- Orange slice
Method: Fill a pre-chilled rocks or wine glass with ice. Add Fluère Bitter, Galliano L’Aperitivo, and sweet vermouth, stir gently and top with chilled Prosecco. Garnish with an expressed orange slice.
Ukiyo Nashi Bloom
If you’ve been enticed by Ukiyo’s Japanese nashi pear gin, released in February this year, try your hand at this recipe, which showcases its crisp sweetness.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Ukiyo Nashi Pear Gin
- 20ml Elderflower liqueur
- 15ml Fresh lemon juice
- 10ml Simple syrup
- 30ml Pear juice
- 1 Dash orange bitters
Method: Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled. Double strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a fan of thinly sliced pear.
Dirty Maretini
Gin Mare’s Mediterranean botanicals, which include Arbequina olives and basil, deliver a top-tier Dirty Martini.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Gin Mare
- 10ml Olive brine
- 5ml Fino Sherry
Method: Stir ingredients in a shaker, strain into a Martini or coupe glass, and garnish with an olive.
Del Suelo Deep South
Del Suelo’s mezcal brings a smoky component to this cocktail, which is also fresh and packed with peach flavour. Smoked peaches, anyone?
Ingredients:
- 60ml Del Suelo Espadín Mezcal
- 15ml Tio Pepe Fino Sherry
- 15ml Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
- 25ml Fresh lemon juice
- 10ml Simple syrup
- 1 Barspoon peach jelly
- 2 Dashes Bitter Truth Peach Bitters
Method: Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, and shake until the peach jelly is fully incorporated and the drink is well chilled. Double-strain into a chilled coupette glass. Add two dashes of Bitter Truth Peach Bitters over the surface of the drink. Serve immediately.
Alta Luz Mango Spicy
A fresh and summery cocktail made with Torres Brandy’s cristalino expression, Alta Luz, which is also said to be the first crystalline brandy in history.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Torres Alta Luz
- 20ml Lemon juice
- 15ml Mango juice
- 10ml Chilli syrup
- 10ml Egg white
- Tajín
Method: Add all the ingredients into a shaker, shake without ice to incorporate the ingredients and change the texture. Add ice and shake once more to chill. Strain into a coupe glass rimmed with Tajín.
Mare Tonic
This Mediterranean gin and tonic recipe is an essential part of any proper summer survival kit, at least in our books.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Gin Mare
- 150ml Premium Indian tonic water
- Garnish: Rosemary sprig
- Cubed ice
Method: Build ingredients and stir in a Gin Mare balloon glass.
Glenrinnes Gangster
This sophisticated vodka-based cocktail can be whipped up quickly and easily, while making you appear to be a pro behind the bar. Gangster, indeed.
Ingredients:
- 60ml Eight Lands Vodka
- 12.5ml Lillet Blanc
- 5ml Sugar syrup
- 4x Drops bitters (preferably Abbots but Bokers or Angostura if not available)
Method: Stir ingredients over ice. Strain into Old Fashioned glass with either a large ice block or plenty of smaller cubes. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Cazcabel Tommy’s Margarita
Pay the Margarita its dues on World Agave Day (23 July) with this recipe from Cazcabel.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Cazcabel of your choice (Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, or Honey)
- 25ml Lime juice
- 15ml Agave syrup
Method: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice, shake.
Hot Honey Paloma
This is a fiery twist on a Paloma from Cazcabel, one that has a spicy-citrus lift.
Ingredients:
- 25ml Cazcabel Honey Tequila Liqueur
- 25ml Cazcabel Blanco
- 20ml Lime juice
- 3-5 dashes Tabasco
Method: Shake, serve over ice in a Highball, top with pink grapefruit soda.
Steel 7.65
“A toast to achievement well-earned,” says Spy X of this crisp and citrus-charged cocktail.
Ingredients:
- 60ml Spy X vodka
- 30ml Grapefruit juice
- 2 Dashes cucumber bitters
- 10ml Soda
- Garnish: Grapefruit zest
Method: Stir ingredients in a shaker and strain into a glass with ice.
Basilica Smash
Nothing beats the heat and quenches the thirst quite like a Basil Smash.
Ingredients:
- 40ml Portofino Dry Gin
- 30ml Lemon juice
- 20ml Agave syrup
- 5-6 Basil leaves
- Garnish: Basil leaf
Method: Add basil leaves to a shaker and muddle. Pour all remaining ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and give it a hard shake. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with a basil leaf.
Flamingo Spritz
If you like strawberries (and flamingos), then this sparkling serve from Sir Edmond Gin is for you.
Ingredients:
- 50ml Sir Edmond Gin
- 70ml Fresh strawberry juice
- 60ml Sparkling water
- 30ml Prosecco
- Plenty of ice cubes
Method: Fill a glass generously with ice cubes. Add Sir Edmond Gin and fresh strawberry juice, and stir gently to combine the flavours. Top up with sparkling water and Prosecco, then give the cocktail a light final stir.
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