Top 10 Cocktails for 100 Degree Weather

Are you going to Palm Desert, California or Dallas, Texas or Las Vegas, Nevada or Dominican Republic or Oaxaca, Mexico? Everyone loves the summer and the number one question is what to drink when the weather reaches 100 degrees. Or maybe you want to be environmentally conscious or save some money in this tough economy by turning off the air-conditioning? No matter what your reason, these are the best cocktails and drinks for living it up in 100 degree heat!

1. “Fire It Up” is quite simple: Serve Firestarter Vodka on the rocks. It might be best to use real ice cold rocks/stones like they did in the old days as 100 degree heat will melt ice pronto. Firestarter Vodka is a must for any summer event!

Firestarter Vodka is distilled and bottled in Moldova, an Eastern European country that is next to Romania and Ukraine. Made with winter wheat in the rolling hills of Moldova along the Black Sea, Firestarter Vodka is from a 19th century recipe, five times distilled and filtered, and filled in one of the world’s most innovative liquor bottles. www.Firestarter-Vodka.com

2. “Island Hopper” cocktail made with Twenty 2 Vodka. Take a pint glass filled with really cold ice, and combine 2 oz Twenty 2 Vodka, 3 oz fresh pineapple juice, stir to mix, top off with 3 oz of gigner ale (MicroLiquor recommends the Vernors brand) and garnish with a skewer of ice cold crystallized pineapple. Make sure all the ingredients are super cold so you can beat the summer heat! www.twenty2vodka.com

Micro Distilled Twenty 2 Vodka is made in Houlton, Maine in controlled 50 gallon batches. Jessica Jewell and Scott Galbiati are the entrepreneurs and the husband-and-wife team who mix in the pure Northern Maine water, individually fill, label, inspect and number by hand every bottle. If you think that is amazing, check this out: Scott & Jessica post a new cocktail every Friday at 3:00PM. It just goes to show you that these entrepreneurs know that “it’s five o’clock somewhere” only Monday thru Thursday.

3. “Frozen Mezcalita“ made with Mezcal Semillero Joven. Take a lime wedge to wet the rim of a rocks glass. Dip glass rim in Kosher salt. Blend glass full of large cold ice cubes with 2 oz of Mezcal Semillero Joven, 1.5 oz of Triple Sec, 1.5 oz of Fresh Lime Juice, 1 oz of Simple Syrup. Pour into rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Mezcal Semillero Joven is micro double distilled, unaged, from 100% Espadin “Estate Grown” agave in Oaxaca, Mexico from a family recipe that goes back 250 years. Mezcal Semillero Joven won Best in Class and Platinum in the mezcal category at the SIP Awards. The Mezcalita is the world’s most popular Mezcal cocktail. Mezcal is North America’s oldest distilled spirit, yet it is the most unknown…a resurgence is making its way via the roaring cocktail culture of Los Angeles, California and New York City. www.mezcalsemillero.com

4. “Limoncello USA Shot” using Ventura Limoncello Originale. Ok, so this is not quite a cocktail, but trust me, doing a shot of this limoncello during the hottest days of summer is going to change the way you think about limoncello, it is absolutely amazing, easy to make of course, and the simplicity is especially useful in hot weather. Put a 375ML bottle of Ventura Limoncello Original and a few shot glasses in the freezer for a few hours. I like the 375ML bottle better than the 750ML since it looks super sexy, takes less time to get really cold, and is easier to grip while pouring shots.

Ventura Limoncello Orginale is one awesome liqueur that will give your mouth such an incredible burst of lemon refreshment that you will be ready to brave 100 degree weather and feel more confident with flirting with that guy or gal you keep staring at while lounging at the pool or sun-bathing at the beach. Trust me, Ventura Limoncello is out of this world and you are going to wonder why you didn’t start taking shots of limoncello when you were younger and more outgoing. www.venturalimoncello.com

5. Hazzy’s Island Ice is one of those cocktail products that makes everyone around say “why didn’t I think of that?” These 100ML packs include Pina Colada, Margarita, Cherry, and Blue Raspberry flavored liquor ice slushes with 6.2% alcohol (12.4 proof). Boating, beach volleyball, lounging by the pool are the places to take these frozen alcoholic beverages that are super convenient, super-delicious, and super perfect to cool off in 100 degree weather.

“Sometimes you just want a Margarita, or a Pina Colada,” says Hazzy’s Island Ice entrepreneur and co-founder Becca Hasbrouck. “Who wants to go the blender mess route if all you want is one quick cocktail?” Seriously though, why didn’t anyone think about this before? Amazing! www.paradiceproducts.com

6. Hair of the Dawg Cocktails: Bloody Mary, Mojito, and Margarita. “Many years ago, former Iowa Hawkeye basketball player Mark Gannon came up with this bold, savory Bloody Mary Mix that won the Twin Cities Bloody Mary competition 2 years in a row. At the urging of friends and family” the entrepreneurial thought turned into action and Hair of the Dawg was born.

“Lap it up!” Hair of the Dawg has a world-class Bloody Mary Cocktail Mix that you’ll love with any micro vodka. Shake well, fill glass with ice, add 1 oz of micro liquor vodka (think Death’s Door Vodka, Dry Fly Vodka, Hangar One Vodka), stir in mix.

If you like Mojitos, make a Hair of the Dawg Mojito by filling glass with ice, adding 1 oz of micro liquor rum (think Charbay Rum, Chairman’s Reserve Rum, Atlantico Rum), fill with mix, stir, garnish with lime and mint. If you like Margaritas, rim a glass with lime juice and kosher salt, fill shaker with large ice cubes, add 1 oz of micro tequila (think Angel Tequila, Paqui Tequila, Casa Noble Tequila), 1 oz micro brewed beer, and top with mix. Shake well, pour in salted glass, and of course “Lap it up!” www.hairofthedawgmix.com

7. “Blade Corpse Reviver #2.5″ made with Old World Spirits’ Blade Gin. This cocktail is the best name for giving you some extra energy during the most intense sunshine during the day.

How to Make the Blade Corpse Reviver #2.5 Cocktail?

1.5 oz Blade Gin

3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

3/4 oz Lilet Blanc

1/2 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz La Sorciere Absinthe Bleue

Shake Blade Gin, lemon, lillet, Triple Sec with ice vigoriously. Fine strain into large coupe. Float Absinthe Blueu on top. Twist lemon peel over top and garnish with lemon peel.

Blade Gin is made in California with a symphony of flavors from Master Distiller Davorin Kuchen blending California Grape Eau de Vie, Citrus, Ginger, Cilantro and several other ingredients from a secret family recipe. www.oldworldspirits.com

8. Brasilian Wax Cocktail made with Cabana Cachaça. Pour 2 oz Cabana Cachaca, 2 oz Pineapple juice in an ice-filled glass. Splash club soda, stir, enjoy the the hot, sunny weather as if you were in Brazil along one of its pristine beaches.

Entrepreneur Matti Anttila created Cabana Cachaça in 2006 with sugar cane from the state of Sao Paulo, considered some of the best in the world. Double distilled, handcrafted, this artisanal spirit is sold in the United States, England, and Brasil. www.cabanacachaca.com

9. “Orange Kiss” made with Orange V, probably one of the world’s best orange flavored vodkas. Buy a bottle and compare it to any orange flavored spirit on the market. How to make the Orange Kiss cocktail: Take 1.5 oz Orange V, 1.5 oz Amaretto, 1.5 oz Fresh Lime Juice, shake over ice and strain over ice in highball glass.

Orange V was developed by liquor entrepreneur veteran Dave Schmier by finding the juiciest sweetest Valencia, Mandarin and Tangerine oranges in Florida and extracted the juices and essences to blend and infuse into an organic distilled spirit. Fresh oranges are grown in sunshine so it is only appropriate to enjoy the Orange Kiss cocktail in the hottest climate. www.orangev.com

10. “The Penicillin” cocktail made with Dalmore Whisky. Before making this cocktail, you must read Thirsty in LA‘s amazing article The Nose Knows: Tasting the Dalmore with Richard Paterson to really appreciate the love and passion that goes into the The Dalmore Scotch lineup. Since 1839, The Dalmore distillery has been producing exceptional single malt whisky in Scotland. www.thedalmore.com

How to make The Penicillin cocktail: Combine 12 Year Old Scotch, fresh lemon juice, honey and ginger syrup. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass, spray Islay mist over the top. Garnished with ginger candy. (World-Reknown Mixologist Eric Alperin of The Varnish, Los Angeles, California created this cocktail version using The Dalmore Scotch from the original Penicillin cocktail recipe created by Mixologist Extraordinaire Sam Ross)The Pencillin whisky drink has one large block of ice that is so thick and cold that it can withstand any extreme summer day. I absolutely love this whiskey.

Top 10 Cocktails for 100 Degree Weather…hope you enjoyed this top ten list of some of the most exceptional distilled spirits cocktails in the world. Think before you drink…always consider the high quality, entrepreneurial small brands of liquor. The cocktail revolution is quite incredible.