Recipes for Easy Summer Cocktail Drinks: Mojito, Bicicleta, Mint Julep, and Thyme Lemonade Vodka

Here are four summer cocktail recipes that are easy and great for a party. Many of them are inexpensive and all of them are delicious.

A mojito is a minty rum drink made with lime, mint, and simple syrup (see below).

Start with four leaves of fresh mint in the bottom of a glass. With a pestle (or the handle of a butter knife if you are one of the millions of people who do not own a pestle), bruise the mint until it is aromatic. Add 2 ounces of simple syrup, one ounce of rum, and a squeeze of lime.

A mint julep is the bourbon equivalent to a mojito. I call it a man-jito. It is made with bourbon, simple syrup, and mint.

Following the same recipe as you did for the mojito, replace the rum with bourbon and leave out the lime juice.

For parties, I make a a batch of minted simple syrup so that my guests can make mojtio or mint juleps easily.

A Bicicleta is a cool fresh drink for summer.

Take any chilled white wine (Pinot Grigio is great) and add a splash of Campari liqueur. Add a slice of navel orange for garnish.

This combination of crisp and sweet is like summer fruit. The cocktail makes a great alternative to sangria.

Thyme can make a great addition to your summer cocktail. If it's in your garden, thyme will be around all spring and summer. Cut three sprigs of thyme. Crush them with a meat tenderizer or mortar and pestle. Then, pour 1 shot of vodka to 5 ounces of lemonade. Add the crushed thyme, serve over cubed ice, and garnish with a lemon.

To make a pitcher of thyme lemonade vodka follow the recipe but multiply all ingredients by five. That make it five shots of vodka, 25 ounces of lemonade, and 15 sprigs of thyme. Together with ice this recipe should fill a half gallon glass pitcher. Garnish with some sliced lemons.

Two of the these cocktails call for simple syrup. Simple syrup is merely a mixture of water and sugar at a one-to-one ratio.

Simply bring 1 cup of water near boiling. Add 1 cup of sugar. Stir, cover, and remove from the heat.

If you would like to add mint to this mixture, bruise 10-15 leaves of fresh mint and add to the mixture as it cools.