Summer solstice isn’t until June 20, but if you’re ready for summer vibes, you have to have a drink to match. Maybe you already have your summer vacation wardrobe planned, but the same preparation is necessary for your cocktail selections. “Summer is here and I’d definitely like to see more mixed drinks with champagne, says DarDra C. Coaxum, owner of HRLM Champagne.
While your choice of cocktail or wine might be based on the season, Chauncey Jenkins, director of beverage and hospitality for Secret Supper Society and wine director for Marylou’s in Richmond, Va., thinks it truly signifies a person’s current mood. “I feel like drink orders tell me more about a person’s headspace first, and then we get to personality.”
If you’re looking to try something new or sip on a fun cocktail this rooftop season, here are a few recommendations based on the season, your astrology sign—and your mood.
It doesn’t get any more refreshing than an agua fresca. The fruit, water, and lime combo is typically without a spirit but for a more festive vibe, you can easily spike it with vodka or tequila.
Try a dirty martini with kombu, or dried sea kelp. This “recreates an environment that reminds people of the sea. We don’t know that much about the sea just like we don’t know that much about Pisces, so we’ll find our common ground in salinity,” says Jenkins.
“Chaos, just pure fun and chaos,” says Coaxum of the fiery Aries crew. So of course a Long Island iced tea, which includes pretty much everything, from vodka to tequila to rum to gin, is the good time in a glass that an Aries can appreciate.
Stop being stubborn, at least for a minute. Take this time to enjoy what you might think is a basic summer drink: the Aperol spritz. But try swapping the usual Prosecco for champagne.
You can’t choose just one, and why would you? Yannick Similien, assistant bar manager at Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort in Saint Lucia recommends what he calls the Spices of Lucia. It’s made with Chairman’s spiced rum, Bounty Coconut rum, lime, all spice, and topped with soda. “This is two-sided with a cool rum and a spiced rum.”
Cancer, you’re probably already in your feelings for your birthday month. But take a load off with a refreshing Pimm’s Cup. The gin-based drink is refreshing and if you’re heading to ESSENCE Fest, it’ll be an easy drink to find and sip on while in NOLA.
For the “aggressive lion,” Similien says to opt for the spicy bloody Mary. Nope, a bloody Mary isn’t anything new and it’s a brunch staple, but amp it up a bit with some major heat. If you really want to be extra (of course you do, Leo!), then over-the-top garnishes are really going to wow you and get attention.
“Slightly abrasive but charming after a few sips,” is how Jenkins describes the mezcal old fashioned. “It doesn’t care how you feel about it, it’s always going to deliver sharp honesty.” So Virgo, this one’s for you.
“I think boulevardier describes us – brooding, pensive, great depth and a hint of spice,” says Jenkins, who’s a proud October Libra. The whiskey, vermouth, and Campari cocktail (basically a Negroni without the gin) is classic but flavorful. “We can balance anything and I think boulevardiers do just that.”
Trying to predict a mysterious Scorpio’s next move is just futile. To keep people guessing, and maybe even keep yourself in the dark, ask for a bartender’s special. Let your fave mixologist at your neighborhood spot know your spirit of choice and just allow them to whip up something special.
With blackberries coming in to season the end of the month, try a tequila smash. The classic spirit is paired with the sweetness of the berries, the fizz of 7UP, and a dash of sage. For the always evolving always-ready-for-change Sag, this might just become your go-to drink of the summer.
“A drink that I personally love and would personify us would definitely be a glass of red wine. Probably vintage, a Malbec or cabernet sauvignon,” says Harlem native and January Capricorn, Coaxum. Don’t be so quick to think of red wine as a boring choice. It’s an “elegant drink that gets better with time, just as a Capricorn does,” she says.
