10 Summer Holiday Alcoholic Drink Recipes

Ladies and gentlemen it's time for another installment of drink recipes. For those of you who take bartending seriously on all occasions, this could be your map to the liquid treasure you have been dreaming of. For the rest of you, use this to coax your friends into coming over for some cocktails poolside this summer. Whether in your own backyard, or on holidays in Jamaica, beating the heat feels good with these summer time drink recipes.

Obviously, there are many variations of these cocktails. The following are just my favorite ones:

Mai Tai

Collins glass, ice

- 1 oz light rum

- 1 oz dark rum

- 1/2 oz creme de almond

- Fill with pineapple and orange juice

- Top with Myers dark rum

- Garnish with pineapple wedge and cherry

Rum Runner

Collins glass, ice

- 1 oz blackberry liqueur

- 1 oz banana liqueur

- 1 oz light rum

- 1 oz dark rum

- Fill with pineapple and orange juice

- Splash of grenadine

- Top with a floater of Bacardi 151

- Garnish with an orange slice

Simply Lemon

Collins glass, ice

- 1 1/2 oz vodka

- Squeezed lemon juice

- Fill with sprite

- Garnish with lemon

Raspberry Arny Pauly

Collins glass or pint glass, ice

- 1 oz raspberry vodka

- Fill evenly with lemonade and ice tea

- Garnish with lemon

Michelada

Pint glass, ice (optional)

- 12 oz beer

- Pinch of salt

- Dash of Tabasco Sauce

- Lemon juice

- 2 Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce

- Dash of soy sauce

- Pinch of pepper

- Pour into salt-rimmed glass, garnish with lime

The extra effort it takes to prepare these blended drinks is often well worth it.

Chi-Chi (Fun to say, and fun to drink)

Hurricane glass

- 2 oz vodka

- 1/2 oz blue curacao

- 1/2 oz coconut cream

- Fresh or canned pineapple

- Scoop of vanilla ice cream or ice cream mix

- Blend together with ice

- Garnish with pineapple

Lava Flow

Hurricane glass

- 1 oz light rum

- 1 oz Malibu coconut rum

- 2 oz fresh or frozen strawberries

- 1 Banana

- Pineapple juice and coconut cream

- Blend rums and strawberries together. Pour into glass. Rinse blender. Blend banana, pineapple juice, cream and ice. Pour into same glass.

- Garnish with a pineapple wedge

Pina Colada

Hurricane glass

- 1 1/2 oz light rum

- Ice

- Pina colada mix

- Blend with ice until smooth consistency

Summer Hummer

Hurricane glass

- Same as Pina Colada (above), but top with Myers dark rum.

Rock Lobster

Hurricane glass

- 1 oz Malibu coconut rum

- 1/2 oz banana liqueur

- Splash of grenadine

- 1/2 a banana

- Pineapple and orange juice

- Mix together in blender with ice

- Pour into glass and top with Myers dark rum

- Garnish with pineapple wedge

As summer comes to an end, it's time to break out the blender and the tiny paper umbrellas one last time. Follow these recipes, tweak them to your liking, and enjoy responsibly. Don't be afraid to get these going even in the middle of winter either. It may prove to be the perfect amount of light in an otherwise dark and cloudy day.