Labor Day Cocktail Recipes to Help You Savor the Tail End of Summer

It’s the twilight of summer, which means the rosé may be running a little dry. If you’ve overindulged on straight summer water, here are four other recipes from two of our favorite drink purveyors that’ll help maximize the last moments of summer.

After Lo-Fi Aperitifs visited our office, amaro quickly became our go-to summer sipping beverage. An Italian digestif, amaro is best known for its after dinner drink status (ideally imbibed while on an Italian coast). It also happens to pair perfectly with a rosé to create the “Lo-Sé.” The complexity of the gentian amaro—combined with a dry rosé and splash of soda—is drinkable before, during, and after any summer cookout. These can be made per glass or as a batch, depending on party size.

Lo-Sé

2 oz gentian amaro 2 oz dry rosé 1 oz soda

Build in a glass, and serve over ice in a white wine glass. To batch, scale up for whatever size your pitcher is, and pour over ice.

Pink Beer Amaro

takes a bottled beer into that summer sweet spot of high-low drinking—with the added bonus of making it a light shade of pink. All you need to do is take a long drink of beer and add in a shot of amaro: Then, voila: Pink Beer with a dynamic flavor profile.

Lo-Fi recommends Miller High Life (most likely because it’s the champagne of beers), but anything in a clear bottle will do—so you can put that pink beer on display.

We discovered this cocktail at our company offsite when the Bar Truck came by—a dream with its idyllic, classic mint blue truck that turns into a perfect, farm stand-esque foldout bar. The Velvet Spike is a true crowd pleaser, and works to comb a hydrating, summer favorite fruit with a little heat.

The Velvet Spike

1.5 oz roasted-jalapeño tequila 0.5 oz fresh lime juice 0.25 oz dry curaçao 1 barspoon of simple syrup 5 one-inch chunks of fresh watermelon

Shake ingredients hard with ice, and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with chile-dusted watermelon wedge.

For the tequila, split 2 jalapeños lengthwise, and roast at 325 degrees until the edges brown up and the skins start to bubble. Add to 1 liter of quality tequila, and steep for 30 minutes to up to an hour, depending on how spicy you like it. Strain, bottle, and refrigerate for up to four weeks. (But really, just drink it already.)

Another gift from the Bar Truck, this drink comes to life with the addition of a shrub. Shrubs—also known as “drinking vinegars”—may not have the most appetizing name, but they are, in fact, a fantastically refreshing summer drink, especially when put over ice with rye. The purple from the blackberries in this drink take it above and beyond in both taste and Instagram-ability.

Kentucky Woman

1.5 oz rye or bourbon (infuse the rye with chamomile for extra flavor) 0.75 oz blackberry-lemon shrub Club soda Mint 2-3 fresh blackberries

To make the shrub, combine 1 cup of blackberries with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar. Zest 1 lemon, and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash the blackberries into the mixture as it’s cooking. Strain into a mason jar, and refrigerate until use.

When you’re ready to imbibe, combine the shrub with rye and shake with ice. Strain into a highball with fresh ice. Top with club soda, and garnish with a few blackberries and a mint sprig.

See more fun cocktail ideas:

The 7 Best Negroni Cocktails in NYC NYC Bartenders Share Their Favorite Summer Cocktails How the French Do Summer Cocktails