Sunshine in a Glass: Our Favourite Summer Cocktails

Summer at The Shropshire Distillery is our favourite time of year, the doors are open, the copper stills are gleaming, and there’s always something worth celebrating. Whether you’re hosting a garden party, settling in for a long, lazy afternoon, or just decided that yes, it is absolutely five o’clock somewhere! These four cocktails are your summer sorted.

We’ve picked four of our absolute favourites: a classic with a Shropshire twist, a long and fizzy AFTER NOON serve, a gin-lover’s dream in pink, and a tart cherry sour that’s tastes as good as it looks. All made with spirits crafted right here in North Shropshire.

1. Cosmopolitan

A vibrant blend of tart cranberry, fresh lime, and a hint of orange for a crisp, refreshing cocktail that’s always in style.

There’s a reason the Cosmopolitan has never gone out of fashion. It’s effortlessly elegant, beautifully pink, and dangerously easy to drink. We make ours with our award-winning Spring Vodka, distilled in copper pot stills from wheat and blended with Wenlock Spring Water filtered through Silurian Limestone. Honestly, once you’ve tried it this way, there’s no going back.

Ingredients:

• 50ml Spring Vodka
• 25ml Triple Sec or Cointreau
• 25ml Fresh Lime Juice
• 25ml Cranberry Juice
• Lime to garnish

 Method:

1. Add the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice to a cocktail shaker.
2. Add ice and shake well until thoroughly chilled.
3. Decant into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with a lime peel.

Tip: A really good shake is the difference between a good Cosmo and a great one, you want it ice cold.

2. Iced Tea Spritz

A crisp, refreshing blend of zesty citrus and aromatic tea, balanced with the sweetness of lemonade for a fruity, light, and bubbly sip.

This one’s for the long afternoons. Simple, stunning, and built around our AFTER NOON Citrus Grey Tea Liqueur. A genuine labour of love that packs the warmth of Earl Grey with a bright citrus lift. Top it with lemonade, load it with ice, and you’ve got a summer serve that fits every occasion.

Ingredients:

• 50ml AFTER NOON Citrus Grey Tea Liqueur
• Lemonade (to top up)
• Lemon, orange and/or strawberries to garnish
  

Method:

1.  Add the Citrus Grey Tea Liqueur to a highball glass over ice
2.  Top up generously with lemonade.
3.  Garnish with lemon, strawberries and orange.

Tip: Use a good quality cloudy lemonade for the best flavour - it makes a real difference.

3. Pink Paloma

A bright mix of zesty grapefruit, our Grapefruit & Hop Gin, and a splash of sparkling soda for a refreshingly crisp finish.

The Pink Paloma is everything a summer cocktail should be. Sharp grapefruit, a hint of bitter hop, the soft warmth of gin, finished with a salted rim that ties it all together. Light, crisp, and completely refreshing.

Ingredients:

•  50ml Grapefruit & Hop Gin
•  15ml Lime Juice
•  20ml Sugar Syrup
•  50ml Fresh Grapefruit Juice
•  Soda (to top up)
•  Salt (to rim the glass)
•  Grapefruit slice to garnish

  Method:

1. Add ice, gin, lime juice, sugar syrup and grapefruit juice to a cocktail shaker and shake it up.
2.  Coat the rim of a highball glass in salt.
3.  Decant through a strainer into the glass over ice.
4. Top up with soda and garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Tip: Use a wedge of grapefruit to wet the rim before dipping in salt. It helps it stick perfectly every time.

4. Cherry Sour:

A short, refreshing blend of tart cherry, smooth gin, zesty lemon, with a touch of sweetness.

Bold, beautiful, and absolutely made for summer evenings. This one starts with our AFTER NOON Apple & Cherry Liqueur as the base, muddled with fresh cherries for depth, then shaken with our Cherry & Pink Peppercorn Gin and a good hit of lemon juice. It’s a showstopper in a short glass!

Ingredients:

• 50ml AFTER NOON Apple & Cherry Liqueur
• 25ml Cherry & Pink Peppercorn Gin
• 25 - 50ml Lemon Juice
• 2–3 drops bitters
• Lemon to garnish

Method:

1. Add fresh cherries and the Apple & Cherry Liqueur to a cocktail shaker and muddle well.
2.  Add ice, lemon juice, gin and bitters.
3.  Shake it up.
4.  Decant through a strainer into a short tumbler over ice and garnish with a cherry.

Tip: Don’t be shy with the muddling, you want to really release those cherry juices before the shake.

Make It at Home or Come and See Us!

All four of these cocktails can be made at home using spirits available in our online shop, at the distillery in Ellesmere, or in local stockholders around us. Or, if you’d rather let us do the work, join us on our BAR nights which run the last Friday of every month, 5pm – 9pm. We also host Cocktail Making experiences, bring along a group and be part of the hands-on, little messy, and always brilliant evenings we have here at The Shropshire Distillery.

It’s always five o’clock at The Shropshire Distillery.

Savour every moment.

Emma, Gareth, Lily, and The Shropshire Distillery Team!