Summertime soirées call for refreshing beverages—and what beverage isn’t made better by homegrown ingredients? Whether it’s a floral take on a Manhattan, a citrusy watermelon cocktail, or margaritas embracing produce at their peak, you’re sure to find garden-fresh inspiration in the list below.
A celebratory sipper from Joe Stinchcomb of Saint Leo Lounge in Oxford, Mississippi. Get the recipe.
Even a “failed” fig tree can shine in this garden-fresh drink. Get the recipe.
Mix Up Your Margarita Game with the Ring My Bell
This unique cocktail from Tuscaloosa brings a savory, pepper-forward flavor without the heat. Get the recipe.
Figs for Your Summer Cocktails
Why the fruit’s subtle sweetness and flavorful leaves make them ripe for sipping. Get the recipes.
This effervescent vodka, lemon, and basil cocktail comes straight out of the Mississippi Delta. Get the recipe.
This cross between a mint julep and a whiskey sour just might be your new favorite cocktail. Get the recipe.
A lighter take on the classic from an acclaimed North Carolina restaurant. Get the recipe.
Passionfruit for sweet, chile for heat, and mezcal for the X factor. Get the recipe.
Cheetie Kumar adds a tangy rim of toasted spices to this refreshing summer cocktail. Get the recipe.
Shake up your cocktail routine with a Queen Bee from Atlanta’s One Eared Stag. Get the recipe.
A perfect balance of sweet and spicy that’s ideal for summer gatherings. Get the recipe.
A Floral Manhattan for Front-Porch Sipping
A lighter version of the classic, fresh out of Asheville. Get the recipe.
A “Crushable” Summer Drink Starring Yuzu and Honeydew
Don’t forget the gin. Get the recipe.
Tangy pickle juice takes this classic cocktail to a mouth-puckering new level. Get the recipe.
A Fort Worth hotel mixes up a bold margarita perfect for summer. Get the recipe.
How to Turn Your Vegetable Garden’s Bounty into Cocktails
Three mixologist-crafted recipes that transform summer produce into an especially fresh cocktail hour. Get the recipes.
Why a Beet Margarita Will Be Your New Favorite Cocktail
A classic cocktail gets a healthy pink flush courtesy of Charleston’s Basic Kitchen. Get the recipe.
What to Do with Prickly Purple Cactus Pears
First: Make a margarita. Get the recipe.
Cognac and fig preserves put a tasty twist on the classic Derby-season cocktail. Get the recipe.
An Italian Twist on the Mint Julep. Get the recipe.
Locavorism inspires the cocktail menu at Woodberry Kitchen. Get the recipe.
Herbs, peaches, and bourbon come together in this riff on an old-fashioned. Get the recipe.
Classic Cocktail: Redless Snapper
A gin-based version of the Bloody Mary. Get the recipe.
Gin and Tonic Season: Gin and Green Tomato Tonic
A splash of homemade pickling liquid lends a refreshing kick to this South Carolina cocktail. Get the recipe.
Toast the season’s end with this watermelon cocktail from Nashville, Tennessee. Get the recipe.
Gabriela Gomez-Misserian, Garden & Gun’s digital producer, joined the magazine in 2021 after studying English and studio art in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. She is an oil painter and gardener, often uniting her interests to write about creatives—whether artists, naturalists, designers, or curators—across the South. Gabriela paints and lives in downtown Charleston with her golden retriever rescue, Clementine.