If you’ve ever tried to replicate happy hour at home, you’ll know that this process is even lengthier, with the average joe needing to consult a recipe book, chop fruit on the go and retrieve ice from the back of the freezer for each individual drink. Add in having to remember exactly what each member of your party wanted and at-home cocktail making can be far more stressful than pleasurable.
There’s a genius way to avoid this disastrous drinking experience, though: batch made cocktails. We’re talking about the kind of drinks that you can ladle into a jug for multiple partygoers to enjoy at once. While your mind might jump straight to a pitcher of half-melted margs, you don’t have to stick to the tried and tested classics when it comes to big-batch cocktails.
Make the most of this opportunity to try something a tad more adventurous, with the help of some of the coolest foodie women on the internet. With an increasingly packed summer calendar ahead of us, R29 has picked the brains of some of Instagram’s most notable taste testers to recommend the best jug drinks for group gatherings.
Whether you’re after a pre-made cocktail stash for a birthday party in the park or want to keep your kitchen time to a minimum while hosting friends at home, we’ve gathered a selection of batch cocktails that require minimal effort while providing maximum flavour.
To discover five batch cocktail recipes to make this summer, click through the slideshow ahead…
by Bre Graham, @breaudreygraham
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
Topped with pink petals and full of gin, this is the best cocktail to share with friends. The combination of lychee and rose is such a delicate and fragrant blend that it makes the cocktail feel like you could be sipping it in a fancy bar somewhere hot.
Ingredients
300ml lychee juice
300ml gin
750ml prosecco
A few tablespoons of rose water
Ice and rose petals to finish
Method
Pour the lychee juice, rose water and gin into a large jug and stir. When you’re about to serve, add the prosecco and ice before sprinkling rose petals over the jug to finish.
by Hannah Crosbie, @hannahcrosb
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
Marrying the elegant mousse of fine Champagne with the punch of yuzu, this cocktail is best shared in a garden or on a balcony in the city. It’ll have you and your friends under the table in no time, take my word for it.
Ingredients
250ml cup vodka
125ml yuzu juice
125ml sugar syrup
1 bottle of Champagne – ideally on the youthful side, with complementary notes of citrus and flowers
Method
Add the yuzu juice, sugar syrup and vodka to a jug with heaps of ice. Mix until well blended before topping up with champagne.
Serve into a couple, flute or cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.
by Shu Lin, @dejashuu
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
Inspired by a classic jug of Pimm’s, this drink gives the renowned cocktail a peachy twist, using raspberries to balance out the sweetness with a slight tart undertone. Whether you’re hosting at home with friends or playing mixologist at a group gathering, this is a crowd-pleaser and the perfect accompaniment to enjoy a Great British summer.
Ingredients
1 part Pimm’s
2 parts lemonade
1 part sparkling wine
1 part peach schnapps
1 part ginger ale (optional)
1x cucumber
1x orange
1x ripe peach
Sugar
Raspberries
Half a lemon
Fresh mint leaves
Wooden cocktail muddler
Method
First slice your cucumber and orange, then use a cocktail muddler to mash the ripe peach with some sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Then fill your pitcher with ice and add the Pimm’s and lemonade. Next, top up with sparkling wine (champagne if you’re feeling fancy) and schnapps before stirring in the orange, muddled peach, strawberries and cucumber slices. Finally, smack the mint to release the oils and flavour and garnish on top.
Optional
For a spicy kick, opt for one part ginger ale instead of the bubbly.
by Missy Flynn, @missyyflynn
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
This hybrid of an Italian sgroppino and a frozen slushy is the perfect park drink due to the fact that everyone can bring something along to chuck in. All of the ingredients are easily found in a supermarket, meaning you can buy stuff once you arrive rather than schlepping lots of bottles to a picnic. Likewise, it’s easy to make batch after batch so if you are at home you can easily knock up another.
Ingredients
150ml Campari
100ml Grapefruit juice
700ml dry sparkling white wine (organic if possible)
Top with 3 large scoops of raspberry sorbet
Fresh mixed berries
Fresh mint leaves
Method
Mix together all liquids, fruit and herbs into a 1L pitcher or jug with ice cubes. Then melt the sorbet through the pitcher and pour into glasses to serve.
by Sara Kiyo Popowa, @shisodelicious
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
What I love about this mocktail is that it’s both fizzy and colourful (and everything is more fun with sparkles). It also has great longevity as a mocktail because everyone can mix in their own soda to keep the drinks fizzy throughout the event. It also looks great served in a few big glass bottles to show off the colours and the rosemary.
Ingredients
1 part alcohol free ‘spirit’ (I like Seedlip Citrus for this recipe)
⅓ part frozen cherries, blueberries or strawberries
Sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme, rubbed to release flavour
Agave or maple syrup to taste
A pinch of smoked salt
A tiny pinch cayenne pepper
Method
Mix together and serve with ice and a selection of Dash Water (I like their peach, blackcurrant or lemon flavour for this) or other sugar-free sodas.
by Dina, @dinewithdina
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
This white sangria is super rich like the classic cocktail and works perfectly for BBQs. The energy from the Redbull is super refreshing and the fruitiness will keep you drinking without you even realising.
Ingredients
250 ml gin (I use Bombay Sapphire or Hendrix)
1 bottle of white wine
2 limes
2 lemons
1 cucumber (cut into cubes or slices)
100ml – 150ml sugar syrup (add more depending on how sweet you want it)
A handful of fresh mint
1 apple (cut into cubes or slices)
50ml elderflower cordial (Optional)
350ml red bull
5 passion fruits
Arils of 1 pomegranate
A handful of white & black grapes
Ice
Method
Add the cucumber, mint, passionfruit, pomegranate, apple and grapes into the jug – make sure everything is chopped into small pieces or sliced thin. Then add in the wine, gin, elderflower and Redbull and mix well.
Then squeeze in 2 lemons and 1 lime. Add in about half of your sugar syrup and then give it a good mix. Taste it at this point to decide if you want it more sour or sweet, then according to your taste preference add in more lime or sugar syrup.
by Kirthanna Naidu, @kirthanaa
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
Sour cocktails are definitely my go-to and this is the best one to serve at summer gatherings. It makes hosting so easy as you can make a big batch of it earlier in the day, and then mix it with some ice to serve once you are ready to drink.
Ingredients
2 parts mezcal/tequila
1 part Cointreau
1 part lime juice
1 part fresh passionfruit juice
Agave, to taste
Salt or Tajin for glasses (chilli and lime seasoning)
Method
To prepare the passion fruit juice, blend the pulp before straining it into a jug. Then put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into your pitcher and decorate with fresh passionfruit pulp or herbs like fresh thyme. Serve in salt-rimmed glasses.
by Samah Lakha, @londonbruncher
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
This is my favourite summer drink and it couldn’t be easier to make. The combination of flavours is zingy and refreshing and it works just as well with or without alcohol!
Ingredients
500ml lemonade
500ml cranberry juice
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tin of lychees in juice
A big handful of fresh mint
Method
Combine all ingredients together in a large jug or pitcher with lots of ice and enjoy! Samah Lakha
by Rosie Mackean, @rosiemackeanpastaqueen
Why is this your go-to cocktail for a group gathering?
This drink has sustained many a thirsty crowd at a BBQ and it’s especially good in the hot months due to its punchy and delicious flavours. It is based on three of my favourite cocktails – a Negroni, a Spritz and an Amaretto Sour – and reminds me of nights spent sitting outside small Italian bars after a day in the scorching sun.
Ingredients
100ml red vermouth (I like Antica Formula)
50ml Campari
50ml dry gin
30ml Disaronno
6 dashes angostura bitters
100ml fresh lemon juice
300ml soda water
750ml brut prosecco
2 handfuls of ice
Sliced lemon, orange and grapefruit – whatever you have in the house
1 cocktail cherry per glass if you are going all out
Method
In the bottom of your jug, add all of the spirits, the lemon juice and angostura and stir to combine. Add in your ice, your fruit wedges and the soda water, and then top up with Prosecco. Stir together and serve immediately with all of the snacks your heart desires.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Summery Gin Cocktails For Your Home Cocktail Hour