Five Cocktails – Summer Of 2025
FIVE SUMMER COCKTAILS FOR NOW
Here are the Summer cocktails we’re enjoying right now, right here. Some because we’re making the most of ingredients we can currently find easily. Others are combos that might become embarrassing if society gets snootier.
Let’s live in the moment. We’ll never have another Summer of 2025!
LOCO LOCO LEMONADE
We have been using Eastcoast Juice Country Style Lemonade here, which is why this drink made the list. You can buy it at Coles and Woolworths, so it’s not rare in Australia.
However, if you can’t get it, please feel free to make your own traditional lemonade as the base or buy your preferred brand.
Loco Loco Lemonade is a simple and versatile Summer cocktail. If you’re invited to a barbecue and fancy a few, quality adult drinks, this will hit the spot. It’s similar to Lynchburg Lemonade, but we won’t be tied into using Jack Daniels, every time we want one, though we do like us some JD.
You’ll need
- Collins Glass or other tall class with a capacity of 350ml to 450ml
2. Eastcoast Country Style Lemonade or your favourite alternate
3. Soda water
4. Bourbon
Optional
5. Lemon juice
6. Lemon cut into wheels
Method
This could not be more simple.
In a Collins Glass:
- Ice to the brim.
- Half fill glass with Eastcoast Juice Country Style Lemonade.
- Pour in soda water. Leave 20mm of space at the top of the glass.
- 45ml of bourbon poured slowly to float on top. You could pour over a spoon or aim for an ice cube.
Optional
Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Notes
If you find it too sweet:
- add in more ice and agitate to dilute.
- squeeze in some lemon juice.
- pour in a little more soda water.
To find out more about products by Eastcoast Beverages, a family owned Aussie juice company since 1965 (that’s more than halfway to a century), visit their website:
https://eastcoastbeverages.com.au/
MANGO PUDDING
This is lush. It’s like when you’re at yum cha and you manage to scoop spoonfuls of lush mango pudding with evaporated milk pooled on top, although you thought you were too full to fit in another tiny dumpling.
Mango Pudding as a cocktail, in essence perfection for Summer.
The essential, time sensitive ingredient is Dead Man’s Fingers Mango Tequila Cream. That name sounds like a lot going on. But turns out it’s delicious in a simple way. Slightly aromatic, but without that artificial taste that often accompanies mango flavoured products.
We are going hard with this, now. Dead Man’s Fingers have an extensive range of flavours, so there’s always the danger one will be discontinued.
This Summer, if you’re on the Central Coast of New South Wales, you can buy a bottle from us at Locomotive Station, Tascott for $33.
If you’re elsewhere in Australia, you can get it online at First Choice.
You’ll need
1. Blender
2. Small jug or cup from which you can pour
3. Coupe glass or a martini glass with a capacity of 250ml to 300ml
4. Frozen mango pieces, approximately 15mm to 20mm each
5. Sugar syrup or sugar*
6. Dead Man’s Fingers Mango Tequila Cream
7. Tequila
8. Ice
Method
In a little jug or pouring cup:
- 30ml Dead Man’s Fingers Mango Tequila Cream
- 15ml Tequila
In a blender:
- 4 – 5 pieces pieces frozen mango
- 60ml sugar syrup*
- 6 ice cubes
- Blend until smooth
In a coupe:
- Pour in mango mix till 15mm clear at the top of the glass.
- Carefully pour mango tequila cream mix over the back of a spoon on top of the mango mix.
- Drink immediately.
* Substitute three teaspoons caster sugar if you don’t have sugar syrup. It seems like a lot but the sugar content is necessary for the mango cream to float.
* To make a small quantity of sugar syrup, mix equal parts of water and sugar. Stir until dissolved. This quick method for sugar syrup will keep refrigerated for 2-3 days only.
Notes
If you’d like to buy a bottle of Dead Man’s Fingers Mango Tequila Cream from us, contact us at Locomotive Station, Tascott, New South Wales via the Locomotive Station website.
Or contact us via the Cocktails For Mums contact form.
HIDDEN GEM MIMOSAS
As we age, we understand the ratio of price to quality is not always consistent. This applies to wine in Australia. Across the market, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to good, drinking wine at excellent prices. And then, there are those sparkling gems of bargains, we grab with both hands again and again.
When you’re entertaining a group or sensibly avoid wasting hard earned dollars, you’ll love this one.
If we’re drinking bubbly to enjoy on it’s own, we prefer Jen Pfeiffer’s The Rebel Bubbles. What is your favourite stand alone bubbly?
Then again, in mixed drinks, Aldi wine shines like a beacon, that cannot be ignored. We’ve tested them at home, many times, just to be thorough. For you, our readers. Hehe!
Aldi have sparkling wine that is not only perfect for our mixed jugs but is also very economical for satisfying those festive season hordes.
The coins we save are spent on more of that fancy cheddar Sue likes.
Cranberry Mimosa is the clear winner for our festive season jugs but there’s always a spot for a classic mimosa.
You’d hardly need a recipe for a mimosa. But if you’re like us and need exact measurements, to keep it nice as the party moves along, we’ve included them below.
You’ll need
1. 1 litre jug
2. Bubbly, sparkling white wine or champagne
3. Cranberry juice or orange juice
4. Ice
CRANBERRY MIMOSA
In a 1 litre jug:
- 375ml bubbly
- 375ml cranberry juice drink
- Top with ice
MIMOSA
- In a 1 litre jug:
- 375ml bubbly
- 375ml orange juice*
- Top with ice
*Bottled good quality juice is fine, but juicing your own oranges is even better for those with excess enthusiasm. We don’t have enthusiasm to spare for this business, but we’d happily drink it if you do.
SELTZERS YOUR WAY
Never mind as a Summer cocktail, we’ve been enjoying low sugar seltzers this whole year. Our enjoyment isn’t complete, however. Many store bought seltzers are surprising in their smells and aftertaste. You know of which we speak.
To counter this, we’ve been mixing our own. Seltzers are easy and as versatile as your favourite flavours.
Depending on taste and how much sugar you’d like to replace with sweeteners, seltzers can be taken in any directions. We’d love to hear about your seltzer adventures.
Our most common seltzer is the most simple.
LEMON SELTZER
You’ll need
1. Collins Glass or a tall class with a capacity of 350ml to 450ml
2. Sugar, white granulated sugar or caster sugar
3. Lemons
4. Vodka
5. Ice
Method
In a Collins Glass:
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 wedges of lemon
- 45ml vodka
- Bruise lemon wedges and stir to dissolve sugar.
- Fill glass with ice.
- Top with soda water.
NOTES
We experiment with flavours by replacing the fruit. Raspberries are delicious.
Sometimes we replace the sugar and fruit with a syrup like blackcurrant or lime cordial and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Or start with a low sugar soda. These are also easily gussied up with an appropriate choice of fruit, bruised with vodka and topped with ice.
And, you can omit the sugar, completely. In fact, lemon juice, soda water and vodka is crisply refreshing. Then if you become bored pouring future rounds, garnish with mint leaf, cubed watermelon and/or cucumber. At a party, we love exploring the fruit platter and salads for impromptu garnishes.
Expert Tip : Don’t get cheese in your glass.
TROPICAL BEER
This last one’s a little controversial, partly because we still don’t have a decent name for it and partly because it initially feels uncouth to do this to Australia’s national drink. It can be difficult to get our heads around a cocktail made of beer, but for a Summer afternoon, this works.
However, we’ve been doing it for years so it’s time we invited you in.
Over Summer, we are at many events where ordinary beer is the main fare. We are usually very content with a straight up coldy. In particular, Sue loves a lager.
On the other hand, there are times when the idea of plain beer feels unpalatable. Now that we’re mature, if we’re not feeling it, we don’t drink it.
At those times, a refreshing abomination perks us up to Troppo level.
You’ll need
1. Beer glass
2. Lime cordial
3. Pineapple juice
Method
In a beer glass:
- 15 ml lime cordial
- 30 ml pineapple juice
- Top with run of the mill beer
NOTES
We don’t “tropicalise” craft beer or any other big beers.
To rock the boat even more, add some ice on a hot day.
If you garnish with a piece of dehydrated pineapple people will lose their minds and might not invite you anywhere again. Still, try it. Dehydrated pineapple is better than beer snobs.
FURTHER READING
For those that are interested, here’s some extra tidbits of content to what we’ve been up in terms of cocktails for Summer. It’s not essential information to make the recipes above, so unless you’ve got the time, feel free to ignore.
RASPBERRY SELTZER
Absolutely love a raspberry seltzer, even the bits at the end. To amend the Lemon Seltzer recipe, replace lemons with raspberries.
Tip : Use frozen raspberries if they’re pricey when you want to drink this.
THIS SUMMER’S BEER
This Summer our choice for ordinary beer is Hawkesbury Brewing Co Super Dry. Not just superior drinking and low carb but comes in an economical 30 pack.
To find out more about the beers of Hawkesbury Brewing Co, please head over to their website by clicking here.
SUMMER CHERRIES
So Sue isn’t upset that she’s the only one in a photo, here’s a pic of Lamese. She’s picking cherries.
In December 2024 the Woy Woy branch of the Country Women’s Association invited us to Young, New South Wales for cherry picking. YUM!
We brought home over ten kilos of cherries. How many Summer cocktails can you make from cherries?
If you ‘d like to know more about the good work of the Country Women’s Association Of New South Wales, click here.
Wishing you all the best Summer filled with relaxation and treats.
– Lamese and Sue
Cocktails For Mums
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