Bougie Grilling Made Easy | Day To Night Cocktails For Your At Home Bar

Grilling season is still here, and while my usual choice of drink for most of the year remains unmingled – if I’m out during a hot sweaty, summer day, having a whiskey neat just doesn’t pair well with more hot food.

Luckily, experimentation remains a constant source of joy and if you want to try your hand at mixing without becoming a scientist, we’ve got some new options for bougie grilling. All of these drinks can be paired straight from the bottle with a fruit forward bubbly of your choice or even just straight up over rocks. Additional flavors, traditional mixes and garnishes are at your whims but the goal here is to start off simple so you can mix and drink right away as soon as your grilled goodies are good to go.

Now you may remember tequila from some horrid college days but have no fear about the Butterfly Cannon Tequila series. Each tequila is made from 100% agave. Aged from 7-8 years, the agave is harvested by hand before they are put into traditional steam ovens and then sent on their merry way to be mashed, fermented and distilled into the delicious final product. Each one offers something a little different. Butterfly Cannon also donates to the Monarch Conservation Fund which is a really wonderful and fun way to give back to your namesake.

Butterfly Cannon Silver Cristalino Tequila

I always recommend trying things in their original form, such as neat or on the rocks, to appreciate and understand the original flavor. Starting off plain can help you recognize new notes as they appear, especially if you move on to more complex variations. This silver tequila does not have that strong tequila punch that you might remember from the “olden days”. Instead, because of the charcoal filtering applied to the process, it has a very clear, crisp taste. That makes it perfect for mixing with anything from sodas to tonics to fruit purees.

Get Butterfly Cannon Silver Cristalino Tequila on Drizly or Reserve Bar

This lovely tequila is the prefect match for summer vibes that remind you of sunsets on the beach but in your backyard instead. The Rosa tequila showcases one of my favorite flavors – grapefruit – by layering grapefruit peel and grapefruit distillate multiple times in the creation process. The grapefruit flavors are subtle after the filtration process so I recommend putting more in (because more is better) and mixing this lovely tequila with a carbonated drink and a festive grapefruit garnish just to keep the grapefruit vibes going.

For herbs you can pair it with fresh basil, mint, tarragon, or rosemary. Just throw some in there.

And if you want spicy tequila you can add a salt rim with chili powder, cinnamon, or nutmeg.

Don’t forget the lime for adding that acidic brightness.

As a bonus, grapefruit is considered a breakfast in some places so if you make this cocktail before 12pm you should be in the clear.

Get Butterfly Cannon Rosa Tequila on Drizly or Reserve Bar

The Butterfly Cannon Blue Tequila adds the element of surprise and glee with its beautiful blue color that changes to a purple pink when lime juice or tonic is added. Butterfly pea flower, a commonly used natural coloring agent for blue-ifying drinks, is infused in the tequila along with prickly pear and clementine. I myself love colored drinks and changing color drinks are just pure delight much like the mood rings of the 90s.

With this drink you really can’t go wrong with a simple splash of your favorite soda or seltzer and an orange garnish. You can always add more orange and citrus flavors to bring out more of that clementine.

For an extra vibe match, you can pair this with vaporwave or lofi music to match your drink to your aesthetic.

Get Butterfly Cannon Blue Tequila on Drizly

Of course, our day wouldn’t be complete with some evening drinks. Evening cocktails let us introduce a more sophisticated touch with richer flavors to signify the end of meals. This doesn’t mean the end of festivities though. Continue to celebrate your grilling session that was maybe just an excuse to pair food with cute new cocktails with these two wonderful offerings from Stambecco and Starlino families.

After heavy foods it’s customary to use aperitifs as a digestive. Hotel Starlino offers one of the most beautiful, decadent vermouths with the Starlino Rosso. Thick and aged in bourbon barrels, those vanilla notes mixed with dried red fruit and classic orange and cloves make for the best Negroni or Manhattan. Of course, straight up over rocks with a touch of your favorite non-alcoholic bubbly is perfectly fine as well.

Get Starlino Rosso at Drizly.com, Reserve Bar, Wine.com, Flaviar, Caskers, Tipxy and Hotel STARLINO 

Amaro is traditionally served at sundown or at midnight with this particular one featuring warm, spiced flavors such as cinnamon, cloves, and orange as well as herbal notes from being infused with marjoram, oregano and wormwood. Stambecco also adds a twist to this tale by adding maraschino cherries in the mix. Either way it serves as a classy way to enjoy the final hours before turning in for the night. It is rich and viscous, almost syrupy. For a warm summer night, it can be served over ice and decorated with a maraschino cherry of its own.

Get Stambecco Amaro at Drizly, Stambecco, Party Time Liquor and Max Liquor