Sometimes you want something light that tickles the taste buds but doesn’t weigh down your stomach….here are some refreshing cocktails.

Sometimes you just need to shake things up and get a fresh perspective. Whether a change of seasons, hard day, or just want need some cheer, you need a little fun boost.  Well here are the best refreshing cocktails to lighten your spirits!

RELATED: Beer Sales Flatten Thanks To Marijuana

Cucumber Martini

Spa water usually has cucumbers in it because it is so refreshing. They are healthy with a mild but distinctly crisp and exhilarating flavor. Why not treat yourself to a cucumber martini?

Ingredients

• 3 thick slices cucumber, plus thin slices for garnish
• 2 1/2 ounces vodka or gin
• 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
• 1 cup ice

Create

1. Put thick cucumber slices in a cocktail shaker. Use a muddler or a wooden spoon to muddle to bring out flavor
2. Add vodka and vermouth
3. Add ice
4. Put the top on the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds
5. Strain the mixture into a martini glass
6. Garnish with a few thin slices cucumber

Brown Derby

Leaning into the great vintage cocktails, this 1930s drink will be a treat to your taste buds. The pairing of bourbon and grapefruit adds complexity and mellow undertones to the flavor.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• Splash of honey

Create

1. Combine bourbon, grapefruit juice, honey and simply syrup to a cocktail shaker
2. Fill it with ice and then shake until very cold
3. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass
4. Garnish with grapefruit slice

Whiskey Sour

This historic drink has saved lives. While the recipe first popped up in 1862, believed to have been consumed much earlier.  Sea travel was difficult and like of fresh good and clean water lead to scurvy, a potentially fatal disease that was caused, in part, by a lack of vitamin C.  It was safe to drink whisky, rum and other spirits on trips and sailors would take vast amounts of citrus food.  Cominbing them was natural and a healthy option to avoid disease, now it is just a happy drink!

RELATED: Rainy Weather Cocktails

Tequila Smash

Smash drinks have been around for over a century and include the famed Mint Julep.  First noted in Jerry Thomas’s bar guide in the mid-19th century, these drinks are known to be perfect to provide good spirits and cooling atmospheres.

Ingredients

• 5 fl oz Sauza Gold Tequila
• 2 fl oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
• .5 fl oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 fl oz honey simple syrupequal parts honey and water dissolved over medium heat- about 3 tablespoon honey and 3 tablespoon water
• 8-10 mint leaves torn into small pieces
• 2 cups crushed ice

Create

1. Make simple syrup by mixing 3 tablespoon honey and 3 tablespoon water in a small pan. Melt over medium heat until honey dissolves into water (about 1 minute), cool before adding to cocktail shaker
2. In a cocktail shaker add mint leaves, lime and lemon juice, tequila, and honey simple syrup
3. Shake for 30 seconds

4. Fill cocktail glasses with about 1 cup crushed ice and pour in the cocktail mixture

5. Garnish with fresh lime or lemon