Food and Recipes Drinks Cocktails 37 Southern Porch Cocktails Begging To Be Your New House Drink By Southern Living Editors Updated on August 1, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Kay E. Clarke; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin The porch, being a perfectly Southern space, calls for perfect Southern manners—and it'd be rude not to offer every visitor a refreshing beverage, right? That's what our mamas taught us, anyway. So better get that bar cart stocked because you're going to want to have these cool, crisp, and perfectly thirst-quenching cocktails on hand for afternoons spent out on the porch, where it seems to always be happy hour. From big-batch recipes like minty pitcher mojitos and watermelon sangria to all-time favorites like spiked sweet tea and the classic French 75, these are our favorite cocktails to offer up any time someone gathers on our Southern porches. (Serve 'em up time and again, and they just might become your signature house drink.) Here are the best Southern porch cocktails to make for every happy hour at home. 01 of 37 Pitcher Mojitos Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Pitcher Mojitos These go down so easy you'll need to go ahead and make a pitcher. Garnish each glass with fresh mint and lime for a heavenly aroma that hits you before you even take a sip. 02 of 37 Watermelon Sangria Katie Jacobs Recipe: Watermelon Sangria We combined two of our favorite summer treats: fresh watermelon and iced-down sangria. This sangria gets a blush-colored upgrade with a mix of both still and sparkling rosé wines, making it more than ideal to sip by the pool, on the porch, or at the beach. 03 of 37 Salty Dog Cocktail Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Salty Dog Cocktail A twist on the classic vodka- and grapefruit-infused Greyhound drink, this refresher makes use of gin, grapefruit juice, and salt for a cocktail that's anything but saccharine-sweet. 04 of 37 Summer Cobbler Cocktail Helen Norman; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns Recipe: Summer Cobbler Cocktail This recipe proves that whiskey drinks can be refreshing and fit for summer. Made with fresh blackberries, blackberry preserves, white whiskey, and lime, it is like summer in a shaker. 05 of 37 Sweet Tea Mule Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sweet Tea Mule This one is a boozy spin on sweet tea, the South's favorite beverage. All you need is ginger beer, bourbon, and lime juice to have the ultimate porch cocktail. 06 of 37 Vodka Cherry Limeade Photographer: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist:Christine Keely; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Vodka Cherry Limeade With just five ingredients (most of which are cocktail bar staples), this limeade is ready to sip as soon as a thirst hits. The best part? You can stir up a pitcher and serve all your porch guests easily. 07 of 37 Spicy Watermelon Refresher Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Spicy Watermelon Refresher A spicy, more bubbly version of a watermelon margarita, this recipe makes use of serrano peppers and tequila reposado (which is slightly smoky and incredibly smooth). Ah, feeling the good vibrations already. 08 of 37 Berry Patch Cocktail Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley Recipe: Berry Patch Cocktail Gin and elderflower liqueur provide a vibrant, floral quality for the fresh raspberries and tart limeade. 09 of 37 Lemon-Basil Spritzer Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Lemon-Basil Spritzer We kept the list of ingredients short and sweet on this spritzer: lemon, fresh basil leaves, our simple syrup, and your bubbly mix-in of choice. Because you don't need all the bells and whistles when you have hard-working flavors like lemon and super aromatic basil. 10 of 37 Big Batch Bloody Marys Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Big Batch Bloody Marys A perfectly balanced, not-too-heavy Bloody Mary is hard to master—but luckily we already did the leg work for you. This big-batch recipe serves ten people, easy. Switch the vodka out for tequila to turn it into a Bloody Maria. 11 of 37 French 75 Southern Living Recipe: French 75 Classy as a string of pearls, this gin cocktail makes you want to sit back and fan yourself with a bit of flair. Top it off with a lemon twist and rosemary sprigs for a fancy finish. 12 of 37 Pineapple-Coconut Fizz Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Pineapple-Coconut Fizz This combination of pineapple, coconut, and rum is enough to transport you straight to the Keys. Swaying palm trees included. Like a piña colada, but way lighter and more low maintenance. 13 of 37 Aperol and Blood Orange-Mint Spritz Peter Frank Edwards Recipe: Aperol and Blood Orange-Mint Spritz Aperol spritzes are quite en vogue right now, and we get it. They're light, fresh, and make you feel like you're on an Italian beach somewhere. We added blood orange juice and fresh mint to make it even more vibrant. 14 of 37 Cucumber-Honeydew Cooler Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Cucumber-Honeydew Cooler Cucumber and honeydew is the cocktail duo we never knew we needed—until this cool gin drink walked into our happy hour. 15 of 37 Moscow Mules Recipe: Moscow Mules How cute are the copper mugs alone? That's reason enough to make this simple but crowd-pleasing cocktail of crisp vodka, slightly spicy ginger beer (read: NOT ginger ale), and zingy lime juice. 16 of 37 Blackberry-Mint Sparkler Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Blackberry-Mint Sparkler Your shady porch swing is begging to get a taste of this easy-drinking spritz that uses in-season blackberries and fresh mint. 17 of 37 Watermelon Margaritas Southern Living Recipe: Watermelon Margaritas Fact: Everyone loves this margarita. End of story. Fresh watermelon makes a classic recipe even better. 18 of 37 Frozen Margarita Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Frozen Margarita Trust us, this is way better than the sugary restaurant renditions you'll order elsewhere. This recipe hits the perfect blend of salt, sweetness, slush, and spirits—and it serves eight people. (Or less, if you're motivated.) 19 of 37 Basil Bourbon Orange Smash Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: Basil Bourbon Orange Smash Fresh seasonal fruit and liquor are smashed together over ice for this citrusy delight. 20 of 37 Key Lime Daiquiris Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Kay E. Clarke; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey Recipe: Key Lime Daiquiris Make every day feel like vacation with one of these tropical drinks. 21 of 37 Southern Sunrise Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Thom Driver; Food Stylist: Tina Stamos Recipe: Southern Sunrise The name says it all. This beautiful cocktail relies on just a few ingredients, making it easier than ever to kick back and relax. 22 of 37 Blackberry Bramble Pisco Sours Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Stylist: Tina Stamos Recipe: Blackberry Bramble Pisco Sours Blackberries are just one treasure of summer. Try this recipe if you've gone overboard picking and have far too many on your hands. 23 of 37 Hurricane Cocktail Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Hurricane Cocktail This drink certainly packs a punch, so take your time as you sip and enjoy. 24 of 37 Strawberry Piña Coladas Photographer and props: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Strawberry Piña Coladas Close your eyes as you sip on this delicious drink and you'll feel like you're on the beach. 25 of 37 Texas Ranch Water Getty Images/Lauren King / EyeEm Recipe: Texas Ranch Water Think of ranch water as a dressed down margarita that's hard to mess up. 26 of 37 Whiskey Sour Slush Southern Living Recipe: Whiskey Sour Slush A splash of lemonade and sparkling citrus soda dress these whiskey sours up. 27 of 37 Lemon Mint Sparklers Hector Sanchez Recipe: Lemon Mint Sparklers Garnish with some mint (grown on the porch of course!) and you're ready to go. 28 of 37 Shoo-Fly Punch Beth Dreiling Hontzas Recipe: Shoo-Fly Punch Ginger beer is the secret to this zesty and refreshing cocktail. 29 of 37 Carolina Peach Sangria Jennifer Davick Recipe: Carolina Peach Sangria Southern peaches do love to put on a show, don't they? Get epic summer flavor in every sip of this rosé sangria. 30 of 37 Spiked Arnold Palmer Ralph Anderson Recipe: Spiked Arnold Palmer This recipe marries three Southern favorites—bourbon, tea, and lemonade. 31 of 37 Blushing Mimosas Ralph Anderson; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine Recipe: Blushing Mimosas Pineapple juice and grenadine add a twist to classic mimosas. 32 of 37 Black-Eyed Susan Slushies Victor Protasio; Food Stying: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Black-Eyed Susan Slushies Test Kitchen star Ivy Odom whipped up this recipe for the Derby this year, but we think it deserves a spot on your summer drink line-up too. With citrus, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and bourbon all mixed up in a slushie, what's not to love?! 33 of 37 Mojitarita Katie Jacobs Recipe: Mojitarita Mojitos and margaritas are both summertime favorites—and thanks to this recipe, there's no need to decide between the two. This cocktail is as refreshing as a margarita but with the minty kick of a mojito. 34 of 37 4th of July Punch Jennifer Causey Recipe: 4th of July Punch With a name like this, this punch needs no explanation. But trust us: This batch-made cocktail is perfect for group gatherings on the 4th of July and beyond. 35 of 37 Aperol Bourbon Fizz Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: Aperol Bourbon Fizz Bourbon drinkers, we didn't forget about you. This recipe calls for bourbon and Aperol, making it a go-to drink for a hot afternoon in the South. 36 of 37 Classic Transfusion Cocktail Getty Images/JB325 Recipe: Classic Transfusion Cocktail This cocktail is a favorite on the golf course so you know it's designed for enjoying outside. This summer, we say, why not make it a staple on your front porch too?! 37 of 37 Bourbon-Peach Iced Tea Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Kay E. Clarke; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin Recipe: Bourbon-Peach Iced Tea Pair these two Southern staples together for a stellar sipper. 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