5 Cocktails to Kick Off Your Labor Day Weekend

Credit: Just Dushawn

5 Cocktails to Kick Off Your Labor Day Weekend

It wouldn’t be a holiday weekend without a fun cocktail — and Us Weekly is rounding up five drinks to try this Labor Day weekend. First up is the American Spritzer, a relative of your favorite Italian summer cocktail. The Cool Cat Grapefruit Canned Wine Spritzer adds a refreshing touch to the otherwise simple Aperol spritz. Cool Cat embraces individuality and celebrates free-spirited minds specifically focused on lifting up minorities and the LGBTQIA+ — at just 150 calories per can, it's a great alternative to many alcoholic beverages. The Silkie Rua, meanwhile, is a bright and light way to enjoy smoky Silkie Irish whiskey. Inspired by the legendary mermaids that come ashore on the Donegal coast of Ireland, this refreshing cocktail is perfect to enjoy sipping with friends on the beach to keep summer going. For a traditional drink, try the Campus Cooler, a Bhakta Spirits cocktail that pays homage to one of his classic cocktails, an easy-sipping, elegant crowd-pleaser to while away the summer days. The drink is inspired by the legendary Harry MacElhone of 1920’s Harry’s New York Bar, a defining figure in early 20th-century bartending. Nothing reclaims summer like a proper tiki cocktail, and Tai ENGINE’s Pretty Fly for a Mai Tai is one you can easily shake up at home. This faux-Polynesian punch, inspired by Trader Vic’s Mai Tai from 1944, shows off ENGINE’s versatility in mixed drinks, proving that the Tiki tradition and exotic drinks are not just for rum. The cocktail was created by ENGINE’s brand ambassador Leonardo Todisco, who just happens to love a great Hawaiian holiday shirt and vintage cars — like the 1969 Chevrolet Impala used in The OffSprings’ "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" video. Elle Fanning has been seen enjoying ENGINE’s cocktails. Kyma Flatiron and Kyma Hudson Yards has a new cocktail for the summer that was created by Director of Operations Joe Ragonese and Head Mixologist Konstantinos Chantzis to invoke nostalgia and serve their fashionable crowd with an energetic and sophisticated concoction to keep the night going. The Salted Caramel Espresso Martini is a whiskey-based twist on an Espresso Martini with the addition of Graham Crackers and caramel syrup that are reminiscent of childhood snacks. When combined with today's most popular ingredients, whiskey, and espresso, each sip delivers bursts of flavor — a great conversation starter and ideal nightcap! To make the drinks yourself at home, keep scrolling for the recipes:

Credit: Cool Cat

American Spritzer

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Aperol

3 oz Cool Cat Grapefruit

Orange Wedge Garnish

Instructions:

Layer your ingredients on ice in a wine glass

Squeeze and drop an orange slice (to taste) into the cocktail, and you’ll have *chef's kiss*.

Credit: Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey

The Silkie Rua

Ingredients: 

50ml Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey

2 dashes of orange bitters

Ginger ale 

Orange wheel

Instructions:

Build over ice in a rocks glass, gently stir

Top with ginger ale and garnished with an orange wheel.

Credit: Bhakta Spirits

Campus Cooler

Ingredients:

.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

.75 oz Simple Syrup

1.5 oz BHAKTA 27:07

Soda Water

Instructions:

Shake with a small piece of cracked ice 

Strain into a chilled Collins glass over a Collins spear 

Top with soda water

Garnish with an orange wedge and a cherry

Credit: ENGINE

Pretty Fly for a Mai Tai

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz ENGINE Gin

1 oz fresh lime juice

½ oz Disaronno

¼ oz orange curaçao

¼ oz simple syrup

Instructions: 

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker, shake and pour through a strainer into a Tiki glass.

Garnish with 1-2 sage leaves and lime wedge

Credit: Just Dushawn

Salted Caramel Espresso Martini

Ingredients

1 oz fresh espresso

1 oz coffee liquor

0.25 oz salted caramel syrup

1.5 oz Makers Mark whiskey

3-4 Graham Crackers 

Instructions

In a rocks glass, layer half the rim with finely crushed Graham Crackers

Combine espresso, coffee liquor, salted caramel syrup, and whiskey into a shaker and shake vigorously

Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube or ball of ice