By now, you have probably already booked your big summer vacation—or perhaps a series of quick beach getaways. Either way, your calendar is set, and your travel budget is probably all used up, with a little set aside in a coffee can for when your friends inevitably call about the annual golf escape. There’s only one thing that’s left to figure out: How on Earth do you spend the rest of your weekends and free days this summer?

If your answer is as simple as mine, you’ll be lounging poolside. Heck, you probably already are and that’s fantastic. I tip my lifeguard hat to you and raise a delicious tropical cocktail in your general direction. Don’t have one? You’re covered with this list of simple, refreshing drinks for those lazy days when your only concern is having enough sunscreen and a playlist that’ll never end.

And the first one comes from The Surf Lodge in The Hamptons, which is the perfect choice for finding summer inspiration.

The Coco Blanco

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Casamigos Blanco
• 4 oz of Vita Coco Coconut Water
• 0.25 oz Agave syrup
• Lime

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously with ice to chill. Strain and serve over low ice. Garnish with a lime.

Mayan Summer

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Cenote Tequila Blanco
• 0.75 oz Lemon juice
• 0.75 oz Elderflower liqueur
• 0.5 oz Pineapple juice
• 2 Sage leaves

How to Make It:

Add all ingredients into a shaker and shake it or for about 5 seconds. Serve in a cocktail glass with a sage leaf for garnish.

Oaxacan Hemmingway

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Gracias a Dios Mezcal Espadin Joven
• 1 oz Grapefruit juice
• 0.25 oz Maraschino liqueur
• 0.25 oz Simple syrup
• 2 Slices fresh jalapeno

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to combine and chill. Double strain into highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Overdrive Tonic

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Engine Gin
• 0.5 oz Chinola Passion Fruit
• 0.25 oz Lemon juice
• 3 oz Mediterranean Tonic Fever Tree
• Lemon peel

How to Make It:

Build in a glass with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

Motor Beezneez

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Engine Gin
• 0.75 oz Lemon juice
• 0.75 oz Honey syrup (1:1 honey and hot water)
• 2 Sage leaves
• Mist absinthe

How to Make It:

Shake all the ingredients, double strain into a Nick and Nora glass, and garnish with a sage leaf.

Sorel Americano

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Campari
• 1.5 oz Sorel Liqueur
• 1-2 oz Soda water, to taste

How to Make it:

Combines ingredients, pour over ice, and add a lemon or orange slice—or twist—for garnish.

Sorel Sling

Ingredients:

• 1.25 oz Gin
• 0.75 oz Sorel
• 0.25 oz Cointreau
• 0.5 oz Lime juice
• 1 oz Pineapple juice
• Dash angostura bitters
• Club soda
• Orange slice
• Cherry

How to Make it:

Combine all ingredients, top with club soda, garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

Sorel Sea Breeze

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Sorel liqueur
• 1 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Coconut water
• 1 oz Pomegranate juice
• Club soda
• Sprig of mint
• Lime wedge

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients and serve over ice, top with club soda, garnish with sprig of mint and a lime wedge.

Owl Smash

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz The Wiseman Bourbon
• 1 oz Lemon juice
• 0.75 oz Simple syrup
• 6-8 Mint leaves

How to make It:

Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake well for one minute. Double fine strain into a glass with ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Minke Gin Sour

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Minke Irish Gin
• 1 oz Lemon juice
• 0.5 oz Sugar syrup
• 1 oz Egg white
• Lemon wedge for decoration

How to Make It:

Add all ingredients with ice to a shaker. Shake hard. Double strain into a glass. Garnish with shaved lemon and serve.

Sweet Summer Heat

Ingredients:

• Straight bourbon Clyde May’s Whiskey
• Sweet vermouth by @thestarlino
• Smoked maple syrup
• Habanero pepper extract

How to Make It:

Combine everything in a mixing glass with ice and stir well for 20 seconds. Strain over new ice and express an orange twist. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the sweet summer heat.

Disaronno Velvet Batida

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Disaronno Velvet
• 2 oz Coconut water
• Garnish: Coconut flakes

How to Make It:

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice. Grate coconut on top and serve with a straw.

Bayou Airmail

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Bayou White Rum
• 0.5 oz Honey syrup
• 0.5 oz Lime juice
• 0.5 oz Sparkling wine

How to Make It:

Shake the first three ingredients over ice and strain into a highball glass with fresh ice. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with lime.

Ballotin Bourbon Highball

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Ballotin Bourbon Ball Whiskey
• 3 oz Club soda

How to Make It:

Pour Ballotin into a Collins glass over ice. Fill with Club Soda.

Knickerbocker

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 0.75 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 oz (2:1) Raspberry Syrup

How to Make It:

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Double strain, using a fine mesh strainer to remove excess pulp and ice shards, into your chilled glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a half lime shell filled with fresh raspberries and serve with a reusable straw.

Bribón Breeze

Ingredients:

• 1.25 oz Bribón Blanco Tequila
• 0.5 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur
• 1 oz Cranberry juice
• 2 oz Pineapple juice
• 0.25 oz Lime (half a lime squeezed and dropped in)

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

Gran Centenario Frozen Melon Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Gran Centenario Añejo Tequila
• 0.75 oz Orange liqueur
• 1 oz Fresh lime juice
• 0.75 oz Simple syrup
• 0.5 cup Cantaloupe (diced)
• 1 cup Ice
• Garnish: Cantaloupe cube and mint sprig

How to Make It:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse blend 3-5 times in 3 second intervals, while checking for consistency. Pour into a rocks glass and add garnish.

Sipsmith’s Summertime Spritz

Ingredients:

• 1.5 part Sipsmith London Dry Gin
• 1 part Lime juice
• 2.5 parts Pineapple juice
• 1 Passion fruit
• Prosecco, to top
• Garnish: Wedge of pineapple

How to Make It:

Add the first three ingredients in an ice filled wine glass with the insides of half of the passion fruit. Stir a couple of times. Top with prosecco. Garnish with the other half of passion fruit or a pineapple wedge, or both!

Maestro Dobel Rosa Mexicana

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Maestro Dobel Diamante
• 0.5 oz Velvet Falernum
• 0.75 oz Liquid Alchemist prickly pear syrup
• 1 oz Lime juice
• 1 Egg white or sub aquafaba, instafoam bitters

How to Make It:

Double shake and strain served up in a cocktail coupe. Garnish with an edible pansy.

Naturally Colored Blue Hawaiian

Ingredients:

• Pinch of blue spirulina
• Barspoon of hot water
• 3 oz pineapple juice
• 2 oz Kōloa Kaua’i Coconut Rum
• 0.5 oz orange liqueur
• 0.5 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• Starfruit slice or pineapple wedge for garnish

How to Make It:

In a cocktail shaker, dissolve the blue spirulina in a dash of hot water and stir well. Add the pineapple juice, rum, orange liqueur, and lemon juice, then shake well with ice. Strain into a tiki glass filled with ice, then garnish abundantly with tropical fruit and flowers.

Pink Pineapple Fizz

Ingredients:

• 4 oz pineapple juice
• 1-2 tsp pink pitaya powder
• 1.5 oz Kōloa Kaua’i White Rum
• Dash of soda water
• Pineapple wedge for garnish

How to Make It:

In a cocktail shaker, dissolve the pink pitaya powder in the pineapple juice by stirring vigorously. Add the rum and ice, then shake well. Double strain into a tall, narrow serving glass filled with ice, making sure to remove any pink pitaya clumps. Top with a dash of soda water and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Brown Sugar Spice Rum Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients:

• Whole fresh pineapple
• 4 oz Kōloa Kaua’i Spice Rum
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 0.25 tsp vanilla
• Oil of choice for grilling
• Vanilla or caramel ice cream for serving

How to Make It:

Cut the top and bottom from the pineapple, then stand it upright and cut off the rind. Lay the pineapple back down and cut it into half-inch thick rounds. In a small saucepan on the grill (or on the stovetop, or in the microwave), heat the spice rum until warm. Stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves, then stir in the vanilla. Oil the bottom rack of the grill (or, conversely, an indoor grill pan) thoroughly; this is critical for ensuring the pineapple doesn’t stick.

Brush the pineapple slices with the rum, sugar, and vanilla marinade. Grill the pineapple slices over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes per side until caramelized but not charred, then flip and grill the opposite side. Continue to brush the pineapple slices with the rum marinade as they cook.

Serve while still warm, topped with a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle any remaining rum marinade over the ice cream.

Mojito-Infused Frozen Watermelon

Ingredients:

• Few handfuls of fresh mint
• 2 tbsp Demerara sugar
• 1.5 c Kōloa Kaua’i White Rum
• 0.25 c fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 12 watermelon wedges with rinds
• 12 popsicle sticks

How to Make It:

Combine the mint and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle gently. Add the rum and lime juice, then shake well to mix. Lay the watermelon slices on a sheet tray with a rim or in several large containers. Drizzle the mojito mixture over the watermelon. Let the watermelon slices sit in the mojito mixture for at least 30 minutes or for up to several hours (if the latter, place them in the refrigerator). Flip the slices occasionally so that they all have contact with the cocktail.

Carefully cut a small slice into the center of each watermelon rind, then insert a popsicle stick into the watermelon wedge, pushing it through about half-way. Lay the slices flat on a large sheet tray (or several trays) and freeze overnight. Make sure they are not touching, otherwise they will freeze together. Use any additional mojito mixture for cocktails, adding some soda water and/or watermelon juice to taste.

Enjoy the watermelon slices frozen on a hot summer evening or at a holiday BBQ!

The post 23 Recipes for the Most Refreshing Summer Cocktails and Treats appeared first on Islands.

When it comes to the cuisine and cocktails, the key to making the most of a Mexican vacation is simply starting a conversation. The best hotels and resorts will always have fun, delicious, and creative dishes on the menus, but if there’s a certain ingredient or element you prefer, don’t be afraid to let the server and chef or mixologist know, because there’s a strong chance they’ll be willing to whip something up for you.

At least that’s almost always the case with cocktails on my various adventures. A regular margarita or mezcalita is typically fine, and if it’s made with all fresh juices then it’s even better. But there’s almost always a very special recipe in someone’s head, and all it takes is a simple request to make it happen. 

For example, when I asked a couple ultra-cool Mexican hotels to knock my socks off with their best recipes for Cinco de Mayo, they did not disappoint. Good luck making these, and feel free to tell your friends and guests that you invented them all by yourself. We won’t share your secret.

The Tropical Diamond

The Place: Hacienda Encantada Resort and Residences

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz White rum
• 3 oz Orange juice
• 1.5 oz Mango juice
• 0.5 oz Grenadine
• Tajín fruit seasoning

How to Make It:

Pour all ingredients into a blender and add ice to mix well. Rim glass with tajin salt and garnish with a pineapple slice. Pour blended mixture into glass and enjoy!

South Margarita

The Place: Pierre Mundo Imperial

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz of Tequila reposado
• 0.5 oz of Tequila liqueur
• 1.5 oz Mixture of lemon and lime juices
• 1.5 oz Simple syrup
• Splash of whiskey
• Twists of orange, lime, and lemon peelings
• To garnish: grasshopper salt and two margarita flowers

How to Make it:

Decorate your martini glass with a rim of grasshopper salt. Mix the tequila reposado, tequila liqueur, lemon and lime juice, simple syrup and twists from orange, lemon, and lime in a chilled shaker. Shake the mix prominently, pour the whiskey into glass, and then pour the contents of the shaker using the strainer. Garnish with two margarita flowers and enjoy!

The post A Pair of Perfect Cocktail Recipes for Cinco De Mayo and Beyond appeared first on Islands.

One of the most difficult things for me to deal with when returning home from a trip is trying to recreate all the creative cocktails I’ve tried at various resorts. And no spirit causes me more problems than my favorite: mezcal. I don’t know if it’s the water in my ice, air in my kitchen, or the angle of my pours, but I am never able to replicate the many styles of margaritas, palomas, and signature gems that have been concocted by some of the most brilliant mixologists in the Caribbean and Mexico.

But I’d be a fool to stop trying, especially with Cinco de Mayo upon us. This year, instead of trying to master the Mezcalita from Banyan Tree Mayakoba or any of my favorites from the JW Marriott Cancun, I turned to the creative minds from four of my top spirits choices—Tequila Bribón, Mezcal Gracias a Dios, Próspero Tequila, and Tequila Cenote—for their picks that we can all try at home. After all, you can’t ruin something you haven’t tried anywhere else.

Mezcal Mule

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Gracias a Dios Mezcal Espadín 
• 1 oz Lemon juice 
• 0.75 oz Agave syrup 
• 0.75 oz Ginger juice 

How to Make It: 

Combine ingredients, stir, and top with ginger beer.

Oaxacan Hemmingway

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Gracias a Dios Mezcal Espadin Joven
• 1 oz Grapefruit juice
• 0.25 oz Maraschino liqueur
• 0.25oz Simple syrup
• 2 Slices fresh jalapeno

How to Make It: 

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to combine and chill. Double strain into highball glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Pineapple Playa

Ingredients:

• 1.25 oz Bribón Blanco Tequila
• 0.5 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur
• 2 oz Fresh pineapple puree
• 0.5 oz Lime juice
• 1 tsp Mango puree real
• 1 oz Soda water

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients except soda water in a shaker with ice. Shake to combine. Pour entire shaker contents into highball or rocks glass, top with soda water and ice. Garnish with slice of pineapple.

Jalapeno Avocado Margarita

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Tequila Bribón Blanco
• 2 oz Agave nectar (cut 50/50 with water)
• 2 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 Avocado, peeled and mashed
• 2 Slices jalapeño
• Lime wheels, for garnish
• 1 Cup ice, plus extra for serving

How to Make It:

Fill two rocks glasses with ice. Set aside. Place ripe avocado and jalapeno slices in a cocktail shaker. Muddle ingredients until they’re thoroughly mashed. Add remaining ingredients to the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into the two rocks glasses. Garnish with the remaining lime wheels.

The One

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Próspero Reposado
• 1 oz Rose cordial
• 0.75 oz Lime juice
• 1.5 oz Tonic water
• 1.5 oz Club soda

How to Make It:

Combine Próspero Reposado, rose cordial, and lime juice in a rocks glass. Fill the glass with ice and top with the tonic and club soda. Garnish with a lime wheel and a small rose.

French Marg

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Próspero Blanco
• 1 oz Chambord
• 2 oz Grapefruit juice

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients into a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously for about 10 seconds, or until the shaker is cold. Pour into a martini glass. 

Mood Up Spritz

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Próspero Reposado
• 1 oz Hibiscus tea
• 0.6 oz Raspberry syrup
• Blood orange bitters 
• Kefir water

How to Make It:

Pour each ingredient into a wine glass, with each ingredient building on the next. Stir drink two times and then garnish with two slices of blood orange, a sprig of rosemary, and a raspberry. Top with the bitters and kefir water.

Olé Chamoy

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Stoli Chamoy
• 1 oz Cenote Blanco
• Jarrito’s Grapefruit Soda
• Tajin

How to Make It:

Rim a collins glass with tajin. Add Stoli Chamoy and Cenote Blanco Tequila, fill with ice, top with Jarritos Grapefruit Soda, and finish with a grapefruit wedge.

Bingo, Mango

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Stoli Chamoy
• 1 oz Cenote Reposado
• 0.75 oz Lime juice
• 0.75 oz Mango puree
• Tamarind for garnish

How to Make It:

Add Stoli Chamoy, Cenote Reposado, mango puree, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker and shake until chilled. Pour into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with Tamarind/Chamoy powder straw.

The post 9 Creative Tequila and Mezcal Cocktails for Your Cinco de Mayo Festivities appeared first on Islands.

Sometimes we go a little overboard with the cocktail recipes. Amateur mixologists don’t really need 20 or 30 drinks to learn at one time, but we also can’t really help ourselves when it comes to celebrating the national holidays of margaritas, mezcal, and tequila. For National Cocktail Day, however, let’s dial it back a little and focus on simply learning how to make a pair of drinks that’ll not only be your favorites, but will also knock your friends’ and guests’ socks off.

At any given time, I have approximately 100 new recipes to choose from in my inbox, but for this occasion I have chosen two based on my personal spirits preferences. The first is a delightful drink from Mezcal El Silencio, which not only produces one of the best bottles around, but also has one of the coolest accommodations in Mexico. And the other is a tequila twist on the whiskey smash, brought to us by my favorite neat sipping choice, Gran Centenario Cristalino.

Both of these bottles belong in your home bar, and you’ll probably agree once you try these cocktails.

Blood Orange Margarita

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Mezcal El Silencio Espadin 
• 1 oz Agave nectar 
• 1 Blood orange, juiced 
• 1 Cara cara orange, Juiced 
• 1 Lime, juiced 

How to Make It:

Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice, but feel free to start light on the juices and then add to find your preferred taste. Pour over ice and garnish with a blood orange peel or wedge.

Vined Up

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz Gran Centenario Cristalino
• 0.5 oz Fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz Fresh cucumber water
• 0.25 oz Simple syrup
• 5 Sweet green grapes

Garnish: Long cucumber peel and 1 green grape

How to Make It:

Muddle 5 grapes in a mixing tin and then add remaining ingredients with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with lime peel and 1 green grape.

The post Celebrate National Cocktail Day with Two Simple Recipes for Tequila and Mezcal Lovers appeared first on Islands.

The quest to find the world’s greatest margarita is quite Sisyphean—I’m not sure it can ever be completed. Every time a resort’s mixologist tells me he has the best version I’ll ever taste, I sip one the following week that makes me forget the rest. There’s so much creativity and brilliance being cultivated throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and well beyond—even Turkey is making awesome margs—that I’d have to live hundreds of years to try them all.

But if your goal is to just sample several of the best margaritas on the planet, there’s no better place to start than the legendary lobby bar at the JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa, where the menu boasts an unbelievable 150 versions of this classic cocktail. How do you choose from that many margs? Let’s start simple with this generous sampling of three recipes for National Margarita Day.

Strawberry Basilita

Prosecco Margarita

Mezcalita 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz tequila (preferably Tierra Noble Reposado)
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz mezcal
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz orange juice
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• Tajin seasoning for rim

How to Make It:
Pour all ingredients in a shaker glass and muddle together. Add ice and shake. Line the glass rim with Tajin seasoning (if available). Pour ingredients into the glass, and garnish with an orange slice.

The post 3 Delicious National Margarita Day Recipes from the JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa Lobby Bar appeared first on Islands.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: National Margarita Day. In the days leading up to February 22 every year, we flash our own version of the Bat Signal into the night sky, except it’s shaped like a margarita glass. And without fail, our favorite resorts from the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, and beyond responded with their most creative recipes so that we can all practice making them at home before the next time we travel.

This year, though, I figured we could kill two birds with one stone, as the wonderful Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos Beach Resort has a very special cocktail that’s not only great for this occasion, but also St. Patrick’s Day. Salud and sláinte, friends!

Emerald Green Margarita

The Place: Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos Beach Resort

Ingredients:

• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 1 oz fresh lime juice        
• 1 oz natural simple syrup
• 1 oz Triple Sec 
• 1 kiwi
• 1 cherry
• 1 tsp tajin spice
• Ice

How to Prepare the Glass:

Cut a slice of lemon and place it on the rim of your glass. (mixologist Gustavo Eduardo Estrada Ortiz recommends an old-fashioned or similar short cocktail glass). Put tajin (a blend of mild chili peppers, lime and sea salt) on a plate and place on the rim of the glass. Cut a slice of kiwi and a slice of cherry, set aside.

How to Make It: 

A cocktail shaker is ideal, although you can use any container that you can close and shake. Add half of the kiwi to the shaker and mash for 30 seconds. Pour the tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, triple sec, and ice into the shaker and shake for 10 seconds. If using a cocktail shaker, shake until it is cold on the outside. Place a few ice cubes in the glass, pour the margarita over the ice. Spear the slices of kiwi and cherry on a toothpick for a garnish.

Margaritas for Four

The Place: Kempinski Hotel Cancún

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup reposado tequila
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp lime zest, finely grated
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Garnish
• 1/4 cup sea salt
• 1 each lime wedges

How to Make It:

Mix all ingredients in a blender with ice, except the items used for garnish. Spread the salt on a shallow dish. Rub the rims of 4 glasses with the cut side of a lime wedge and dip each glass rim in the salt, shake off the excess. Add margarita mixture to glass, decorate with lime wedge and serve.

Chef’s notes:

• Margarita can be made one day ahead, and flavors will intensify as it sets.
• Try adding other fruits such as pineapple or mango to make your own unique margarita.

Mango Manguisimo

The Place: JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa’s epic 150 Margarita Menu

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Tequila Baluarte Reposado
• 1 oz Cointreau 
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• 2 oz mango puree
• 5 mint leaves
• Tajin chili powder for the rim

How to Make It:

Add tajin chili powder to the rim of the glass. Mix ingredients in a shaker and pour over ice.

23 Wild, Crazy, and Wonderful Recipes for an Amazing National Margarita Day

Our favorite tequila brands and mixologists offer up some mind-blowing twists to the classic tropical cocktail.

Lime Margarita

The Place: Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf, St. Barth

Ingredients:

• 45 ml Lalo Blanco (Tequila Jeune)
• 20 ml Dry Curaçao (Triple Sec)
• 25 ml fresh lime juice

How to Make It:

Shake and double strain. Serve in a short glass on the rocks or a coupette with no ice. Garnish with half pink Himalayan salt rim.

Homegrown Margarita

The Place: Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Herradura Silver Tequila
• 0.75 oz lemongrass syrup (pro tip: make your own lemongrass syrup by resting 2 chopped stalks of lemongrass in 1 quart of simple syrup overnight)
• 0.25 oz grapefruit liqueur
• 0.75 oz fresh lime
• 0.5 oz cucumber juice
• Garnish: Salt rim, cucumber slice

How to Make It:

Fill shaker with ice and all ingredients. Shake very hard and strain over cubed ice into a chilled short glass. Serve in a short glass with salted rim and garnish with a cucumber slice.

The Lady in Black

The Place: Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya

Ingredients:

• 2 oz silver tequila of your choice
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz activated charcoal
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 0.5 oz smoked syrup infused with chili pepper
• 1 oz soda water

How to Make It:

Dissolve activated charcoal into the tequila. Combine with ice and remaining ingredients in shaker and shake for 30 seconds. Strain over ice in glass of your choice. Top with soda water. Garnish with fresh chili and/or dehydrated blood orange.

Salt Air Margarita

The Place: Atlantis Paradise Island’s Fish by Jose Andres

Ingredients:

• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz Casa Noble blanco tequila
• Ice
• 0.5 oz Combier orange liqueur
• For the Salt Air topping:
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 8 oz water
• 4 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp simple syrup

How to Make It:

Step 1: Make the margarita. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the tequila, combier, simple syrup, and lime juice and shake well. Strain into a chilled coupe.

Step 2: Make the salt air. Combine all the ingredients for the Salt Air into a large bowl. Using an immersion blender, mix until bubbles form. Carefully spoon on top of the drink.

Let’s Get Creative for this Year’s National Margarita Day. Really Creative.

Some of our favorite resorts and hotels in tropical destinations deliver some unusual and innovative recipes.

Sorrel Spritz

The Place: The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, USVI

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Casamigos Silver 
• 2 oz sorrel mix
• 3 oz Prosecco
• 0.25 oz simple syrup
• Mint

How to Make It:

Muddle lime wedge, three mint leaves, and simple syrup. Combine all other ingredients, including house-made mix of locally grown sorrel, hibiscus, lemon, lime, and ginger. Add ice and shake before pouring a glass.

Farmers Margarita

The Place: JW Marriott Tampa Water Street

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Casamigos Blanco
• 1 oz carrot juice
• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz agave syrup
• 3 slices of jalapeños

How to Make It:

Combine ingredients into small shaker tin. Add ice and shake 20 times. Double strain into tajin rimmed rocks over fresh ice. Garnish with baby carrot.

Craft Raspberry Margarita

The Place: Andaz West Hollywood

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz tequila blanco (Make sure it’s a 100 percent agave tequila)
• 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 oz Chambord Liqueur
• 0.5 oz blue agave

How to Make It:

Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake. Pour in a rocks glass with fresh ice.

The California Dreamin’ 

The Place: The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz Maestro Dobel (2 oz)
• Mezcal
• Honey
• Dash of lemon
• Dash of angostura bitters

How to Make It:

Combine ingredients into small shaker tin. Add ice and shake. Pour and enjoy.

Sunshine Margarita

The Place: Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort, Spa, and Casino

Ingredients:

• 1 oz tequila
• 2 oz margarita mix
• 0.5 oz Triple Sec
• Salt for rim
• Mint leaves and flowers for garnish

How to Make It:

Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vicariously for 30 seconds. Pour into chilled glass with salted rim.

Jamaica Margarita

The Place: Hilton Cancun, An All-Inclusive Resort

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz lemon juice
• 1.5 oz tequila
• 0.5 oz natural syrup
• 1 oz Jamaica liqueur
• 0.5 oz orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Garnish: mint, tajin, and lemon

How to Make It:

In a cocktail shaker, add lemon juice, tequila, natural syrup, Jamaica, orange liqueur, and ice. Mix everything together. Garnish the rim of an old-fashioned glass with tajin, fill glass with ice, pour in cocktail mix, and garnish with mint and a slice of lemon.

Three Alcohol-free Recipe Alternatives for a Happy National Margarita Day

Your new favorite island mocktails have arrived.

The Spicy Berry Margarita

The Place: Andaz San Diego

Ingredients:

• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 0.75 oz each of agave, lime juice, Chambord
• 2 dashes fire tincture bitters
• Garnish with fresh blue/black or raspberries

How to Make It:

Add tequila, agave, lime juice, Chambord, and bitters. Then, stir together. Pour into a short glass and garnish with raspberries.

Hibiscus Margarita

The Place: Susona Bodrum, LXR Hotels and Resorts, Turkey

Ingredients:

• 40 ml Olmeca Altos Tequila 100 percent agave
• Hibiscus flowers (dried)
• 40 ml Mikks Sour Lemon
• 10 ml Triple Sec
• Ice cubes

Garnish: sea salt

How to Make It:

Infuse tequila with hibiscus flowers for three days or until red (flowers do not need to be strained). When ready, run a lime wedge around the edge of a chilled glass and salt the rim. Add Mikks Sour Lemon, tequila, and Triple Sec into a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into glass over fresh ice.

The Cactus Flower

The Place: The Elms Hotel and Spa, Excelsior Springs, Missouri

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Casa Nobla Tequila
• 0.5 oz agave syrup
• 1 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz hibiscus syrup
• Firewater bitters
• Topped with club soda

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until cold. Top with club soda and garnish with a lime wheel.

Smoked Blood Orange Margarita

The Place: Amiga Amore, Los Angeles

Ingredients:

• 2 oz your favorite mezcal
• 1 oz blood orange juice
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz rosemary simple syrup
• Dry rosemary to smoke

How to Make It:

Rim the glass with Chamoy (it can be found in any Mexican market or store). Add the ingredients one by one in the shaker. Add ice to fill the shaker and shake for 30 seconds. Place your favorite ice shape in the glass, strain content from shaker into glass, and top with a dry blood orange slice. Smoke with dry Rosemary using Stündenglass Beverage Infuser or similar device.

Sage Margarita

The Place: Hôtel Barrrière Le Majestic, Cannes

Ingredients:

• 0.35 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• 0.70 oz Grand Marnier
• 2.25 oz sage-infused añejo tequila*
• 4 fresh sage leaves
• Half spoonful of icing sugar

Garnish: Sage leaves and sage salt**

*Sage-infused añejo tequila: Infuse 15 sage leaves in 24oz of tequila for 48 hours. Filter.

**Sage salt: Sprinkle sea salt on an aluminum tray, then place the sage leaves side by side on the tray, ensuring they are perfectly flat. Sprinkle them with salt once more. Place the tray in a warm oven (approx. 160°F) and remove after 20 minutes. Place the salt and sage in a blender and mix briefly.

How to Make It: 

Slide the rim of the glass along a quarter of lime, then place the glass in a bowl of sage salt. Place ice cubes and all ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously so that the ice cubes crush the sage. Filter through both a sieve and a chinois strainer into the sage salt-rimmed glass. Place a few leaves on the surface of the liquid.

Harissa Marissa

The Place: Level 6 Rooftop, Miami

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Don Julio tequila 
• 0.5 oz Pierde Almas mezcal
• Cointreau 
• 0.75 oz lime juice 
• 0.75 oz Harissa agave syrup
• Jalapeno
• House-blended (or preferred) spices for rim

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin with ice, shake and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a jalapeno and blended spice on rim.

Suya Margarita

The Place: Lagos, New York City

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Cazadores Blanco Tequila
• 0.5 oz Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 2 dashes of agave 
• 8 dashes habanero tincture

How to Make It:

Shaken, served in old-fashioned glass with suya salt rim.

Something Spicy

The Place: Sweet Liberty, Miami Beach

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Milagro Blanco
• 0.5 oz Ojo de Tigre mezcal
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.75 oz agave nectar
• 1 oz mango puree
• 5 dashes chili tincture

How to Make It: 

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pour straight from the blender into glass and garnish with lime wheel and sprinkling of tajin.

Mexican Standoff

The Place: Marion Miami

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Don Julio blanco 
• 0.25 oz mezcal
• 0.25 oz yuzu-shiso cordial
• 0.25 oz ginger liqueur
• 0.75 oz syrup
• 4 dashes grapefruit bitters

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pour straight from the blender into glass and garnish with lime wheel.

Slim and Spicy Margarita

The Place: Celebrity Beyond’s Sunset Bar

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of jalapeño
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.75 oz agave syrup
• 2 oz Teremana Tequila Silver or similar
• Rim Glass with tajin salt

Glass: Rocks glass

Garnish: A slice of jalapeño

How to Make It:

Muddle the two slices of jalapeño in a cocktail shaker, add all of the ingredients, add ice, and shake vigorously. Double strain and serve over fresh ice in a glass rimmed with tajin salt.

Bonus tips from Celebrity Cruises’ Beverage Director Daniele Salomone:

Tip 1: Infuse your tequila with jalapeños for 12 hours beforehand to unleash even more spice when you make your cocktail.

Tip 2: Think about garnishes that you personally like to add a little bit of pizzazz to your cocktail. Some ideas could be a slice of cucumber for freshness or adding a dash of orange juice for a more citrus flavor. 

Tip 3: This recipe calls for Tajin Salt on the rim, however you could try a Chili Lime Salt or other Seasoned Salt to enrich your cocktail.

Giddy Up Pony

The Place: Ponyboy, Brooklyn

Ingredients: 

• 1 oz Cazadores tequila
• 0.5 oz agave
• 0.5 oz Ilegal Mezcal
• 0.5 oz green chartreuse
• 0.5 lemon juice
• 5 dashes jalapeno tincture

How to Make It:

Shake with ice, strain, and serve in cocktail coupe.

Margarita Negra

The Place: Chela, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Mr. Black
• 1 oz El Tequileño Platinum tequila
• 1 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz agave syrup
• Garnish: Salted rim, lime wheel

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients, shake, strain into a rocks glass with a salted rim. Garnish with a dehydrated lime wheel.

The post 25 Amazing Recipes for National Margarita Day appeared first on Islands.

A really great bartender once told me that the most creative drinks he ever makes are those that have no alcohol. And he proved that point by making me a green juice (my favorite) that tasted like fruit and veggie heaven. The only problem? He couldn’t really explain how to make it, other than, “I use this, this, and this.” The most talented artists do everything by memory, after all.

The bigger problem with vague instructions is that’s how I end up spending $40 at the farmer’s market on ingredients for one blender’s worth of juice, and nobody ever wants to live with the guilt of those rotting vegetables stinking up the fridge’s fresh drawer. 

Fortunately, I know a few mixologists who keep good track of their recipes, so I asked them to hook us up with some mocktails not just for “Dry January” and the annual New Year wellness craze, but for everyday use. Who doesn’t love a refreshing treat to start the morning off right?

Ginger Basil Grapefruit Spritzer

The Place: The Breakers Palm Beach

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Ginger basil simple syrup
• 3 oz Freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice 
• 2 Segments of grapefruit 
• 6 oz soda 
• Grapefruit wedge garnish and served in a Collins Glass

Ingredients for the Ginger Basil Simple Syrup:

• 0.5 cup granulated sugar
• 0.5 cup water
• 0.25 cup chopped basil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

How to Make the Syrup:

Bring the water to a rolling boil (careful not to evaporate too much liquid) and begin to slowly add the sugar, small portions at a time, and dissolve the sugar into the water. 

Once the sugar is completely dissolved, reduce the heat to medium low. This liquid is the basic simple syrup. From this liquid one could really add countless ingredients to create their own flavored simple syrup. 

Add the ginger and basil and increase the heat back to a rolling boil for 10 to 15 minutes. It can go longer, up to an hour, which will only infuse the syrup more. You want to be careful not to burn or cook the ingredients as it will change the flavor profile. 

Turn off the heat and strain the basil and ginger from the syrup, leaving you with a ginger basil simple syrup. 

Measure accordingly and mix with the remaining ingredients.

Precious Pineapple

The Place: Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa

Ingredients: 

• 10-12 Mint leaves
• 2-3 Fresh lime wheels
• 1 oz Simple syrup
• 1 oz Fresh pineapple juice
• Club soda
• Pineapple slices for garnish

How to Make It:

• Delicately muddle the mint leaves and fresh lime wheels in a highball glass.
• Combine and shake the simple syrup and pineapple juice pour into glass.
• Top off the mocktail with club soda and garnish with pineapple slice and extra mint leaves.

Horizons Ruby Mocktail

amsterdam-manor-mocktail

The Place: Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, Aruba

Ingredients:

• 4 Pieces of fresh raspberries
• 4 oz Ruby Red grapefruit juice
• 1 oz Passion fruit mix
• 1 Mint leaf
• 1 Sliced physalis
• 3 blueberries

How to Make It:

• Crush the raspberries.
• In a shaker, add grapefruit juice, passion fruit mix, raspberry juice and 1 scoop of ice, shake well.
• Strain and poor in a tall glass, add ice and garnishes.

The post A Trio of Magnificent Resort Mocktails for Celebrating Dry January appeared first on Islands.

As much as it pains me to admit, margaritas and piña coladas aren’t exactly fireside cocktails that’ll help warm your cold extremities and/or cockles, nor do they pair well with toasted marshmallows and grandma’s peppermint bark. Instead, as we watch the snow fall and listen to the soothing holiday ballads of Andy Williams and Michael Bublé, or get in the present-wrapping mood while watching Love Actually or Die Hard for the sixth trillionth time, we need a cocktail that captures the essence of the colder months while also, maybe, making us shout, “Hot damn!”

Fortunately, while we also spend these evenings longing for holiday travel and the spoils of our favorite resorts, some of our favorite hotels and destinations were kind enough to share their favorite winter seasonal cocktails. Sipping these delicious concoctions with loved ones is the next best thing to being on the beach.

Bourbon Pumpkin Smash

The Place: Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort, Cocoa Beach, FL

Cocktail Ingredients:

• 1 oz pumpkin spice syrup
• 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
• 0.25 oz lemon juice
• 4 oz soda water
• Lemon wedges

Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup Ingredients:

• 8 oz pumpkin puree
• 1 cup water (more as needed)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 0.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice

How to Make It:

To make the simple syrup, add pumpkin puree, water, sugar and pumpkin pie spice to a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once the syrup is boiling and smooth, remove from heat and cover.

Let sit for 15 minutes.

Strain the pumpkin mixture in an airtight container. Let cool completely before making the cocktail. Syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add pumpkin spice syrup, bourbon and lemon juice for the cocktail. Shake well. Fill rimmed rocks glass with ice. Strain the cocktail into the glass. Top with soda water. Give the cocktail one final stir and serve.

Demon Seal

The Place: Bar 1903, Tallahassee, FL

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Bacoo 12-year rum
• 0.75 oz maple chai spiced syrup
• 0.5 oz allspice dram
• 3 drops citric acid
• 1 cinnamon stick

How to Make It:

Stir rum, maple chai spiced syrup, allspice dram and citric acid together, then pour onto a hand-cut king ice cube. Next, smoke the cinnamon stick and add to the drink—quickly covering the glass to capture inside. When presenting the cocktail, remove the covering and cinnamon stick.

Devil’s Addition

The Place: High West Distillery, Park City, UT

Ingredients:

• 1 oz High West Double Rye!
• 0.5 oz Tanqueray 10
• 0.25 oz Cocchi Americano
• 1 oz matcha simple syrup
• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.75 oz fresh pineapple juice
• 2 drops of hops tincture
• Fever Tree Soda Water

How to Make It:

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker except the soda water and shake until chilled. Strain into a Collins glass with ice and top off with soda water.

Edge Bourbon S’more

The Place: Edge Steakhouse, Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Bookers High Proof Bourbon
• 0.75 oz Baileys
• 0.5 oz butterscotch liqueur
• 0.25 oz salted caramel
• Vanilla bourbon popcorn, marshmallow and chocolate syrup for garnish

How to Make It:

In a cocktail shaker, combine bourbon, Bailey’s, butterscotch liqueur and salted caramel. Shake then pour over ice. Garnish with a skewer of vanilla bourbon popcorn and a marshmallow, then drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Ember Old Fashioned

The Place: Beau Nash, Hotel Crescent Court, Dallas, TX

Orange Spiced Syrup Ingredients:

• 4 oz of grade A pure maple syrup
• 0.25 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3 sliced orange wheels
• 1 dash cloves
• 1 dash cinnamon
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Cocktail Ingredients:

• 2 oz Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon
• 1/3 oz orange spiced syrup, cooled
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 1 bruleed orange wheel, garnish
• 1 cinnamon stick, garnish
• 1 star anise, garnish

How to Make It:

To make the orange spiced syrup, add all ingredients into a pot and cook for 10 minutes until syrup begins to boil. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Once the syrup is ready, then fill shaker glass with ice and blend bourbon, cooled orange spiced syrup and orange bitters, stir thoroughly. Fill old fashioned glass with a single large ice block pour bourbon and spiced syrup blend over and garnish with cinnamon, orange wheel and star anise.

Harvest Martini

The Place: Pelican Grand Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Sobieski Vanilla Vodka
• 2 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 2 oz of Monin pumpkin spice syrup
• Dash cinnamon

How to Make It:

Combine vodka, Irish cream and pumpkin spice syrup in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Top with dash of cinnamon for garnish.

Merry Merry Bloody Mary

The Place: Ta-boo Bistro and Bar, The Palm Beaches

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1.5 fluid oz jigger of vodka
• 0.75 cup spicy tomato-vegetable juice cocktail
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 stalk celery

How to Make It:

Salt the rim of a tall glass. To do so, pour salt onto a small place, then moisten the rim of a glass on a damp towel and begin to press into the salt. Fill the glass with cubes of ice.

In a cocktail mixer filled with ice, combine vodka, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable juice, hot pepper sauce, and salt and pepper. Shake vigorously and strain into glass. Garnish with choice of accoutrement, such as purple baby carrots, celery stalks, etc.

The Old Voice

The Place: Rattlesnake Bar, The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Heaven’s Door Custom Blended Whiskey
• 0.75 oz Alessio Vermouth Chinato
• 0.25 oz maple syrup
• 3 dashes angostura bitters
• 2 dashes orange bitters

How to Make It:

Stir all ingredients with ice and then strain with a Hawthorne strainer into an old fashioned glass with one large whiskey cube.

Pumpkin Spice Martini

The Place: Zocca Cuisine D’Italia, The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Stoli Vanilla
• 1 oz Chocolate Godiva Liqueur
• 0.5 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 1 oz pumpkin spice syrup

How to Make It:

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a martini glass.

Red Hot Cinnamon

The Place: The White Heron Tea & Gifts, New Port Richey, FL

Ingredients:

• 2 cinnamon black tea bags (Driftwood Tea Company’s Cinnamon Black recommended) *If loose tea is preferred, use 1 tbsp tea for 12 oz of water
• 9 oz of water, heated to 212 degrees
• 1 oz Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey

How to Make It:

Heat water to 212 degrees F. Pour hot water into a large mug or other tea steeping vessel, add tea bags, and cover cup (to keep the tea as hot as possible).

If using loose tea, put tea into mesh steeper, steeper basket, French press or other vessel of preference. Steep tea for 5 minutes (be sure to set a timer).

Add Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey into a drinking glass. After 5 minutes, remove tea bags from water and dispose of tea bags. Add tea to glass with Fireball, mix well and enjoy.

Rum-Pum-Pum Punch

The Place: Belize, courtesy of the Belize Tourism Board

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white rum
• 1 cup coconut rum
• 2.5 cups fresh orange juice and pineapple juice
• 0.5 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tbsp grenadine (or enough to make the punch into a pretty pink color) *Variation: skip the grenadine and opt for freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon for a touch of seasonal flair

How to Make It:

Stir all the ingredients together in a pitcher or punch bowl, and chill before serving. Use short rocks glasses full of ice and garnish your Rum Punch with slices of orange and pineapple. This recipe yields 8-10 servings.

Tequila Milk Punch

The Place: Montage Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, SC

Ingredients:

• 2 oz cinnamon infused blanco tequila (Cazadores is recommended)
• 0.75 oz coconut milk
• 0.75 oz heavy cream
• 0.5 oz vanilla syrup
• 0.5 oz Liquor 43
• 0.25 oz St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
• Top with shaved nutmeg

How to Make It:

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing tin and serve over ice. Top off with shaved Nutmeg.

*For DIY cinnamon infused tequila, place two whole cinnamon sticks in a liter of tequila for one week. Remove cinnamon and serve.

*For DIY vanilla syrup, make a classic 2:1 simple syrup. Place one fresh vanilla bean (cut in half-long ways) in syrup for 1 week. Strain vanilla out of syrup and refrigerate.

Warm Winter Wine

The Place: Bungalows Key Largo

Ingredients:

• 2 oz red wine
• 1 oz brandy
• 5 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring the ingredients to light boil, then drain in a rocks glass, add one slice of orange and pour the cocktail mixture over the top. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Wonderland

The Place: Bohemian Hotel Celebration, Celebration, FL

Ingredients:

• 1 oz vanilla vodka
• 0.5 oz Frangelico
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 0.5 oz Kahlua
• 1 oz heavy cream
• 0.5 oz egg whites
• 0.5 tsp (pinch) nutmeg

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill the shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, until whites are foamed and creamy. Strain into coupe and garnish with light dusting of nutmeg.

The post 14 Unique Holiday Cocktails for the Cold Winter Months appeared first on Islands.

When most travelers think of the Maldives, romance is usually the first thing that comes to mind. The privacy, amazing beaches, and unbelievable accommodations, not to mention epic amenities, all combine to create an atmosphere that makes couples feel like the only people on Earth. Aside from the wonderful, dedicated staff members who make everything happen, of course.

But the times, they are a changin’, and the Maldives seems to be picking up steam as a family destination. At least that’s the case at Velaa Private Island, where approximately 45 percent of the guests in 2022 have been family and multigenerational bookings, which is a 30 percent improvement from the previous year. Obviously, an inability or decision not to travel in 2020 and parts of 2021 may have inspired more families to go big, but let’s not pretend like it’s a mystery why more parents want to have experiences their kids of all ages will never forget.

Velaa Private Island is a great choice for its family influence, too. In fact, the resort’s newest addition, the Beach Bar, was inspired by the owner’s daughter’s dream of opening an ice cream stand at this destination. And while the frozen treats here are adult-oriented, the snack menu will please every guest with delicious treats like Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls and a Truffle Pizza. 

As for those cocktails, we know it might be a while before many travelers make it to Velaa Private Island, so the resort’s mixologists were generous enough to share a trio of recipes to try at home. It’s not the same as sipping one on the sand after a morning of lessons at the Velaa Golf Academy by Olazábal or exploring the dive sites of the Noonu atoll, but it’s a great start.

Fascinating Frosé

The Myntra

The post Enjoy a Taste of the Maldives with these Drink Recipes from Velaa Private Island appeared first on Islands.

Few hotels, anywhere in the world, capture the essence of their surroundings as well as Rosewood San Miguel de Allende. Opened in 2011, this property was designed to be a tribute to the rich local culture, which is why it fits in so wonderfully with the colorful buildings and streets of this beautiful town. Inside, guests will enjoy how this hacienda-like design concept seamlessly blends with luxury through the public spaces and into the 67 rooms, suites, and private residences.

But authenticity and style are hardly limited to the accommodations. The 1826 Restaurant and Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar are two of the coolest spots in town for enjoying amazing cuisine and, when it comes to the latter, amazing views. As for cocktails, the 1826 Tequila Bar provides an experience that is as educational as it is delicious, with the resident tequilier leading tasting sessions paired with bites chosen by the property’s executive chef.

It goes without saying that we are all ears for this crew’s top pick for National Mezcal Day, and the mixologists at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende did not disappoint with this awesome recipe.

La Mula Cocktail

• 1.5 oz Mezcal Amarás Reposado
• 1 oz Lime juice
• 1 oz Agave syrup
• Ginger kombucha for topping
• Garnish: Dried lemon and mint  

How to Make It:

Pour Mezcal, lime juice, and syrup into an ice filled mug. Stir to combine. Top with ginger kombucha and garnish with a dried lemon slice and mint.

The post Celebrate National Mezcal Day with the La Mula Cocktail from Rosewood San Miguel de Allende appeared first on Islands.