The Best Cocktails For A Fun Labor Day Weekend

Nothing is better to toast the twilight of summer than these easy cocktails.

Summer fun is dwindling, but there is a three day weekend to celebrate and enjoy the last bits. Whether at a bbq, camping or just hanging at the house, these are the best cocktails for a fun Labor Day weekend. The holiday was an organized to celebrate the working man. As labor and union movements grew, their leaders proposed that day celebrate labor. Oregon was the first state ti make it an official public holiday. And when it became a federal holiday in 1894, 30 states had recognized it and made it a thing. Now you can kick back and enjoy a cool drink and a relaxing three day weekend!

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Mai Tai

While it is a huge travel weekend, not everyone can slip away. But this cocktail will let you mentally escape to the tropics. It is said it was concocted in 1944, according to Victor Jules Bergeron, aka Trader Vic, the owner of a tiki restaurant of the same name and one of the founders of tiki culture. Apparently he took a flavorful Jamaican rum and needed to mix it with something, so he took a fresh lime, some orange curaçao, a dash of rock candy sugar, and a bit of French orgeat syrup. He shook the mixture with shaved ice, placed half the lime shell on top of the drink and added a branch of mint to it to represent an island. The guest tasted it and declared, “Mai Tai-Roa Aé,” which means “Out of this world-the best” in Tahitian. There is where he decided to call the drink Mai Tai. Here is an easy version to enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup ice cubes
• 3 fluid ounces pineapple juice
• 2 fluid ounces orange juice
• 1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger spiced rum
• ½ (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger coconut-flavored rum
• 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
• 1 Maraschino cherry

Create

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes
2. Combine pineapple juice, orange juice, spiced rum, coconut rum, and grenadine in the shaker then shake vigorously
3. Strain into a glass full of ice
4. Add cherry for garnish

The Hannah

Soju is Korea’s most iconic and consumed alcohol. While the average Korean downs 53 bottles a year, it is just becoming popular in the US and Canada. Made from distilled grains, it has 12 to 25 percent ABV (although there are stronger ones). It’s the best-selling liquor in the world, with 100 million nine-liter cases sold in 2022, which out-sold Smirnoff vodka. This is a popular drink in cities across North America. Yakult is a Japanese sweetened probiotic milk/yougurt beverage sold in most Asian grocery stores.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Soju
• 1 oz Sprite
• 1 oz Yakut
• Splash of cranberry juice

Create

1. Fill cocktail glass with ice
2. Pour in Soju, Sprite and yakult and mix
3. Splash a little cranberry in the drink for color

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The Paloma

Known as the working man drink, what better thing to drink this weekend? It’s believed the drink was named after the 1860s folk song “La Paloma,” Spanish for “the dove.” And who doesn’t need a little peace after a long day’s at work?

Ingredients

• 2 oz tequila
• 1/2 oz grapefruit
• 1/2 oz soda

Create

1. Fill rocks glass with ice
2. Combine ingredients in glass, stir
3. Enjoy

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The Godfather

“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse, a delicious, strong drink which will make you forget about the fall.  The Godfather can deliver the goods with its namesake cocktail. It peaked in the 70s and 80s, but still delivers the goods.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces blended scotch or bourbon
• 1/4 ounce amaretto

Create

1. Fill a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice. Add the scotch and amaretto and stir until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

Sip into the weekend with these drinks and have a great time.