As we settle into the sultry grip of southern summer, staying cool climbs to the priority forefront. Sure, I am an advocate for a cold beer on a hot day, but after a few rounds of suds, that extreme heat can elicit the uninvited bubble guts. Wine can be an option, but if you’re outside, you’ll need to keep the bottle fairly chilled to maintain that desired refreshing nature. The colder the wine, however, the less aromas and flavors we experience from our beloved jar of juice. So how do we balance our hydration, refrigeration and a little summer intoxication without sacrificing comfort? Cocktails.

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you haul your entire bar setup out to the pool or sandy seaside and shake yourself into a sweaty frenzy. Great cocktails can be refreshing, delicious and, best of all, “batch-able.” Almost all of the preparation can be done well ahead of time in the confines of your airconditioned abode.

While every type of spirit has potential inclusion in a mixed drink, I find gins with herbal and botanical components seem to craft some of the more flavorful and thought-provoking concoctions. Serendipitously, a few small batch producers specializing in just that style recently came into my spotlight.

Holistic Spirits Company

As I was playing around with some batch-able summer cocktails, a new name popped up that had me intrigued, Holistic Spirits Company. No, it’s not a yoga retreat in a bottle, but it might be the closest thing. Founded by wellness advocate Amy Holmwood and actor/environmentalist Woody Harrelson, Holistic Spirits is part booze, part botanicals, and all about rethinking what goes into your glass.

Rather than leaning on artificial flavors or chemical shortcuts, their spirits are crafted with plant-based ingredients like artichoke leaf, elderberry, green tea, and muscadine grape, each bringing their own flavor profile and potential health perks. It’s a little science, a little sustainability, and a lot of sipping satisfaction.

Although they also produce a solid vodka (Origen), it was their Harmony Gin that I developed an intimate relationship with. It’s 90-proof but surprisingly smooth, with a floral lift, gentle green tea aromatics, and a quiet, earthy depth that plays beautifully with other ingredients in your refreshing mixtures. Its complexity will keep cocktail nerds loquaciously pontificating about its potential while still being approachable enough to win over the G&T-loving crowd.

One of the best attributes, it’s clean. No added sugar, no weird aftertaste, no high-fructose corn crap. Just artful distillation and clean, balanced flavor; perfect for mixing in those “make-ahead” summer pitchers where we want convenience without sacrificing flavor.

Harmony Gin Summer Cocktails

Garden Party Spritz

Batch Mix (Makes about 6–8 drinks)

• 1 ½ cups Harmony Gin
• club soda
• 1½ cups fresh grapefruit juice
• ½ cup elderflower syrup (or St-Germain)
• Zest ribbons from 2 oranges
• Optional: cucumber ribbons to float in the pitcher

Instructions: Combine all ingredients except club soda in a pitcher or sealable container. Chill well. Add cucumber ribbons just before serving for visual flair and a cooling effect. When serving, fill highball glass with ice, add 4 oz of chilled batch mixture. Top with club soda. Garnish with grapefruit wedge and a sprig of hyssop, mint, or thyme.

Carolina Shade

Batch Mix (Makes about 6 drinks)

• 1 ½ cups Harmony Holistic Gin
• ¾ cup fresh lime juice
• ½ cup honey syrup (1:1 honey + water, warmed to mix)
• 2 cups brewed and chilled green tea (unsweetened)
• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced (reserve a few for garnish)

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a pitcher. Chill until ready. When serving, pour over ice. Garnish with cucumber wheels and fresh mint.

Common Ground Spirits

In a category often overrun by trend-chasing releases and hollow buzzwords, Common Ground Spirits steps onto the scene with something refreshingly rare: intentionality. Founded by two friends (Julian Peebles and Tory Brown) with tech-world backgrounds and a shared love for good food, good drink, and thoughtful design, this California-based distillery is less about reinventing the wheel and more about distilling what matters: balance, community, and flavor.

While plenty of brands preach transparency, Common Ground actually builds this philosophy into their spirits. Their small-batch gins are crafted with precision and purpose, each one featuring a curated blend of botanicals that read more like a farmers market lineup than a hooch formula. Their approach is simple but sincere, use high-quality, locally sourced ingredients to make spirits that will have you feeling as good about drinking them as actually drinking them.

What really sets them apart is their gin trio. Each recipe is distinctly different, yet unmistakably tied together by a common thread of clarity and craft. The Recipe 01 leans green and garden-fresh with basil, elderflower, and citrus peel. Recipe 02 dials into savory terrain, led by black currant and thyme, with whispers of olive and rosemary. Recipe 03 is all sun and spice with blood orange, tarragon, and warm peppercorns dancing around a citrus core.

Don’t mistake these for novelty gins, built for a single cocktail. They’re complex, deliberate, and surprisingly versatile. Whether mixed into an airy spritzer or stirred into something a bit sultrier, each one holds its own with an individualistic unique confidence.

Common Ground isn’t just a name, it’s a philosophy. An inclusive call to gather around a drink not to impress, but to connect. In a world that often feels too fast, too noisy, and too divided, that feels like a pretty good reason to raise a glass.

Common Ground Summer Cocktails

Greenhouse Effect

Batch Mix (Makes about 6–8 drinks)

• 2 cups Common Ground Gin Recipe No. 01 (Basil and Elderflower)
• 1 cup fresh cucumber juice (or muddled and strained cucumber purée)
• ¾ cup Midori (or another light melon liqueur)
• ¾ cup fresh lime juice
• ½ cup simple syrup (1:1)
• Dash of Peychaud’s bitters per serving
• Chilled soda water (added just before serving)

Instructions: Combine all ingredients except soda water and bitters in a pitcher or sealable container. Chill well. When serving, pour 4 oz of the premix into a rocks glass with ice. Top with soda water, stir gently and add dash of bitters. Garnish with a long cucumber ribbon curled inside the glass.

Summer Sundial

Batch Mix (Makes about 6–8 drinks)

• 1½ cups Common Ground Gin Recipe No. 02 (Black Currant and Thyme)
• 1 cup tomato water (about 3 large heirloom tomatoes – blended and fine strained)
• ¾ cup fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup basil leaves (gently muddled, steeped and removed)
• Garnish: Skewers of basil leaf and mozzarella ball; olive oil float

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and chill. When serving, pour 4 oz of batch mixture over ice in a stemless wine or rocks glass. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil across the surface. Garnish with skewered mozzarella and basil.

Whether you’re hosting a backyard bash, floating by the dock, or just trying to beat the heat without breaking a sweat, these batch-able gin cocktails offer an easy upgrade to your summer imbibements. With brands like Holistic Spirits and Common Ground bringing nuance, quality, and real thought to their spirits, you don’t need to sacrifice flavor or values when pouring that pitcher.

So next time the heat index hits triple digits and your friends are reaching for those RTD cocktails in a can, you’ll be the one sipping something smarter. These summer-ready cocktails are cool, clever, and downright crushable. Just pour, stir, and raise a glass to a season of better drinking.