More Reunion Fun: Cocktails, Mocktails, and Versatile Beverages

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Looking to make a cocktail or mocktail to enjoy as a lead-up to the weekend’s festivities? Dive into some special drink recipes to get you into that Reunion “spirit.” Here's how:

  • Step 1: Choose your recipe—cocktail, mocktail, or a versatile beverage (a cocktail that can be easily changed into a mocktail).
  • Step 2: Scroll down to find a fun Brown-inspired beverage name to pair with your favorite concoction. 

Jump right to: 

Cocktails:
Mocktails:
Versatile Beverages:
Find Brown-Inspired Beverage Names

Cocktails

Trouble in Paradise

  • 1 ounce bourbon
  • ¾ ounce fresh grapefruit juice
  • ¾ ounce honey

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add bourbon and grapefruit juice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top it off with honey.

 

Appletini

  • 1 ½ ounces vodka
  • 1 ounce apple schnapps
  • ½ ounce calvados
  • Ice
  • Garnish: green apple slices

Place martini glass in freezer to chill. Combine vodka, schnapps, and calvados in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until chilled, about 30 seconds. Pour cocktail into chilled glass and garnish with apple slices.

Berry Margarita

  • 6 ounces silver tequila
  • 2 ounces lime juice
  • 4 ounces orange juice
  • 2 ounces agave nectar
  • ¼ cup fresh blackberries (muddle half of them, other half for garnish)

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, lime juice, orange juice, and agave nectar and shake well. Separately, muddle your blackberries in your drinking glass, then add ice. Strain your mixed cocktail from the shaker into your muddled berries. Top with a few extra blackberries.

Cosmopolitan

  • 1 ½ ounces citrus vodka
  • 1 ounce Cointreau
  • ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1 dash cranberry juice
  • Garnish: lime wedge

Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice, and cranberry juice to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
 

Moscow Mule

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 6 ounces ginger beer

Squeeze lime juice into a mug, or if you have it, a copper mug. Add ice cubes, then pour vodka and fill with chilled ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Lemon Drop

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • ½ ounce triple sec
  • 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 1 ounce simple syrup
  • Garnish: sugar rim

Coat the rim of a cocktail glass with sugar and set aside. Add the vodka, triple sec, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into the sugar-rimmed glass.

Gin Buck

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 4 ounces ginger ale (or enough to fill)
  • Garnish: lemon wedge

Pour the gin into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with ginger-ale, stir well. Garnish with lemon wedge.

Boulevardier

  • 2 ounces bourbon
  • 1 ounce Campari
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth
  • Garnish: lemon twist

Combine bourbon, Campari, and vermouth in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is frosty, about 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, coupe, or a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

Manhattan

  • 2 parts whiskey
  • 1 part vermouth
  • Dash of bitters
  • 1 maraschino cherry

Add all ingredients to cocktail glass.
 

Whiskey Sour

  • 2 ounces rye whiskey (or bourbon)
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • ½ to ¾ ounce simple syrup (to taste)
  • ½ to ¾ ounce dry red wine

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour the whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake well and strain into old fashioned glass filled with ice. Float red wine on top by pouring it slowly over the back of a bar spoon.

Blue Lagoon

  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 1 ounce blue curaçao
  • 4 ounces lemonade
  • Garnish: lemon wheel
  • Garnish: maraschino cherry

Add the vodka, blue curaçao, and lemonade to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a hurricane glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

Frozen Rosé

  • 1 (750-milliliter) bottle hearty, bold rosé (such as a pinot noir or merlot rosé)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 8 ounces strawberries, hulled, quartered
  • 2½ ounces fresh lemon juice

Pour rosé into a 13x9-inch pan and freeze until almost solid (it won't completely solidify due to the alcohol)— at least 6 hours.

Meanwhile, bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes). Add strawberries, remove from heat, and let sit 30 minutes to infuse syrup with strawberry flavor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl (do not press on solids); cover and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

Scrape rosé into a blender. Add lemon juice, 3½ ounces strawberry syrup, and 1 cup crushed ice and purée until smooth. Transfer blender jar to freezer and freeze until frosé is thickened (aim for milkshake consistency, about 25-35 minutes). Blend again until frosé is slushy. Divide among glasses.

Mocktails

Mocktail Sundowner

  • 4 ounces white grape juice
  • 2 ½ ounces sparkling water
  • Garnish: mint sprig

Pour the ingredients into a wine glass filled with ice. Stir well and garnish with a sprig of mint.
 

Lime Ricky

  • 8 ounces lime juice (fresh, about 6 to 7 limes)
  • 4 ounces simple syrup
  • 12 ounces seltzer water
  • Garnish: lime wedge

In a pitcher or a measuring cup with a spout, mix the lime juice and simple syrup. Divide the sweetened lime juice mixture between the glasses (about 3 ounces each). Fill the rest of the glass with seltzer (about 3 ounces). Stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

Arnold Palmer

  • 1 cup sweet tea, cold
  • ⅓ cup lemonade, cold
  • Garnish: lemon slice
  • Garnish: mint leaves

Pour the tea and lemonade over ice in a shaker. Shake well. Strain into a glass filled with ice and add the lemon slice and mint leaves as garnish.

Shirley Temple

  • 1 tablespoon grenadine
  • 8 ounces lemon-lime soda
  • Garnish: maraschino cherries, optional

Fill a glass with ice. Add 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) grenadine, then top with 8 ounces lemon-lime soda. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.

Cranberry Basil Sangria

  • 3 cups cranberry juice
  • Juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
  • 1 (12-ounce) can seltzer
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced
  • ⅓ cup frozen cranberries
  • ¼ cup packed basil leaves

In a large pitcher, combine cranberry juice, orange juice, and seltzer. Add fruit and basil and stir to combine. Pour over ice to serve.

Raspberry Sherbet Party Punch

  • 2 liters lemon-lime soda, chilled
  • 2 liters club soda, chilled
  • 1 (12-ounce) can fruit punch, or pink lemonade, thawed in the fridge (*see note)
  • 1 (12-ounce) can pineapple juice, thawed in the fridge (*see note)
  • 6-8 scoops raspberry sherbet, or any flavor you have available

Pre-scoop sherbet and place on a baking dish lined with plastic wrap. Freeze and add sherbet just before serving so it remains frozen in the punch. In a punch bowl, combine the two juice cans. Pour in Sierra Mist/Sprite/7-Up and club soda and gently stir until combined. Add pineapple slices and raspberries if desired, and top with scooped sherbet just before serving. The sherbet will keep it chilled. Add cold water or ice if desired to control sweetness.

Blue Lagoo-no

  • 1 ounce lemon-lime soda
  • 1 ounce blue food coloring
  • 4 ounces lemonade
  • Garnish: lemon wheel
  • Garnish: maraschino cherry

Add the soda, blue food coloring, and lemonade to a glass with ice and gently stir until well-chilled. Strain into a hurricane glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

Mocktail Moscow Mule

  • ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 6 ounces ginger beer

Squeeze lime juice into a mug, or if you have it, a copper mug. Add ice cubes, then pour chilled ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.

Versatile Beverages

Moscow Mule

  • 2 ounces vodka (eliminate if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 6 ounces ginger beer
  • Garnish: lime wedge

Squeeze lime juice into a copper mug. Add ice cubes, then pour your vodka (if applicable) and fill with chilled ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Blue Lagoon

  • 1 ounce vodka (swap with lemon-lime soda if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • 1 ounce blue curaçao (swap with a tsp of blue food coloring if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • 4 ounces lemonade
  • Garnish: lemon wheel
  • Garnish: maraschino cherry

Add the vodka (or lemon-lime soda), blue curaçao (or food coloring) and lemonade to a glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a hurricane glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

Cranberry Basil Sangria

  • 3 cups cranberry juice
  • Juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
  • 1 bottle of pinot grigio (or 1 (12-ounce) can of seltzer if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced
  • ⅓ cup frozen cranberries
  • ¼ cup packed basil leaves

In a large pitcher, combine cranberry juice, orange juice, and wine (or seltzer). Add fruit and basil and stir to combine. Pour over ice to serve.

Arnold Palmer

  • 1 cup sweet tea, cold
  • ⅓ cup lemonade, cold
  • 2 ounces vodka (eliminate if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • ½ ounce citron flavored vodka, optional (eliminate if you’d like a mocktail instead)
  • Garnish: lemon slice
  • Garnish: mint leaves

Pour the tea, lemonade, and both vodkas (if applicable) over ice in a shaker. Shake well. Strain into a glass filled with ice and add the lemon slice and mint leaves as garnish.

Choose Your Ice-Breaker: Brown-Inspired Beverage Names

When meeting someone new—or seeing someone you haven’t seen in years—it’s helpful to have an icebreaker. Use the unique cocktail or mocktail names below to shake up something special for Reunion Weekend. 

  • Carberry Cooler
  • Pembroke Punch
  • "GCB" G & T
  • College Hill Cosmo
  • Sayles Hall Spritz
  • Faunce Old Fashioned
  • Main Green Grasshopper
  • Brown Derby
  • Carrie Tower
  • Carberry Cocktail 
  • The Blueno
  • Ever True
  • The Underground
  • The Thayer Street 
  • Bruno Beary Margarita
  • Lime Ratty
  • GCB Lemon Drop 
  • Sundown on College Hill
  • Ivy Palmer 
  • Carberry Basil Sangria 
  • Bruno Mule
  • Van Wickle Frose 
  • Providence Sour
  • Metcalf Manhattan 
  • East Side Gin Buck
  • Thayer St Boulevardier

Have some of your own ideas to add? Let us know!