In warm weather, thoughts turn to refreshing drinks. Mixology has been elevated to an art, as creative bartenders are transforming mundane beverages into eye-popping, thirst-quenching treats. At your events this summer, chill out with festive cool cocktails that go beyond the basics. Bottoms up!

A Meal or a Drink?

Checkmate Caesar (pictured) is the most over-the-top drink ever crafted! With a classic Bloody Mary at the base, it includes a whole roasted chicken, two burgers, a hot dog, hot wings, onion rings and a brownie!  The $53 feast serves two and is exclusive to Score on Davie in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Three is (Not) a Crowd

At Tryst in Wynn Las Vegas, high rollers can have a Menage a Trois. The posh drink combines Cristal Rose Champagne, Hennessey Ellipse Cognac and 15-year-old Grand Marnier liqueur with 24-karat gold flakes and liquid-gold syrup. The libation costs $3,000, but sippers get to keep the silver straw, which has a diamond set into it.

Herb-alicious

Plate & Vine at Hilton Concord in California’s Diablo Valley grows organic herbs on the premises and uses them in handcrafted cocktails. Their Rosemary Gimlet is made by muddling fresh rosemary and basil with gin, lime juice and simple syrup infused with rosemary, while the Lavender Martini is crafted with vodka and lavender simple syrup, and garnished with a fresh sprig of lavender.

A Real Buzz

Omni Hotels & Resorts properties with beehives use honey in spa treatments and drinks. Particularly buzz-worthy is the Bee Sting, developed at Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida. The cocktail contains Svedka Grapefruit Jalapeno, lemon and grapefruit juice, and orange blossom honey water from their bees.

Desert Delights

Cacti abound in Arizona, so it should come as no surprise that two of the signature cocktails at The Phoenician in Scottsdale feature prickly pear, a tasty cactus fruit. The resort’s Prickly-Peno Margarita is crafted from premium tequila, lime and orange juice, triple sec and jalapeno prickly pear syrup. Their Five P cocktail contains prosecco, Paradiso tequila, pomegranate and prickly pear.

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