Eating local is all well and good, but we can’t forget to drink local too. Below are nine easy cocktail recipes for summer libations that are as handsome as they are refreshing. First, assemble some of the right accessories: festive glassware, colorful trays, a cocktail shaker or blender, a jigger (so you can measure out the hard stuff), and the all-important muddler, so you can mash up herbs and fruits to bring out their essence. The experience is heightened by including locally grown produce from area grocers, farmers’ markets, or even your own backyard. The best part is that even when the ingredients come from your garden, these cocktails are anything but garden-variety.

BLUEBERRY MOJITO

from the Local in Charlottesville

7 to 9 mint leaves, plus more for garnish

1 Tbsp. (or less) turbinado sugar, to taste

8 blueberries

15 ounces light rum

1 ounce lime juice

¾ ounce simple syrup (**recipe below)

¾ ounce soda water (splash)

1. Put the mint in the glass; add a few drops of lime juice, for muddling. Sprinkle with turbinado. Muddle the mint into a pulp.

2. Add and muddle the blueberries. Fill a glass with ice, and add remaining lime juice and the same amount of simple syrup (use less simple syrup or none at all if you added a lot of turbinado).

3. Add rum. Shake the mixture, pour into a glass, top with a splash of soda water, and garnish with a sprig of mint.

BUY IT: Red tray from the Seasonal Cook; wooden muddler from the Happy Cook.

CANTALOUPE BELLINI

from Mangia in Lynchburg

Honeydew can be used instead of cantaloupe.

Serves 4

1 cantaloupe, cut into chunks, seeds removed

Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine)

Purée cantaloupe in a blender. Pour into a pitcher; top with Prosecco. (Ideal ratio is 2 parts Prosecco, 1 part cantaloupe.)

PEACH DAIQUIRI

from the Local in Charlottesville

2 ounces light rum

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

11⁄2 tsp. simple syrup (**recipe below)

1 cup crushed ice

1 fresh peach, peeled and sliced

Mix all ingredients in the blender until smooth. To thicken, add more ice and blend again. Garnish with a peach or lime wedge.

WATERMELON MARGARITA

from Ventana in Charlottesville

Coarse kosher salt (for the glass rim)

3 to 4 ounces of fresh watermelon purée or juice

1⁄2 ounce simple syrup (**recipe below)

1 ounce tangerine or orange juice

2 ounces blanco tequila

1. Pour out a thin layer of salt on a small plate. Wet the rim of a Collins or cocktail glass, and press it into the salt.

2. Mix together remaining ingredients. Shake with ice and pour into salted glass. For a recipe for a novel “sea foam” topping for this margarita, click here.

BUY IT: Blue tray from the Happy Cook.

CUCUMBER MOJITO

from Clementine in Harrisonburg

2 or 3 slices cucumber, plus more for garnish

3 mint leaves, plus more for garnish

1⁄2 lime, juiced, plus more for garnish

11⁄2 ounces rum

1⁄2 ounce simple syrup (**recipe below)

2 ounces club soda

Muddle the cucumber slices, mint, and lime juice together. Then add rum, simple syrup, and club soda. Shake with a cocktail shaker, and pour into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with additional cucumber, mint, and/or a lime wedge.

BUY IT: Glasses and napkins from the Seasonal Cook.

LEMON SHANDY

This recipe includes homemade lemonade, but in a pinch, you could use store-bought.

Serves 18

Simple syrup (**recipe below)

Zest from 1 lemon

6 lemons, juiced

2 sprigs mint

Chilled Starr Hill Pale Ale

1. Prepare simple syrup, stirring in zest while mixture is still hot. Cool to room temperature. Add 2 cups water, the lemon juice, and mint. Chill until cold.

2. Fill a drink dispenser or pitcher in a 3:1 ratio of beer to lemonade. Or if the pitcher will be sitting out for a while, put 1⁄4 cup lemonade into each beer glass (to order) and top off with beer.

BUY IT: Drink dispenser from the Seasonal Cook.

HEIRLOOM TOMATOTINI 

from Staunton Grocery in Staunton

Serves 4

4 large heirloom tomatoes (any juicy variety; avoid ‘Green Zebras,’ as the juice discolors)

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

Chile-infused vodka (such as Absolut Peppar; or click here for how to infuse vodka yourself)

Lemon juice

Basil leaves

1. Chop tomatoes, reserving any juice. Place tomatoes and juice in a plastic or glass bowl, and mix with salt. Transfer to a piece of cheesecloth and allow to drip for at least an hour into a clean bowl.

2. In a cocktail mixer full of ice, mix 2 parts tomato water with 1 part vodka. Add a nice squeeze of lemon juice and basil leaves. Muddle together. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Float basil leaves as a garnish.

CUCUMBER MARTINI (shown above)

from Mangia in Lynchburg

1 cucumber

21⁄2 ounces Hendrick’s gin

1⁄2 ounce dry vermouth

Juice the cucumber using a juicer. Add 2 Tbsp. juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice; add gin and vermouth, shake, and strain. Pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a toothpick of cucumber “olives” (made with a melon baller) or with a lightly salted cucumber round.

BUY IT: Martini glasses from the Seasonal Cook.

WHITE SANGRIA

from the Red Hen in Lexington

Serves 6

1 bottle chardonnay

3 ounces apple vodka

4 ounces Cointreau

6 ounces simple syrup (**recipe below)

20 drops bitters (Angostura)

Juice of 2 lemons

Zest of a lime

Blackberries, basil leaves, and lemon slices, for garnish

Soda water

Mix together first 10 ingredients in a large pitcher. (Note: The fruits and herbs can be left in the sangria for a couple hours to infuse in the refrigerator, but should not be left any longer than that.) Serve over ice with a splash of soda water.

BUY IT: Pitcher from the Happy Cook.

**SIMPLE SYRUP

Simple syrup is the ideal way to sweeten cocktails because it dissolves instantly, unlike granulated sugar. As its name implies, it’s super easy to make.

Makes 11⁄2 cups

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring water to a boil in a small pot over medium heat. Add sugar. Turn down to a simmer, and let cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture becomes syrupy, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 4 months.