Backyard Bartender

One-Bottle Wonders for Cocktails on the Lawn

When it comes to this summer’s cocktails, less is more. If I’ve learned anything from sheltering in place, it’s that I want more flavor from my recipes with fewer ingredients and even fewer trips to the store.

Enter the one-bottle cocktail, where each recipe requires just one spirit and relies on simple applications of herbs and citrus to do the rest.

Vibrant, tart and not-too-sweet, Barefoot in the Grass is a summery gimlet variation featuring Industrious Spirit Company’s (ISCO) Ornamental Gin with fresh lime juice and a smart cilantro syrup that perks notes of lemon balm, exotic spices and florals in the gin. Batch in a Mason jar for yourself and a couple of appropriately distanced pals, kick off your shoes and celebrate this summer’s freshest flavors with the recent arrival of ISCO, Providence’s first official distillery since Prohibition.

For my next trick, a charming pink drink called The Moonstone, a vodka cocktail made with ISCO’s Structural Vodka, hibiscus syrup, fresh lemon and muddled mint. The cocktail gleams with light caramel notes from the regionally grown, organic corn-based vodka—sunny rays of citrus and refreshing mint emanate from the glass. Fresh out of dried hibiscus tea? I hear you. Sub in a heaping teaspoon of strawberry jam for fruitiness and color, the perfect kitchen hack to ensure rosy success.

In the mood for something a little more sassy? Toast cocktail hour with a Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Paloma with chili pepper–infused silver tequila, fresh lime and grapefruit soda. Prep your salt mix, store a few glasses in the freezer and infuse the tequila a day in advance. Once cocktail hour rolls around, you’re ready to pour and enjoy.

Don’t miss Willa’s how-to video for prepping Barefoot in the Grass! Find it, plus recipes for The Moonstone, Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Paloma and bonus Rhubarb Peach Personal Punch at Edible Rhody.com.