Sandra Lee Shares Her Top Tips For Better Vodka Cocktails This Summer

Sandra Lee

If you're interested in making summertime vodka cocktails, you might not be sure how best to pull them off. You want them to be light, refreshing, and summery, but how does that work in real terms? We spoke to celebrity chef and author Sandra Lee about her top tips for summer vodka cocktails, whether you sip them by the pool, at a cookout, or in a shady spot in your yard on a hot day.

Lee has collaborated with Wheatley American Vodka to celebrate the 250-year anniversary of American independence, for which the brand is releasing limited edition bottles. With over 25 cookbooks and numerous cooking shows under her belt, Lee's extensive food and drink experience means she has some excellent insight into summer cocktails. In our interview, she covered a range of tips and tricks, such as using the right garnishes, batching your cocktails, and what to do if you make your drinks too strong. She also shared a handful of simple summer vodka cocktail recipes to get you started.

This is for anyone who wants to serve up refreshing cocktails at their next summer event but isn't sure how to get them right. Or for folks who have tried and failed with summery cocktails and who often find them underwhelming. With Lee's summer vodka cocktail tips, you'll never have another dud.

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"The biggest mistake is overcomplicating things," says Sandra Lee talking about rookie errors with cocktail making. She's a big advocate of keeping things simple. Summer cocktails should be refreshing and straightforward. They don't need to be elaborate. After all, you've got better things to do in the summertime than mix drinks, like lounging by the pool with your friends or going back for an extra helping of chips and dips.

"Summer cocktails should feel effortless," Lee remarks. "My biggest tip is to keep them fresh and simple." Focusing on using a few quality ingredients well is the way to go, rather than packing everything into a glass. It's easy to get carried away and think that more is better, but that's often not the case. "You don't need a dozen ingredients to make a great cocktail," Lee tells us.

This is particularly important when working with vodka. "People often add too many mixers or sweet ingredients, and you lose the clean, crisp character of the vodka," notes Lee. One simple summer cocktail she recommends is the American 76, which has just a few ingredients: 1 ounce of vodka, ½-ounce of lemon juice, ½-ounce of simple syrup, and 4 to 5 ounces of sparkling wine. This drink tastes like something you'd pay good money for in a cocktail bar.

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The last thing you want from a vodka cocktail in summer is for it to be warm and sticky. And it might end up sitting out in the sun for a while until you've finished it, so it's important to start with things being nice and cold. That's why Sandra Lee advises to refrigerate all your ingredients well.

"Chill every ingredient ahead of time," Lee tells us. This includes the vodka, which isn't something that everyone keeps in the fridge, but when it's summertime, you absolutely should. When all the ingredients go in the drink cold, this will keep the whole thing cooler and also means the ice won't melt as quickly, so you won't end up with watery cocktails.

What's great about this piece of advice is that it takes minimal effort. All you need to do is to remember to refrigerate everything ahead of time. The longer it is in the fridge, the better, so if you can chill it overnight, that's ideal. However, despite what you might have heard, you should never store vodka in the freezer. Keeping it this cold can mask the delicate flavors in your vodka, so that you don't get the most out of it.

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Adding fruit makes for a summery cocktail, and there are all kinds of ways to do so. From garnishes to full on ingredients, you can quickly make a drink seem special and extra refreshing with a simple fruity addition.

Sandra Lee recommends you "lean into seasonal produce" like berries or peaches. Depending on how far it is through summer and which part of the country you live in, there might be other seasonal fruits available, such as melon, apricots, cherries, and figs. Apples are also seasonal once you get to late summer and are a particular recommendation from Lee.

"This summer, I'm reaching for fresh apple slices," she says. "They're sturdy enough to stand up to the summer heat and add just the right touch of fresh flavor." What's great is that you can choose from a range of different apples with their own flavor profile. Something like a Granny Smith is tart and refreshing, while a Pink Lady is particularly sweet.

Lee suggests strawberry vodka lemonade as one of her top summer vodka cocktails. To make a single drink, you mix 1.5 ounces of vodka, 4 ounces of fresh lemonade, and muddled strawberries to taste. However, you could do the same with other fruits of your choice, such as blackberries, raspberries, or nectarines.

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It goes without saying, but you want your summertime cocktails to actually be cold, so you should never skimp on the ice. Whether it's a drink that you shake with ice, serve with ice, or both, you should use plenty of it. It will keep your drink colder for longer. And, because more ice makes the drink colder, it means the cubes take longer to melt. Another mistake people make with cocktails is using small ice cubes — larger ones melt more slowly.

"Use lots of fresh ice" is Sandra Lee's main tip for making the perfect vodka spritz, which is her go-to summer vodka drink. This is a beverage that combines vodka, sparkling water, fresh citrus juice, and herbs. However, the advice goes for any summer cocktail, so be sure to fill up your ice cube trays or buy a big bag at the store if you'll be serving a crowd.

Lee has another great tip for keeping drinks cold. "Freeze fruit like berries to use instead of ice cubes," she suggests. "They'll keep drinks cold without diluting them and look beautiful, too." Plus, as the fruit starts to melt, it will infuse its flavors into the drink.

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When you're hosting, making drinks can be a pain. Sandra Lee recommends vodka lemonade as a simple crowd pleaser because she says that it's "easy for guests to help themselves." However, if you're hoping to make more elaborate drinks, batching is the way to go.

This is the process of making cocktails ahead of time. "Batching is one of the best entertaining shortcuts," Lee tells us. She notes that you can mix it a few hours ahead of time, which means you don't have to be on bartender duty while you just want to hang out and have fun with your pals. Assuming you leave out any fresh juices or carbonated ingredients, you can even make them several days in advance.

Once you've made the pre-batched cocktails, you need to chill it. You might be wondering about the perfect temperature for pre-batched drinks. Although it's fine to chill them in the fridge, some recommend sticking them in a freezer set to between 10 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit. This isn't cold enough to freeze alcohol but will make it a perfect temperature for summer drinking, as you can assume it will quickly warm up.

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Plenty of cocktails contain carbonated ingredients, such as sparkling wine and club soda in an classic Aperol spritz recipe. However, you shouldn't add the sparkling ingredients too soon, especially when batching your drinks or making shaken cocktails. Adding it at the wrong time can make it go flat, which can end up ruining the drink.

When batching drinks, "mix everything except the sparkling ingredients a few hours ahead and refrigerate it," Sandra Lee advises. "When guests arrive, pour over ice and add sparkling water or prosecco right before serving so every glass stays lively and fresh." But, even when making a vodka soda, she says to "always add the sparkling water last so it stays bubbly." And, when you're shaking cocktails, shake everything but the carbonated ingredients first, otherwise the drink will lose its fizz and you might end up with a mess on your hands. After pouring the shaken components into a glass, you can top them up with the sparkling elements.

If you're looking for inspiration for summer vodka cocktails that contain fizzy ingredients, Lee gave us one great suggestion: the peach mule. It's a take on the Moscow mule that consists of 2 ounces of vodka, 4 ounces of ginger beer, and 1 ounce of peach iced tea, all served over ice with a squeeze of lime. If you were batching this, you could mix the vodka, iced tea, and lime juice, adding the ginger beer just before serving.

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Cocktail garnishes are about more than just looks, so you shouldn't treat them as an afterthought. Using the right garnishes can really level up your summer vodka cocktails. They can add lots of flavor and are perfect for turning simple drinks into something more celebratory.

"Fresh ingredients make all the difference," says Sandra Lee. "Add sliced cucumber, fresh mint, basil, citrus zest, or seasonal fruit," she adds. Herbs are particularly great for making cocktails feel elevated. And you can think about how they might pair with the other items. For instance, basil and strawberry go beautifully together, so if you make Lee's strawberry vodka lemonade, you could muddle some of the herb in with the fruit.

The goal is to take your summer cocktails from basic to fit to impress. It doesn't matter if the rest of the ingredients are straightforward, the right garnish ingredient can change things. "Even something as simple as a rosemary sprig or frozen berries can transform a classic vodka soda into something that feels special enough for entertaining," Lee remarks.

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By now, you know that Sandra Lee is a big fan of garnishes. However, you have to make them appropriate for summer. When you're making vodka cocktails that you plan to drink outside, you need to avoid garnishes that will wilt or go brown in the sun. You don't want to end up serving beverages that look sad as soon as they've been sitting out for a few minutes, so it's important to pick more robust ingredients.

"Delicate edible flowers and very soft herbs tend to wilt quickly in the sun," Lee tells us. "Anything that browns easily or loses its shape isn't ideal if your drinks are sitting out for a while." So, it might seem cute to use edible flowers from your garden for your outside drinks, but it might soon look like you've got leaf litter floating in your drink, which defies the point. If you're using soft herbs like basil or mint, they're better muddled into the drink than floating on top where they'll end up wilting. Likewise, soft fruits like berries might end up mushy as a garnish but are delicious dropped into drinks.

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Many drinks call for sparkling water or club soda, such as a classic paloma cocktail. But, you might not know that it has another use. It's perfect for diluting cocktails that are too strong. This might sound like a strange use that could lead to a watery drink, but it can actually help preserve the flavors while taking the edge off.

This is Sandra Lee's solution for beverages that are too strong. "Add chilled sparkling water, club soda, or a splash of fresh citrus juice rather than pouring in more sweet mixer," she says. "That keeps the cocktail balanced while preserving its vibrant profile." If you mix in more of the sweet ingredients, it can end up overwhelming or too sickly for a summer's day. Whereas a splash of sparkling water will keep things refreshing. The tartness of fresh citrus juice like lemon or lime will also do this, and can be great in cocktails that are tasting overly sweet to balance things out.

The chilled part is important, too. If you put warm or room temperature sparkling water in your drink, it will warm up more quickly, which nobody wants on a hot day. It can also melt the ice faster, which can end up creating a watery cocktail.