Cheers to the Fourth!

With the Fourth of July on Saturday, there is no denying that we are in the middle of summer. Is it just me, or has this year literally flown by?!

And boy has it been hot so far! Luckily, there is cocktail relief in site. My favorite way to cool off from the hot and muggy days of July is with my summer refresher—the Arnold Palmer. I love it both in its original non-alcoholic form and spiked. I love it so much that I have made it over the years all kinds of ways with both homemade and storebought lemonade, mint tea, peach tea and hibiscus tea, with pomegranate liqueur and sweet tea vodka to name a few.

But my favorite of all time is this recipe made with 2XO Bourbon and grilled lemons.

This is The Summer Cocktail that you will have on repeat. As soon as I tasted the (Double Oak) 2XO American Oak bourbon, I knew that I wanted to use it in this cocktail. In their lineup, there is a French Oak bourbon as well as an American Oak bourbon. Both are outstanding and shine both as a sipping whiskey and a cocktail companion. You can read more about them here.

All of the 2XO expressions are double aged in two barrels, thus the name 2XO (two times oak). The two primary releases—American Oak and French Oak—are both blended by Dixon Dedman with an 18% rye mash bill. The American Oak delivers bolder, sweeter, flavors like vanilla and nutty butterscotch, and the French Oak offers a more complex profile with rich caramel notes to subtle baking spices like cinnamon. Plus the double oak is a perfect compliment to a “grilled” cocktail.

Since this Arnold Palmer cocktail is decidedly American, I chose the American Oak bourbon instead of the French Oak, but feel free to use your favorite bourbon.

You can batch make this cocktail so it is perfect for this weekend’s festivities and you can make two batches, one with the bourbon and one without so everyone can enjoy an Arnold Palmer with Grilled Lemons—whether or not they imbibe—or are old enough to imbibe!

At it’s core, it is ice tea and lemonade so it is both refreshing and a nice libation to relax with and celebrate the 250^th anniversary of America.