The experts are forecasting a rise in sassy tropical drinks this summer. This popular trend includes favourites like the banana or strawberry daiquiris, the rum runners, the Piña Coladas - even a cocktail like the Singapore Sling.

There’s been a resurgence of Tahiti drinks - tropical cocktails made with fresh fruits - across Europe, and it’s making its way to North America.

These drinks are at the forefront of this season’s cocktail movement. Fruit ingredients - oranges, lemons, bananas, watermelons, pineapples, etc. - give a drink an extra shot of freshness, something that will quench your thirst and tickle your taste buds.

“When (it’s hot and sticky out) we want light, we want fresh, we want fruity -- one of the big trends, even more than other years, is this fruity, tropical angle,” says Shoana Jensen, master mixologist for Beam Global Canada.

Retro cocktails are also sharing the spotlight with the tropical drinks. But what makes these timeless classics so special is the addition of fruit flavours. Instead of the usual vodka martini, shake it up with some Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps.

“The trends from back then, from the 70s and 80s, they’re totally back full force. It’s just like fashion, the trends in clothing from the 80s are coming back and so are the drinks,” she says.

There’s a long list of exotic ways to up the ante on the margarita - make it a banana margarita, a mango margarita, or take a whirl at a strawberry margarita with a dollop of whipped cream.

For a twist on the typical mojito, just add berries - raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries. Take raspberries for example, muddle them at the bottom of the glass along with the mint and simple syrup, top off the drink with the rum and club soda, et voilà you’ve got a raspberry mojito.


Blueberry Mojito Recipe

1 oz vodka
1 oz lime juice
club soda
1 Tbsp sugar (or simple syrup)
a few leaves of mint
a few blueberries (save a few to garnish)
Muddle the sugar, mint and blueberries at the bottom of a shaker. Add the lime juice, vodka and ice and shake until well mixed and chilled. Pour into a glass over ice, top up with club soda. Garnish with mint leaves and blueberries.

by Sandy Caetano

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