Refreshing and Easy Gluten Free Cocktails

It’s great thing to have a few simple and delicious gluten free cocktail recipes in your GF arsenal. It can be hard to conveniently find a good gluten free beer, so let’s make up for it with some delicious gluten free cocktails!  

I love cocktails with delicious flavor combinations. Be delicious, but also intrigue me. I love it when I love a restaurant for it’s delightful cocktails just as much as for it’s delectable gluten free food.

But, you may be wondering…

Is ALL Liquor Gluten Free?!

Well, it depends on how sensitive you are and who you ask. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau has ruled that because of the distillation process, even distilled liquor derived from wheat, barley, or rye is considered gluten free—that is, if they don’t have any additives that could contain gluten or are subject to cross contamination during production.

However, I’ve still read of instances of people having reactions to some pure liquors derived from wheat, barley, or rye. So I usually still tend to tread carefully with my liquor. I think its something to be considered for each individual on a case by case basis, based on how sensitive you are and what exactly the liquor in question happens to be.

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Here Are Some Tips to Make Your Cocktails Yummier, More Fun, and in Some Cases, Healthier!

FRESH INGREDIENTS – The fresher the ingredients, the more delicious the cocktail. Yes, you could use bottled lime or lemon juice, but fresh squeezed citrus is sooo much better. This also cuts down on preservatives! 

CANE SUGAR SUBSTITUTES – I use agave nectar in my cocktail recipes, but you could also use honey or there are sugar free simple syrups out there as well. 

GROW SOME HERBS – Most herbs are extremely easy to grow and care for. I have some mint in my backyard that will outlast all of us. It’s so fun to go out back and pick some herbs for a fresh Summer cocktail. My kids love helping with this part too.

ADD LEAST EXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS FIRST – If you mess up, at least you didn’t waste any alcohol.

FOR THESE RECIPES, NO SHAKER REQUIRED – Don’t have all the tools of a pro Bartender? That’s fine, me neither! I just add ingredients directly to my glass of choice and stir—cutting down on dishes to wash. You could also let mason jars double as a shaker/cute glass if you really want to shake some stuff up. 

LEMON/LIME SQUEEZER SURE HELPS – I sure wish I had gotten one of these dudes earlier in this process, it makes squeezing juice out of limes sooo much easier.

REFRIGERATE LIQUID INGREDIENTS – One of our goals is to prevent ice from melting as soon as it’s added to the drink. Refrigerating liquid ingredients like juices and sparkling water will help with ice melting prematurely.

ADD ICE LAST – Even inside, your ice will start to melt fast once it hits your liquid ingredients. So measure and combine everything else together and add your ice last.    

Want to Try All the Drinks in This Post? Your Grocery List is as Simple as This

Grocery List – Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sparkling water, Tajin, limes, pineapple juice, blue Curaçao, coarse salt, agave nectar, mint, and basil. 

Alcohol List – Titos vodka, 100% agave tequila, GF rum (I used Sweet Crude for my mojito)

Let’s Make Some Gluten Free Cocktails!

All of these cocktails have three things in common—they are simple, fresh, and have delicious flavor combinations. So, let’s break out some mini umbrellas, get our feet up, and sip on some of these bad boys.

1. Titos with Basil and Berries “Berry Spritz”

This cocktail is a re-creation of one I fell in love with in Gatlinburg at Chesapeake’s—a seafood restaurant near Margaritaville on the strip. I’d had berry cocktails before, but not basil and berry, and I was delighted.  The flavor combination is so unexpected yet satisfying.

Vodka can be derived from lots of different grains and other foods such as sorghum, corn, rice, rye, wheat, potatoes, fruits or sugar. I like to feel extra safe and use Tito’s as it is certified gluten free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization and is distilled from corn.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Sparkling Water
• 1/3 Cup Basil
• 1/3 Cup Strawberries, Raspberries, and/or Blueberries
• 1/4 Cup Titos

Quantities listed are for one drink. I used a pint glass.

Instructions

1. Muddle basil with a muddler or in a wide/shallow cup with wooden spoon. 
2. Muddle half of berries. 
3. Combine all ingredients, add ice, and stir. 

2. Margarita with Tajin “Simple & Spice”

Once you’ve had a Tajin Margarita you’ll never go back. Tajin is a Mexican spice mix made of predominantly of lime, chili peppers, and salt. 

All other margaritas will now seem lacking without this flavorful, delightful spice. I used to get this at BJs Brewhouse all the time until they took it off their menu. Luckily they will still make it for me, some of the time…  

But making one at home is super easy and you can do it with fresh lime—which makes it even better!! I love Margaritas, but sometimes I don’t like to get them too much at restaurants/bars because I often don’t care for the margarita mix.

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant, so is naturally gluten free—stick to the tequilas that are 100% agave to be sure they are GF.   

Ingredients

• Minimum of 1 lime – about 1/4 cup lime juice (can add more lime depending on how you like your lime to tequila ratio)
• 1 1/2 TBS Agave Nectar 
• 2 TBS Tajin 
• 4 TBS Tequila 

Quantities listed are for one drink. I used a highball glass for this one.

Instructions

1. Using a small plate, make a ring of Tajin which matches the diameter of your cup.   
2. Wet the edge of your glass and rub in Tajin, thoroughly coating edge. 
3. Combine remaining ingredients, add ice, stir. 

3. Titos and Pineapple “But What About Cranberry?!”

I went back and forth—should I include Titos and Pineapple, or Titos and Cranberry? I think I enjoy Titos more with pineapple in most seasons, but choose cranberry juice and Titos during the winter months. Titos and Pineapple is also a great go-to gluten free cocktail at a bar when you aren’t sure of anything on the cocktail menu, and want to fall back on something you know and trust.    

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pineapple juice (equals one of those little 6oz cans)
• 1/4 cup Titos
• Sprig of lavender, slice of pineapple, or strawberry for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients, add ice, stir.   

4. Mojito “Refreshing to the Max”

I can’t think of anything more refreshing than a Mojito. It’s hard to beat the combination of mint and lime, especially on a sunny Summer day.

Also, did you know that rum is made from sugarcane so it’s naturally gluten free? Just make sure there’s no flavoring added that could potentially have gluten, and you’re good to go.  

What’s better is that mint literally grows like a weed and is perennial, so you can enjoy it Summer after Summer. We have some mint growing by our fence which must have migrated from our neighbor’s garden and it’s just as happy as can be—zero maintenance required. Be as happy as a mint plant with this awesome cocktail. 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mint 
• 1/3 cup lime juice (approx. 1 1/2 juiced limes)
• 1 TSP Agave Nectar
• 4 TBS rum 
• 3/4 cup sparkling water  

Instructions

1. Muddle mint with a muddler or in a wide/shallow cup with wooden spoon. 
2. Combine all ingredients, add ice, and stir.

5. Cool Blue Margarita “Margarita Incognito”

Margaritas are something we always think of as being green, so I love the fun shock value of a blue margarita. What a cool idea to impress your friends at an end of Summer Labor Day cookout. I’d love to say I created this idea all on my very own, but I had my first blue Margarita at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Gatlinburg this Spring. Read more about our most recent trip to Gatlinburg here. Now, let’s cool things down and add a pop of blue to Summer. 

Ingredient

• 2 TBS coarse salt 
• Minimum of 1 lime – about 1/4 cup lime juice (can add more lime depending on how you like your lime to tequila ratio)
• 1 1/2 TBS Agave Nectar 
• 1/4 cup Blue Caracoa 
• 1/3 cup sparkling water
• 1/4 cup tequila 

I buy this type of Blue Caracoa, it’s gluten free as well as sugar free.

Instructions

1. Using a small plate, make a ring of salt which matches the diameter of your cup.   
2. Wet the edge of your glass and rub in salt, thoroughly coating edge. 
3. Combine remaining ingredients, add ice, stir. 

I hope you found a gluten free cocktail that strikes your fancy! They really are easy to make and it’s fun to switch things up from gluten free hard seltzers and wine every once in awhile. Have you found a gluten free beer you like? I’d love to hear about it.

Need some gluten free crackers to go with your cocktails? Check out my post on Thrive Market and get deals when you join through my links.

Until next time… I hope you eat something great today! And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss a post and for gluten free insider good stuff!