10 Make-Ahead Pitcher Cocktail Recipes for Memorial Day

These big-batch drinks will make hosting your cookout a breeze.

Updated May 24, 2024

A glass of Sparkling Rosé Sangria With Aperol and Peaches, and a pitcher of the cocktail in the background. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Memorial Day is coming up, and that means that cookout season is officially starting. Arguably the most important part of any holiday bash is having good drinks on hand, and we have two requirements for great cookout cocktails. First, and most obviously, they should be refreshing—this is the time for bright spirits, bitter aperitifs, and fresh fruit. Second, they should be easy—who wants to spend all their time at a party mixing drinks (especially when there's a grill to tend to)?

Batched cocktails are the best choice for a large gathering since you can do the lion's share of the work before your guests arrive. Once they walk in the door, all you'll have to do is pour the drink over ice; top it off with a little fizz in the form of sparkling wine, beer, or soda, as needed; and hand it off. Below, we've rounded up 10 of our favorite make-ahead, big-batch cocktails for warm weather.

El Diablo con Limón (Tequila Punch With Cassis and Lemon)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This vibrant tequila punch is made with crème de cassis, a rich, earthy liqueur flavored with black currants. It pairs nicely with black tea, which serves as the base for the punch. For sweetness and acidity, we turn to a simple lemon syrup, while a few ounces of seltzer or club soda keeps it light and drinkable.
El Diablo con Limón (Tequila Punch With Cassis and Lemon)
Suns 'n Roses (Rum and Stone Fruit Punch)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Combining fresh peaches, dried apricots, lemon juice, white tea, and rum yields a summery punch that's fruity without being overly sweet. We use the peaches and apricots to flavor a simple syrup, and add a split vanilla bean to help connect the fruit and the barrel-aged liquor.
Suns 'n Roses (Rum and Stone Fruit Punch)
Isla Bonita Punch (Sparkling Pineapple-Rum Punch)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Vanilla and pineapple are a standard tiki combination—the aromatic vanilla helps bring out the tangy fruit's sweetness. Along with the vanilla and fresh pineapple and lime juices, we flavor this rum punch with a generous amount of muddled mint. Finishing with sparkling wine makes it fun and festive.
Isla Bonita Punch (Sparkling Pineapple-Rum Punch)
El Gallito (Pineapple-Chipotle Pitcher Cocktail)
Serious Eats / Kelly Puleio
A little sweet, a little salty, and a little smoky, this big-batch drink is something like a lighter, more refreshing version of a Bloody Mary, and perfect for a crowd. It couldn't be simpler to make: Throw some cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and pineapple into a blender with the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles, plus agave nectar, water, and lime juice. Blitz it up, strain the mixture, and combine it with an equal amount of vodka, and it's ready to go.
El Gallito (Pineapple-Chipotle Pitcher Cocktail)
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Fizzy Strawberry Pisco Punch
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This punch also pairs pisco and thyme, but brings sweet fresh strawberries to the party as well. Here, the pisco is joined by equal parts lemon juice and Bonal, a French aperitif bittered with cinchona and gentian. Bonal has plummy flavors that pair well with the strawberries, and just enough bitterness to keep the drink from being too sweet.
Fizzy Strawberry Pisco Punch
Passport to Chile (Grapefruit Pisco Cocktail)
Serious Eats / Kelly Puleio
The honey, grapefruit, lime juice, and dash of hot sauce in this drink pair perfectly with pisco, but they also go well with vodka or blanco tequila. All you have to do is make a honey syrup—mixing two parts honey with one part hot water—combine it with the other ingredients, and stick it in the fridge to chill until your guests arrive.
Passport to Chile (Grapefruit Pisco Cocktail)
Ginger-Cardamom Red Wine Sangria
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
You won't find any fruit chunks getting in the way as you sip this sophisticated sangria—just red wine, sweet vermouth, orange juice, and a ginger-cardamom simple syrup, made with green cardamom pods and fresh ginger juice. If you don't have a juicer, making the ginger juice can be a little bit of a pain, but an immersion blender and a strainer will get the job done.
Ginger-Cardamom Red Wine Sangria
Ratterwick Punch (Sparkling Gin, Aperol, and Grapefruit Cocktail)
Serious Eats / Kelly Puleio
This simple punch calls on grapefruit juice to bolster and intensify the bittersweet flavor of Aperol. To brighten up the mixture and balance out the bitterness, we also add lemon juice, sparkling wine, and a piney gin. Depending on the sweetness of your sparkling wine, you can adjust by adding more lemon juice before serving.
Ratterwick Punch (Sparkling Gin, Aperol, and Grapefruit Cocktail)
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Three-Piece Suit (Tequila and Sherry Big-Batch Cocktail)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Starting with a barrel-aged tequila brings this cocktail grassy notes from agave, along with hints of vanilla. The tequila blends seamlessly with oloroso sherry and orange bitters, while a little simple syrup rounds it all out. Chilled directly in the serving bottle, it's a hard-hitting drink that's still perfect for a daytime party.
Three-Piece Suit (Tequila and Sherry Big-Batch Cocktail)
L'Aventura Punch (Vodka, Mint Tea, and Amaro Cocktail)
Serious Eats / Kelly Puleio
This fruity, herbal cocktail is a real crowd-pleaser. Montenegro, a mildly bitter Italian liqueur, is paired with vodka and a full-bodied blanc vermouth, then mixed with fresh mint tea syrup, lime juice, and club soda. It's a punch that tastes complex and layered without demanding a whole lot of time.
L'Aventura Punch (Vodka, Mint Tea, and Amaro Cocktail)