Celebrate Midsommar with These Swedish-Inspired Beverages

Midsommar is one of Sweden's favorite holidays, and Swedes celebrate it every year on the Friday and Saturday in June that falls between June 19 and June 26.

While summer formally begins on the date of the Summer Solstice--no matter if it's a weekday or a weekend--Midsommar is such a grand festival in Sweden that the whole country takes the weekend to celebrate.

While wearing floral crowns and feasting on a smörgåsbord, preferably outdoors, Midsommar celebrators sing songs with many a cold beverage in their hands.

If your weekend plans include any Midsommar parties, we've got three Swedish-inspired cocktails you can make easily at home to celebrate:

Lingonberry Margarita

This tasty take on a central American favorite features the bright flavor of lingonberry balanced with refreshing orange and lime.

Our favorite tequila for mixing in cocktails is the Kirkland Tequila Blanco from Costco.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. tequila blanco

• 1/2 oz. lingonberry concentrate

• 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

• 3/4 oz. orange liqueur (triple sec or Cointreau)
  

• Ice cubes for shaking

• 1 large ice ball or 3 large ice cubes for the glass

• Lime wedge, for garnish

• Coarse salt, for garnish

Directions:

Prepare a double old fashioned glass with a kiss of salt on the rim, ice in the glass, and garnish with a lime wedge. The new Orrefors Carat double old fashioned glass is the perfect size, and it's solid weight feels good in the hand while sparkling light in its base.

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain over ice into the old fashioned glass. Enjoy!

Aquavit and Lingonberry Gimlet

Gimlets are meant to be simple and tasty drinks, but when you swap the gin for aquavit and the regular simple syrup with lingonberry, you'll be on a Scandinavian adventure.

We love using Minnesota-made Øvrevann Aquavit from Vikre Distillery in Duluth.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. aquavit

• 3/4 oz. lingonberry concentrate

• 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

• Ice cubes for shaking

Directions:

Chill a coupe glass in the freezer for a few minutes. Orrefors' More Coupe is our favorite one to use.

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker for 15 - 20 seconds, and strain into the coupe. Sip and smile!

Elderflower Old Fashioned

Thought lingonberry was the only Swedish flavors you can mix into a cocktail? Think again!

While we love the idea of a lingonberry old fashioned (recipe coming soon), the bright elderflower flavor is perfect for a Midsommar skål. Sweet and a slightly tart at first, it softens out with a refreshingly dry finish.

For this recipe, we used Blackstrap bitters and Vikre's Sugarbush Whiskey, but feel free to try it with your favorite.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. whiskey

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of elderflower concentrate

• 1/2 teaspoon of simple syrup

• 3-4 dashes of Blackstrap bitters

• Lemon twist

• Ice for mixing

• 1 large ice ball or 3 large ice cubes for the glass

Directions:

In a cocktail mixing glass, combine all ingredients except the lemon twist with ice and stir for 10-15 seconds.

Drop the ice ball or large cubes into a double old fashioned glass, and strain the cocktail over the ice.

Express the lemon twist over the drink, and then rub it around the rim of the glass before dropping it in Take your first sip, and away you go!