10 Pitcher-Perfect Drinks for Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend, whether you’re heading to the beach with your picnic basket or hunkering down with friends and family in your own backyard, you’ll want to ensure your food and drink supplies won’t run low. (But mostly, the drink supplies.) We suggest you leave the elaborate craft cocktails to the mixologists and focus instead on making big, refreshing, fruit-filled pitchers that won’t run dry after two or three pours. From sweet sangria to a tart, booze-free lemonade, here are our best big-batch drinks for your Memorial Day celebration.

Rose Sangria Spritzer
Round out a summer meal by serving this light spritzer alongside smoky grilled meats. Instead of the dry red wine typically found in sangria, try rose wine — a lighter option that emphasizes the sweetness of the fruit.

Watermelon-Strawberry Sangria
Watermelon and strawberries are two of summer’s defining fruits, so why not enjoy them in beverage form? Bobby Flay’s refreshing sangria will add an elegant touch to any summer party.

Mojito Limeade
This party-sized mojito pitcher gets a triple dose of lime: It’s muddled in at the beginning with mint leaves, added to the lime-mint syrup, then poured in with rum and club soda at the end.

Caipirinha
Traditionally, this Brazilian cocktail requires just three ingredients: sugar, lime and cachaca, or distilled sugarcane juice. Give it an extra-summery twist by adding chunks of fresh orange, lemon and mint.

Rum Punch
Pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine come together with a pinch of nutmeg in this citrusy rum punch, striking a perfect tangy balance.

White Sangria
Rachael Ray’s sangria takes five to 10 minutes to assemble in a large pitcher. Take the time to prepare it in the morning so the sangria has several hours to develop its fruity flavor. Pull it out when dinner is ready to serve that evening.

Raspberry Lemonade
Ree Drummond pairs from-scratch lemonade with frozen raspberries to create this sweet-tart beverage with a pretty pink tint. If you keep the pitcher booze-free for your underage guests, that doesn’t mean you can’t doctor up your own glass.

Ginger-Peach Beer Cooler
Giada  De Laurentiis combines peach nectar and fresh summer peaches with light beer for a simple cocktail that’s ready to serve a crowd.

The Cherry Chipotle Cooler
This potent tequila cocktail packs a punch of heat thanks to chipotle puree in the mix and chipotle powder rimming the glasses.

High Tea Cocktail
Whether you serve it with sugar or straight up, with ice or without, chilled black tea is a staple at Memorial Day picnics and cookouts. Food Network Kitchen’s adults-only version gets a spicy kick, thanks to the addition of ginger and cardamom. Spike it up with gin, vermouth and orange bitters. Make a double batch the night before, then refrigerate it overnight to let the flavor develop.

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