15 Lychee Cocktail Recipes: Your New Favorite Summer Drink

by Joshua Soriano July 13, 2021

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Lychee is a tropical fruit that is best known for its sweet and tangy taste. It's also the star ingredient in many of the best lychee cocktail recipes. If you're looking for an easy, refreshing drink to serve at your next get-together, look no further than this list of 15 best lychee drink recipes!

1. Sparkling Watermelon Lychee Cocktail

The Sparkling Watermelon Lychee Cocktail is the perfect drink for a hot summer day. Made with water, chunked fresh watermelon, and lychees in sugar syrup, this cocktail couldn’t be any more fabulous on your taste buds!

Ingredients

  • 2 cans Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer in Watermelon flavor
  • 3/4 cup Lychee juice
  • 6-9 Lychees
  • 1 Mini watermelon, 3 thin half slices
  • 3 Sprigs mint

Steps to Make

  1. Place a few lychees in the bottom of each glass before pouring the cocktail.
  2. Add watermelon and lychee juice to a blender with ice cubes. Blend until smooth for about 30 seconds.
  3. Strain over ice into glasses and top it off with Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer. Garnish with mint leaves.

2. Lychee Eyeballs Halloween Cocktail

Fancy yourself a dose of horror movies? Then you’ll be delighted to hear that there are creepy eyeball ice cubes for you!

These ice cubes are made with canned lychee nuts and maraschino cherries and will have your drinks chilled in no time. They look like eyes and taste delicious too, thanks to the sweet fruit flavors inside them. Plus, the sweet and oaky taste of the punch balances out the sourness of the eyeballs!

Ingredients

For the eyeballs:

For the punch:

Steps to Make

For the eyeballs:

  1. Drain the lychees. Place the lychees in a bowl and pour the maraschino cherry syrup over them. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until the lychees look “bloodshot.”
  2. Remove from the syrup and blot dry with paper towels. Insert a whole maraschino into the hole of the lychees.
  3. Place on a plate or sheet pan to dry. Put in the freezer for at least an hour or until firm and cold.

For the punch:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a glass and mix well.
  2. Pour some of the punch into the glass and top off with the eyeballs.

3. Tropical Lychee Martini

This refreshing lychee martini is a great cocktail to end any summer day! Add in some vodka, vermouth for the sweet aroma and taste, as well as some ice if you want it chilled. Garnish your glass with lovely slices of fresh lychees on top - what could be more perfect?

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Pour your lychee syrup, vodka, and vermouth into a shaker filled with ice.
  2. Shake it up! Add in the lychees for the best drink experience - this is optional but would be best to do so.
  3. Strain through a strainer over fresh ice or pour yourself a glass.

4. Lemon Lychee Martini

A drink with a twist, the Lemon Lychee Martini is crisp and refreshing. Combining gin, lychees in syrup, lemon juice, and simple syrup creates this sweet-tart cocktail that will surely please your taste buds!

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for a minute or so or until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Pour the syrup into a blender along with the remaining lychees and the lychee syrup. Zest and juice the lemons into the mixture and then puree until completely smooth.
  3. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. Refrigerate the lemon lychee syrup until cold.
  4. When ready to serve, combine the vodka, lychee liqueur, Cointreau, and ¼ cup of the lemon lychee syrup in a shaker filled with ice.
  5. Shake vigorously until well chilled, and then pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with the skewered lychees and lemon twists and serve.

5. Lychee Sangria

This fruity and invigorating lychee sangria is perfect for your next outdoor gathering. It's made with white wine, elderflower liqueur, canned lychees. It’s sweet yet tangy from the citrus fruits.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. In a large pitcher, combine Sauvignon Blanc, St. Germain, drained lychees, ¾ cup reserved lychee syrup, and thinly sliced limes. Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
  2. Stir before serving and serve chilled with ice if desired.
  3. Garnish with fresh lychees.

6. Lychee Ginger Fizz

This mixed drink is perfect on a hot day. The lychee and ginger combination creates an aromatic, sweet taste that fills the air with flavor. It's ideal for those summer barbecues or days at home curled up in bed binge-watching Netflix!

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. In a cocktail shaker, combine liquor, ginger syrup, and lemon.
  2. Fill with ice and add sparkling wine (for best results, use dry). Shake vigorously for 15 seconds or until very cold.
  3. Pour into a glass over peeled lychees. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint on the rim of the glass.

7. Bangkok Lychee Cocktail

The spicy and sweet taste of this lychee fruit-flavored drink will make any party a success. Best served chilled, this Bangkok lychee cocktail is the perfect beverage to pair with homemade Thai food!

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Muddle the cilantro leaves, pepper, and lychees.
  2. Pour the vodka and lychee syrup into a martini shaker.
  3. Add the cilantro muddle to the shaker along with the ice. Shake well.
  4. Strain the cocktail into a martini glass and add the remaining lychee to the glass for a boozy fruit finish to the drink.

8. Coconut Lychee Colada

The lychee colada is a fantastic and energizing summertime drink. Its addictive and fruity-floral taste will have you going coco-nuts for it!

Ingredients

  • 1 (20 oz.) can Whole peeled lychees in heavy syrup
  • 8 oz. Full-fat coconut milk
  • 4 oz. Pure coconut water
  • 2.5 oz. Bacardi rum
  • 5-6 large ice cubes, plus more for serving
  • Lime wedges for garnishing

Steps to Make

  1. In a blender , combine coconut milk and coconut water. Add in lychees with syrup from the can. Pulse for 20-30 seconds to blend.
  2. Add rum and ice cubes to the desired level of mix consistency - less time if you want it thicker or more if you prefer it thinner. Blend on high until all ingredients are mixed.
  3. Serve with lime wedges for garnish.

9. Melon Lychee Martini

This neon green sweet-tart cocktail is so bright that the sun may get jealous! The mix of melon liqueur, vodka, simple syrup, and lychee juice will be perfect for dinner parties. You can also serve this drink in your backyard on a warm afternoon with friends.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
  2. Shake well and strain the drink into a martini glass. Garnish with lychee if desired.

10. Vanilla Lychee Cocktail

This lychee drink is the perfect sweet, slightly zesty pick-me-up for summer. Made with only five ingredients that you can find in most grocery stores, this straightforward recipe will have you feeling good and looking great all season long!

This easy-to-make cocktail is just what your body needs after a Sunday afternoon spent lounging on the sofa watching movies or curling up by an open fire while reading a book.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Cut the lychee in half and remove the pit.
  2. Combine all ingredients except vodka into a blender or food processor.
  3. Pour mixture into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
  4. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
  5. Add vodka to the concoction and shake again before pouring it into an old-fashioned glass.

11. Lychee Rose Mimosas

Who needs coffee when you can have champagne? This rosy drink is perfect for morning, afternoon, or evening. Made with lychee syrup and rosewater, this cocktail will make any celebration a little more special - even if it's just Sunday brunch!

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Pour 1 1/2 ounces lychee syrup and 1-ounce rosewater in a champagne coupe or flute.
  2. Top with sparkling wine about 4-6 ounces, depending on the size of your glass.
  3. Garnish with 2-3 lychees and enjoy!

12. Tropical Punch

This tropical punch cocktail is like sunshine in a glass! The bright colors, carbonation, and flavors of this lychee drink are appropriate for any occasion. You can't get much more refreshing than the look of this festive drink; it is as beautiful to behold as it is as tasty on your taste buds.

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Combine ice, orange juice, and grapefruit juice in a blender. Blend until smooth.
  2. Pour into a glass with lychees on the rim.
  3. Add rum to top off the drink and garnish with an orange slice or two.

13. Pomegranate Granita with Lychee and Gin

The most refreshing and delicious way to beat the heat this summer is by making pomegranate granita with lychee gin. The fruity flavor of these two ingredients creates a sweet yet light taste that will leave you wanting more! Be sure to use ripe, fresh fruit for best results.

Ingredients

  • 17 oz. Pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup Lychee syrup
  • 2 tbsp. Lemon juice
  • 4 Mint leaves
  • Lychees (canned or fresh to serve)
  • Gin

Steps to Make

  1. Blend the lychee syrup, water, and pomegranate juice with a hand mixer. This should make approximately 17 ounces of liquid to use for your granita.
  2. Pour this mixture into an ice cube tray or large bowl lined with plastic wrap. Put in the freezer until frozen (approximately 3 hours).
  3. Once frozen, pull out the cubes and grate them. Place the granita on top of some sliced lychees.

14. Lychee and Strawberry Daiquiri

A classic cocktail for any occasion with a taste of the tropics. The lychee and strawberry daiquiri is easy to make, sweet but tart, refreshing without being too heavy. It's an excellent choice if you're looking for something light that still packs flavor!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Ice
  • 1/2 cup Lychees (peeled and pitted)
  • 1/2 cup Strawberries (coarsely chopped)
  • 0.75 oz. Lime juice
  • 1 tbsp. Sugar
  • 2 oz. Rum

Steps to Make

  1. Combine ice, lychees, strawberries, and lime juice in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds until the fruit is completely pulverized.
  2. Add sugar to the mixture and blend again until dissolved.
  3. Pour into a cocktail glass over fresh ice or frozen watermelon cubes to give it that pink color. Top with rum and serve

15. Grapefruit, Lime, and Lychee Fizz

Grapefruit, Lime, and Lychee Fizz is an energizing mix of citrus fruits that will cool you down. You'll feel as if you're in paradise by sipping through these flavorsome bubbles while lounging poolside - or even just at home with friends having some good old-fashioned fun!

Ingredients

Steps to Make

  1. Combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice, and honey in a cocktail shaker and stir until the honey has dissolved.
  2. Add 5 canned lychees, and using a muddling stick, muddle the lychees.
  3. Add the soda water. Using the strainer, pour into 4 champagne glasses.
  4. Garnish with the remaining lychees, mint leaves, and flowers.

Conclusion

Whether you're looking for a drink to serve at your next summer party or just want something refreshing and sweet, this list of the best lychee cocktail recipes will be perfect. Pick one out today that suits your tastes!

Which recipe would you like to try first? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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