Pitcher Perfect: 8 Cocktails for a Crowd

We're nearly at summer's end, so instead of dumping a bunch of beer into an icy plastic tub, consider upping your game with these cocktails for a crowd.

Tito's Vodka Poteet Punch
Of the many reasons we love Austin, Texas, Tito's Handmade Vodka - made in the state's oldest legal distillery - is at the top of the list. Certified gluten-free, Tito's is the star of many a cocktail. We particularly love this tribute to Poteet, the "Strawberry Capital of Texas," where an annual festival draws thousands of attendees each April. This cocktail created by mixologist David Allen can be made entirely of Texas ingredients.

18 oz Tito's Handmade Vodka
9 oz Paula's Texas Lemon Liqueur or other limoncello
6 oz simple syrup
6 oz fresh lime juice
36 ripe strawberries

Combine ingredients in a pitcher and pour over ice to serve 12.

Drizly's Can't Feel My Face Gin Bucket
Delivering "the joy of drinking" to legal-age drinkers across the country, Drizly.com delivers your favorite wine and spirits to nearly 20 destinations nationwide. But what good is the booze if you don't know what to do with it? That's where Trisha Antonsen, Drizly's chief cocktail officer, comes into play. She's crafted a range of crowd-pleasing cocktails, including our favorite for a large group: Can't Feel My Face Gin Bucket.

"As the popular song by The Weeknd would suggest, this drink will get the party started," says Antonsen. "Proceed with caution: the easy-drinking nature of this drink can have you sipping them down quickly without remembering how strong they are."

16 oz gin
16 oz fresh lemon juice
2 liters orange dry soda
4 fresh lemons and limes, sliced
1 bottle brut sparkling wine

Combine gin, lemon juice and orange dry soda into a large pitcher or punch bowl. Fill with ice, add lemon and lime slices and top with full bottle of sparkling wine. Serve immediately.

Angry Orchard's Angry on the Beach
Angry Orchard Cider Company has been making hard cider for five years. But the roots of hard cider date back to the Middle Ages, when it was safer to drink than water. Created by mixologist Jeremy Oertel of Donna in Brooklyn, this family-style cocktail has more punch than a glass of H20 and is best enjoyed during the last days of summer, when harvest is just around the corner.

4 cups watermelon juice
1 cup vodka
1 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1 navel orange, sliced
1 lime, sliced into wheels
Watermelon chunks
Four 12-oz bottles Angry Orchard Crisp Apple

In a large container, add the watermelon juice, vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and orange juice. Stir in ice, orange slices, lime wheels and watermelon chunks. Top off with Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider and stir gently to combine. Serve!

Hangar 1 Summer Punch
Proudly made in California, Hangar 1 Straight Vodka delivers subtle floral notes of honeysuckle and Asian pear, masterfully overseen by head distiller Caley Shoemaker. This punch, created by Josh Perez of Spirit House Consultants, is a nod to the changing seasons, with pear liqueur and a hint of allspice.

9 oz Hangar 1 Straight Vodka
3 oz pear liqueur
4 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
4 1/2 oz honey syrup (3 parts honey to 1 part hot water)
1 1/2 oz allspice dram or pimento dram
6 oz California sparkling wine
6 oz seltzer water

Add vodka, liqueur, lemon juice, honey syrup, and allspice or pimento dram in a punch bowl over a large block of ice. Stir vigorously and top with sparkling wine and seltzer. Garnish with fresh sliced pears, lemon wheels spiked with cloves, whole star anise and freshly grated cinnamon.

Il Mulino South Beach's Housemade Limoncello
Miami's Art Deco scene melds with New York's classic Italian traditions at Il Mulino South Beach. Antipasti, homemade pastas, risotto and a plethora of veal dishes feature prominently on the menu, but it's the complementary limoncello at the end of each meal that has guests shouting, "Grazie!"

This isn't a spontaneous spirit for a crowd: The steeping takes at least two weeks, plus additional time to freeze the bottle in a block of ice. (Hint: Place your limoncello bottle in an an empty milk carton or small bucket and fill two-thirds with water before freezing to allow for ice expansion.)

5 lemons
1 liter grappa
5 tbsp sugar

Wash and dry the lemons. Peel lemons as thin as possible, and add lemon peels to a large jar. Add grappa and sugar. Cover and leave at room temperature for 2 weeks. Remove lemon peels, pour liquid in a bottle and freeze!

Bar Dupont's Bonzai Pipeline
With everything happening in politics these days, we all need a stiff drink. Fortunately, Bar Dupont in Washington, D.C., has the Bonzai Pipeline created by mixologist and bar manager Chris McNeal. Inspired by his time living in Hawaii and named after the famous surf spot on the north side of Oahu, McNeal forgoes rum and opts for full-bodied vodka instead.

McNeal also offers some sage advice for those dabbling in drinks for a crowd: "How does it taste? This sounds obvious, but not everyone has the same palates. A punch should be refreshing, bright, with a secondary characteristic - slightly spicy, savory, cool - that is not overbearing. Just remember, the last thing you want is to spend all your money on something that nobody will drink."

16 oz Absolut Elyx Vodka
8 oz Del Maguey Vida Mezcal
4 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
6 oz pineapple juice
Juice of 2 limes
4 oz simple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a decorative bowl over ice, and garnish with fresh fruit.

Crafted at Nose Dive's Identity Crisis
Advanced sommelier Anjoleena Griffin-Holst oversees the bar program at Crafted, the mezzanine cocktail lounge tucked away at Nose Dive, an urban gastropub in Greenville, South Carolina. Crafted serves a happy hour punch that changes weekly - the only caveat is that the recipe has five main ingredients, a tribute to the word's Hindi origin: panch. Original ingredients included spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar and spice. Crafted shakes it up with the Identity Crisis that includes white rum, ginger beer and tarragon.

Large sprig tarragon
6 oz Don Q Cristal Rum
6 oz Gosling's Ginger Beer
2 oz fresh tangerine juice
2 oz fresh lime juice
16 oz Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water

Muddle tarragon with rum to release aromas and flavors, and then pour into a quart container. Add ginger beer, tangerine juice and lime juice to another quart container and stir. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Place 4 large 3 by 3-inch square ice cubes in a punch bowl, combine the quart containers and then add tonic right before serving. Serve in decorative teacups with a tarragon leaf.

Virgil Kaine's Low Country Hurricane
Chefs David Szlam and Ryan Meany are whiskey drinkers, so it makes sense that they'd capitalize on their culinary prowess to create a spirit as unique as their palates. Their Virgil Kaine Ginger-Infused Bourbon features heirloom yellow Hawaiian ginger, plucked from the fields at nearby Spade and Clover Gardens on Johns Island, South Carolina. This riff on a hurricane offers a spicy kick compared to the classic, with notes of dried apricot, ginger and sherry.

1 oz simple syrup
1 oz allspice liqueur
2 oz grenadine
2 oz lime juice
6 oz pineapple juice
6 oz orange juice
12 oz Virgil Kane Ginger-Infused Bourbon

Add all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Pour into hurricane glasses filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, a cherry and grated cinnamon.