We tried 5 refreshing summer cocktails in downtown Macon. See what we think

Tropical and herbal spirits make up the top five most refreshing summer cocktails to find in downtown Macon, according to local bartenders.

I asked local bartenders to whip up some of the best drinks to bear the heat, which ranged from gin, vodka, rum, tequila and mezcal.

I tasted and chose the top five drinks, which range in prices and vibes. Whether you’re feeling up for a classy cocktail bar, tasting room distillery or divey arcade, there may be something for you.

Some of the concoctions are only available for a limited time though, so drink up while you can.

Here are five of the most refreshingly delicious drinks from five bars in downtown Macon, in order of my favorites.

1. The Tequila Rose at The Rose Room

Location: 378 2nd St.

I never though I’d have yogurt in a cocktail.

To my surprise though, The Tequila Rose from The Rose Room was my favorite overall of the five top refreshing drinks in downtown Macon.

“You get a fun, not quite creamy texture from the yogurt wash,” Emily Childress said. “And with the rose, you get a little floral.”

It includes yogurt washed tequila, lychee, lime, rosewater and a rose petal Childress pulled right off a vase on the bar top.

The Rose Room makes yogurt washed tequila with the fat of a spirit, which sits at room temperature, then freezes and is strained out to remove any solids.

“You get the essence of yogurt without there literally being yogurt in your drink,” Childress said.

The final concoction had a thick viscosity, with sweet and sour flowery taste.

The bar’s menu changes regularly, so if there’s one drink I’d recommend to try from this list soon, its The Tequila Rose.

2. Summer’s Day at Longleaf Distilling Co.

Location: 664 2nd St.

Want to drink alcohol in the heat without a wave of sweat and dehydration?

Summer’s Day is one of many cocktails on Longleaf Distilling Co.’s limited-time summer menu, which features spirits made with low alcohol by volume, according to Jeff Wood, a general manager.

“When it gets cold, people start tending to move toward more bourbons and whiskeys, but in the warmer spring of summer months, people are looking for things that are a bit lighter,” Wood said.

Longleaf makes its own spirits, and adds more sugar to lower drinks’ ABV, such as in the Summer’s Day.

It uses Southland American Gin, which is infused with juniper berries, angelica root and coriander; ginger liqueur; and lemon.

I was worried the low ABV would make it taste watered-down, but the gin and liqueur actually brought out just as much of a kick as I expect in any cocktail.

Longleaf, which Wood described as a tasting room, logs its best previous cocktails in a few hand-written notebooks behind the bar, and Summer’s Day will definitely make that list.

3. Kiwijito at The Lounge at JBA

Location: 425 Cherry St.

The most refreshing cocktail at The Lounge at JBA is no longer on its menu.

But fear not, if you’re lucky enough to have Chris Casey as your bartender, he can still make one anyway.

The Kiwijito is (you guessed it) a kiwi mojito. It was featured on last summer’s menu and includes white rum or mezcal, kiwi syrup, lime, mint leaves and soda water.

He shook those up, then strained it to avoid leaving mint leaves in the glass.

Casey then rubbed mint leaves above the glass to “express the scent,” he said, and placed them on top as a garnish.

An upside-down lime wedge sat beside it, and floated above the ice, which is uncommon compared to the typical lime wedge placed on the rim of a glass.

“It still serves the same purpose, its just a little more creative,” Casey, 33, said.

4. Ostara at Dovetail

Location: 543 Cherry St., Suite B

A Wiccan-inspired cocktail felt fitting to drink as an antelope head hung above the rustic wooden bar at Dovetail.

Russ Webb, a former bartender at Dovetail and current Macon-Bibb County firefighter, recommended the Ostara as the bar’s best summer drink.

“It was named after the spring goddess of the equinox,” Webb said. “It represents new beginnings.”

The drink was herbal and smokey with a hint of sweetness, which was in part due to a combination of elderflower – a medicinal flower with subtle notes of honey and tropical fruit, and Suze – a French apéritif liqueur, or pre-meal drink, with slightly bitter notes of tangerine and lemon.

It also mixes ginger beer; Wheatly Vodka, which has notes of grains and vanilla; and Aperol, or a bittersweet orange apéritif; with a dehydrated lime garnish.

This drink tasted heavy on the alcohol, but who’s complaining?

If a smokey berry flavor is more of your style but you still want vodka, Webb said the Strawberry Fields is a close runner up.

5. Mulejora’s Mask at Reboot Retrocade & Bar

Location: 566 Cherry St.

When a Moscow mule meets the video game “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask,” you get the cocktail Mulejora’s Mask.

This gin-based drink uses a housemade syrup made of blackberry, mint and sugar, steeped in hot water, which is poured over ice and topped with ginger beer. The pinkish colored cocktail was garnished with a lime wedge in a highball glass.

Shelby Woodward, a bartender at Reboot Retrocade & Bar, said this was one of their most refreshing cocktails to beat the summer heat, tied with their Frozen Yodarita – which was a frozen margarita named after Yoda from “Star Wars.”

Majora’s Mask wasn’t very ginger forward, but still had a smidge of that back-of-the-throat kick. It leaned more on the sweet and fruity side, which was to nice for someone who doesn’t particularly love the taste of ginger, like myself.

It had a smooth and thick consistency, with an even balance of flavors where no ingredient overpowered another.

Woodward had just finished mixing the same drink for another customer, but she replaced the gin with a CBD infusion.

“This also works great as a mocktail, or with vodka or tequila instead of gin,” Woodward said.

This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.