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    Home » Recipes » Cocktail Recipes

    Easy Pitcher Drinks - Cocktails and Mocktails for a Party

    Published: May 20, 2020 · Updated: May 5, 2023 by Katy McAvoy

    I love when you share my recipes!

    • 54
    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★5 from 1 review

    This post contains affiliate links.

    Love entertaining, but don’t want to spend your time bartending? Need a quick cocktail or mocktail recipe that serves a crowd? That’s where Pitcher Drinks come in! Make one batch boozy and keep one alcohol free.  

    A tray with a pitcher and glasses of cocktails.
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients for Pitcher Drinks
    • How to Make Pitcher Drinks - Cocktails and Mocktails
    • Recipe Tips
    • Try These Pitcher Cocktail Recipes 
    • FAQs and Substitutions
    • Easy Pitcher Mocktail Recipes
    • More Delicious Recipes You'll Love
    • Print the Recipe Card
    • Easy to Make Large Batch Pitcher Drinks

    My favorite pitcher cocktails are ones that make a big batch and come together quickly. Perfect for last minute summer parties and get togethers, this unique cocktail recipe (and mocktail recipe!) uses a can of frozen juice as both the base of the cocktail and the measuring cup. It's ideal for quickly making large batches of drinks for summer gatherings. 

    Pitcher drinks are full of fruity flavor and there's no need to let flavors mingle like you do with fruity sangria. Just pour everything together into a large pitcher or punch bowl and serve! Add fresh fruit to the mixture for added flavor and garnish. I love using orange slices and sliced strawberries if I'm serving in a pitcher, or thin slices of fresh pineapple in a punch bowl, for an extra dose of fresh flavors. 

    There is absolutely NOTHING fancy about this recipe. However, sometimes fancy isn't needed. Just a delicious fruity cocktail that's sure to be a crowd pleaser. This recipe doubles and triples easily, making it quick to fill large party pitchers or decanters with drinks. 

    Ingredients for Pitcher Drinks

    Ingredients for Pitcher Drinks
    • Frozen juice concentrate
    • Vodka (for cocktails)
    • Triple sec (for cocktails)
    • Lemon-lime soda (for mocktails)

    How to Make Pitcher Drinks - Cocktails and Mocktails

    To start, empty the can of condensed juice into a large pitcher. 

    For cocktails:

    Using the juice can to measure, add 1 can of vodka, ½ can of triple sec, and 1 ½ cans of water to the pitcher.

    Stir. Serve over ice cubes and garnish with fresh berries, a lemon wedge, and/or fresh mint.

    Enjoy your pitcher of cocktails! 

    Glasses filled with pitcher drinks.

    For mocktails:

    Using the juice can to measure, add 1 can of lemon lime soda, and 2 cans of water to the pitcher.

    Stir. Serve over ice cubes and garnish with slices of fresh peaches, berries, or mint leaves.

    Enjoy your pitcher of mocktails! 

    A hand pouring a pitcher of drinks into a glass.

    Recipe Tips

    • Use an orange juice blend along with the vodka and triple sec for a delicious pitcher of brunch cocktails. 
    • Use frozen apple juice concentrate for delicious fall themed drinks.
    • Avoid watering down your cocktails by keeping the ice cubes in the glasses, and not adding them into the pitcher. You can also freeze 2 cups of grapes, blueberries or cranberries, then add them to your pitcher before serving to keep drinks cold without dealing with melting ice. 
    • These cocktails are perfect for a large gathering, especially if you've been tasked with bringing drinks at the last minute! I love to set a large pitcher or two out in a bowl of ice and let guests help themselves. 
    • When I need to make pitcher drinks for a December holiday party, I turn this into a big-batch cocktail recipe for cosmos, a favorite classic cocktail. Simply use cranberry juice concentrate in this recipe and add ¼ cup of fresh lime juice to the pitcher. Chill well before serving, then serve in martini glasses with frozen cranberries (no ice!) and a lime wedge for garnish. 

    Try These Pitcher Cocktail Recipes 

    White Wine Sangria
    White Wine Sangria
    Apple Cider Sangria
    Apple Sangria with Apple Cider

    FAQs and Substitutions

    What flavors of fruit juice concentrate work best?

    Berry or cranberry juice blends are delicious and work well with the orange flavor in the triple sec. 

    Can I use something besides triple sec?

    Sure. I know triple sec is the cheapest of orange liqueurs and often looked down on, however, we're mixing things with concentrated juice here. We do not need the fancy stuff. Can you pour in a more expensive orange liqueur? Yes. Do you need to? Nope. The goal is to add sweet, orange flavor and triple sec definitely gets you there.

    How do I make a single serving of this recipe?

    You don't. Because we're using fruit juice concentrate as our base, there's no making this in single drink portions unless you can find cans of frozen juice that make individual drinks.

    What can I use in the mocktail recipe besides lemon-lime soda?

    The soda is providing the sugar, so don't swap it out for club soda or soda water. Instead use ginger ale or ginger beer in place of the lemon lime soda.

    Easy Pitcher Mocktail Recipes

    Non Alcoholic Peach Sangria
    Non Alcoholic Peach Sangria
    Non Alcoholic Red Sangria Mocktails
    Non Alcoholic Red Sangria Mocktails

    More Delicious Recipes You'll Love

    • Quick Sparkling Non Alcoholic Peach Sangria with Fresh Peaches
    • Refreshing Paloma Grapefruit Mocktail (Non Alcoholic)
    • Delicious Non Alcoholic Pomegranate Punch
    • Strawberry Lemonade with Vodka
    • Peach Raspberry Vodka Martini is Full of Summer Flavor

    Print the Recipe Card

    Print

    Easy to Make Large Batch Pitcher Drinks

    Pitcher Cocktails
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 review

    Want a to quickly make a batch or two of delicious drinks for your next happy hour a hot summer day? These pitcher drink recipes are full of fruity flavors and exactly what you need to make so you can enjoy your guests and not be left bartending. 

    • Author: Katy McAvoy
    • Prep Time: 5 min
    • Cook Time: 0 min
    • Total Time: 5 min
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x
    • Category: Cocktails
    • Method: Stir
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 can frozen juice concentrate, thawed
    • Vodka (for cocktails)
    • Triple sec (for cocktails)
    • Lemon lime soda (for mocktails)

    Instructions

    To start, empty the can of juice concentrate into a large pitcher. 

    For cocktails:

    Using the juice can to measure, add 1 can of vodka, ½ can of triple sec, and 1 ½ cans of water to the pitcher.

    Stir. Serve over ice cubes and garnish with fresh berries, a lemon wedge, and/or fresh mint.

    Enjoy your pitcher of cocktails! 

    For mocktails:

    Using the juice can to measure, add 1 can of lemon lime soda, and 2 cans of water to the pitcher.

    Stir. Serve over ice cubes and garnish with slices of fresh peaches, berries, or mint leaves.

    Enjoy your pitcher of mocktails! 

    Equipment

    Image of Twist Rocks Glasses

    Twist Rocks Glasses

    Buy Now →
    Image of Large Pitcher

    Large Pitcher

    Buy Now →
    Image of Rocks Glass

    Rocks Glass

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    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 8 oz
    • Calories: 272
    • Sugar: 9.4 g
    • Sodium: 10.4 mg
    • Fat: 0.4 g
    • Carbohydrates: 32.2 g
    • Fiber: 0.1 g
    • Protein: 0.2 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Keywords: pitcher drinks, pitcher cocktails, cocktails by the pitcher, vodka cocktails, mocktails

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag me @katymcavoy on Instagram! I can’t wait to see what you made!

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    I love when you share my recipes!

    • 54

    About Katy McAvoy

    Katy is the author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, and Michigander behind MittenGirl.com. Since 2017, she's been crafting easy-to-make cocktails and delicious meals, along with sharing her love of all things Michigan (a.k.a. The Mitten)!

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      Recipe rating ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

    1. Heather

      August 07, 2021 at 10:35 pm

      This recipe saved my night! Finally connected with the new neighbors and then invited them for drinks on the deck -- this evening! We ALL enjoyed these. I made them with a store-brand "wild berry punch" frozen juice concentrate. Alongside some simple snacks (including black bean and mango salsa), the pitcher drinks were wonderful.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Heather

        August 07, 2021 at 10:36 pm

        The drink does need a more fun name, though.

        Reply
        • Katy McAvoy

          August 08, 2021 at 10:58 am

          LOL. Completely agree! The search engines appreciate a straight-forward, boring recipe name so that doesn't encourage my naming creativity. 😉

          Reply
      • Katy McAvoy

        August 08, 2021 at 10:56 am

        This makes my day! Fast and easy with ingredients you have on hand is what I'm all about! 🙂 So glad everyone enjoyed them.

        Reply

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    Katy McAvoy

    Hi! I’m Katy (she/her). I’m an author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, Michigander, and lover of all things food and drink. I never turn down a good happy hour and believe that a couple hours of meal prep pays off for days. Follow me on Instagram to check out what I’m working on next!

    More about me →

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