It’s probably 9:30 at night, and I’m winding down rewatching “The Office” on Netflix, passively scrolling through Pinterest and pinning items that look beautiful, but that I might never actually make it around to trying. Sound familiar? With summer festivities around the corner, I decided to bust out a Pinterest board I started and get cracking on a few drink recipes. I tested them out on my in laws to take out the guess work for you! We figured out which ones are worth making, and which ones should probably just live pretty on your Pinterest board. If you’re looking for the recipes, just click on the links- this is a review of our favorites so you can find one that works for you! Here are the best Pinterest cocktail recipes:

1. Raspberry French 75

A classic cocktail, the French 75 gets a refreshing update with a burst of fresh raspberries. The most you really have to do with this one is make the raspberry simple syrup. I put about a cup of raspberries, a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 cup of sugar into a saucepan and then strained it. I would argue it’s better with the homemade syrup, but you could easily buy this one and skip the step. It’s champagne, gin, and raspberry syrup with fresh raspberries for garnish.

Taste: It tasted good, but not as refreshing as our other cocktails.

Appearance: We decided that ours actually looked better than the Pinterest photo. Ours was a more saturated color, so I imagine we probably got a richer raspberry flavor too.

Event to pair this drink with: A summer wedding, bridal shower, or other swanky event. It’s champagne, so it automatically feels pretty fancy.

Overall: Would probably not make again unless I was hosting a swanky event. I will pour my leftover raspberry syrup over some vanilla ice cream though

2. Strawberry Basil Margarita

An unexpected aromatic like basil is super unexpected in a margarita like this one, but it totally works. This recipe did involve a blender, and I imagine you can do a muddled on the rocks version instead. Word to the wise though; skip the salted rim! If you must, do a sugared rim instead. We also ended up thinking it would be more drinkable if we had just blended the ice cubes into the drink, instead of pouring over, but that’s what the recipe said, so that’s what we did.

Taste: Needed a little more alcohol. Oddly enough, my in laws don’t drink and they all recognized that it basically tasted like a smoothie that needed another shot of liquor.

Appearance: Again, we decided this looked way better than the Pinterest photo. Our color was much more saturated (I think we used more strawberries and blended more thoroughly)

Event to pair this drink with: Pool party, BBQ, or really any hang out you want to elevate.

Overall: Would make again, but with more booze, sugared rim, and blended ice.

3. Pineapple Jalapeno Smash

This was the clear crowd favorite. When I muddled (or “smashed”) the jalapeno and pineapple, I removed the jalapeno seeds. It made for a super drinkable cocktail, with just a hint of heat. This one could use less pulp in the actual cocktail, a little more pineapple juice, and crushed ice instead of big cubes.

Taste: Nailed it. This was by far the group favorite.

Appearance: Mostly nailed it. I skipped the pineapple garnish because I didn’t want to chop a whole pineapple. The color would have probably also been richer with a little more juice.

Event to pair this drink with: a beach or lake trip! Make a pitcher of this one and sip on it with a good book.

Overall: I will probably make this again next week honestly. It was so good.

4. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch

I will admit we added this to the list because we wanted to try making a cocktail with Fireball whiskey. This one is made with Fireball whiskey and Rumchata and thats it. It probably should have been a shot, but we poured it over ice for a (very) stiff drink!

Taste: It definitely tasted like the infamous breakfast cereal, albeit a bit strong!

Appearance: it looks like a glorified glass of milk. The cinnamon sugar rim is a nice touch, but it’s a drink that definitely tastes better than it looks.

Event to pair this drink with: Sip on it with dessert, or with actual French toast at a boozy brunch. Or if your crowd is trying to party and get rowdy, this one does pack a punch for your wild night out.

Overall: would drink again, but less of it. It was fun to make just for the novelty, but not as refreshing of a drink as the other options we’ve tried.

I still have a few other cocktails on my Pinterest board I want to try, like the peach bourbon smash and a cucumber mint mojito. This is an ongoing project (because who wouldn’t want to keep sampling cocktails?), so I’ll be updating this post with any additional recipes we test. Soon it will be a master list of the best Pinterest cocktail recipes! Do you have a favorite summer cocktail I should add to the update? Post in the comments and I’ll add it to my list! Cheers!

Please consume your creations responsibly. Obey all your local laws, and don’t drink and drive.