The Best Drinks To Pair With The Best Summer Songs.
Summer’s finally in full effect and flexing hard with all its lake-glistening, smore-melting, skin-tanning glory. Not even your iPhone chiming with a new text, comes close to the dopamine rush you get with clear skies and warm sun. At Pulltab Sports we’ve come up with a list of the best summer songs and paired them with the perfect summer drinks for a duo that not only amplifies those moments but will also help you capture those feelings no matter the season.
Eric Church “Springsteen” + Kentucky Buck
Funny how a melody sounds like a memory, like a soundtrack to a July Saturday night… And right there folks is what this list is all about. In those lyrics, Eric Church perfectly sums up how certain songs bring back all those summer feels. You may not be a country music fan, but this song is a lyrical open-air jeep ride through your coming-of-age summers—if only John Hughes was still alive to make another movie. Do yourself a favor… pour your favorite summer drink, if you need a suggestion, try a Kentucky Buck or just follow @thirstywhale on TikTok. Then put this song on repeat, sit under the stars and relive them glory days.
Lizzo “About Damn Time” + Rum and Coke
Every summer has that one song that grabs on and doesn’t let go and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” might just be that. A party anthem about hitting the town, the bad bitch Lizzo is back helping people turn up the music and celebrate. And what’s a great drink for a night on the town? Rum and Cokes can get any party started. In fact, Lizzo herself created a video for a fine-ass lime Coke recipe. Just splash in a little Bacardi or Captain and go hot-girl summer mode. Spring sucked, summer’s here, and it’s about damn time.
Harry Styles “As it Was” + Drunken Fruity Pebbles
For now, Lizzo’s only competition for song of the summer is Harry Styles’ moody and funky hit “As It Was.” Harry’s got plenty song-of-the-summer clout still hanging around since his last mega summer hit, “Watermelon Sugar.” This kid just oozes candy-coated fun with his brit-boy smile and dorkishly weird outfits. The drink of choice when listening to Harry has to be just as fruity, weird and funky. We’re thinking something like those boozy Fruity Pebble milkshakes they serve at Can Can Wonderland.
Will Smith “Summertime” + Hurricane Shot
Will Smith may be banned from the Oscars, but no song slaps you in the face with summer feelings more than his banger from the 80’s, “Summertime.” It’s a groove that demands you hang your arm out the car window and snake it through the oncoming wind. While we’ve never jumped rope Double Dutch in front of an open fire hydrant, listening to this jam makes you feel like you are. And along with all that, we think we may have found the perfect drink that hits you just like Will Smith would want it to. It’s called the Hurricane Shot. Perhaps you recognize it from Bravo’s most addictive show, “Below Deck.”
Zach Brown Band “Toes” + Bahama Mama
Quick apologies to all the Parrot Heads. While you won’t find Jimmy Buffet on this list, some songs from ZBB give you similar island vibes—all without feeling like you need to wear a tropical shirt and white New Balance shoes to a chain restaurant. Their song “Toes” captures that vacation mojo of swim up bars, saltwater breezes and possibly even bartenders that smell like coconuts–if in fact you’ve ever smelled your bartender. So, while you’re not getting any steel drums, you are getting permission to plant your ass in the sand, order up some blended fruity, rum drinks and let them worries float away, mon.
Bryan Adams “Summer of 69” + Vodka Cherry Lemonade
It’s an oldy, but damn is it a summer goody. Back before Bryan Adams wrote the cheesiest ballad ever for a nerdy Robinhood movie that nobody wanted to admit they watched, he put out this memory maker that still holds up today. And while many of us don’t remember the summer of ‘69, we’ve all had similar summers. Maybe for you it was the summer of ‘89 or the summer of ‘09, or maybe you’ll make it the summer of ‘22. To help you relive those old-school memories, go stand on your mama’s porch, pour yourself a vodka lemonade and think back to those best days of your life.
Morgan Wallen “Sand in my boots” + Corona Sunrise
While this research claims country music references drinking in 40% of its songs, we’re guessing Morgan Wallen is closer to 95%. To summarize his hits, he’s whiskey’d his way, while wearing whiskey glasses, and being wasted on you. And this song’s no different. So this summer kick off those Red Wings, walk down the beach and let the warm breeze weave its way through that sun-soaked mustache and mullet. And when you do, you’ll need something you-proof like a Corona and a side of tequila. Or hell, mix it all together like this genius did on TikTok.
Latto “Big Energy” + Vodka Red Bull OJ Surprise
If you’re looking for something that has a little more, as the kids say, “big D energy,” here’s your Lake Minnetonka, Big Island ripper. But be careful, it’ll attract all the Gen Zs in their daddies boats to your Lily Pad until there’s enough E.coli to give every one of your mosquito bites a staph infection. The sample from Mariah Carey’s Fantasy is a great beat to bob your head to, but we wouldn’t recommend singing the lyrics unless you want your mom to slap the taste of this drink right out of your dirty mouth. That’s why picked a drink that includes ingredients based on the lyrics of the song to create a juicy, intoxicating, big energy cocktail that’ll help you ride summer hard.
Elton John, Dua Lipa “Cold Heart” + Moscow Mule
While this song was released well before the summer, the melody is so chill it’ll cool anyone down on those scorching summer days. Bridging the new and the old, Dua Lipa teams up with Elton John making both old and young people think, “back off bitch, this is my song.” Finding your perfect grove to this jam requires a drink just as cool, and you better have a copper mug to make sure it stays as cold as possible. Therefore, try this version of a mule, just like “Cold Heart” it’s a little sweet, a little tangy and a little classic.
Kenny Chesney “Get Along” + Dewusch Light
There are so many great summer songs about drinking beer but perhaps none more sing-along worthy than Chesney’s “Get Along.” While most beer drinking tunes are about either breaking up or breaking the law, this one’s just the opposite. So call your mom, buy a boat, eat a bomb pop, play the keytar, snap into a Slim Jim, drink a beer and mix it with Mountain Dew, sing a song, can’t we all get along.
Credit to all the amazing artists and TikTok mixologists for their creative works of art. Enjoy the summer everyone. Hockey tryouts and Christmas items stocked at Target will be here before you know it. Take a deep breath, store up all the vitamin D you can and drink in these songs, they’ll always go down smooth.
