It's almost here. Memorial Day. The one day of the year that signifies summer has pretty much arrived and it is going to be warm for give or take a glorious warm three months. You know what's best in the summer? Cocktails. Not just any cocktails, of course. Iced, cold, fruity, and refreshing ones.

Whether you'll be spending your Memorial Day poolside or cozied up with good friends by the barbecue, it's the perfect chance to introduce summer's fruity cockatils into your beverage rotation. Take a look at these 5 refreshing drinks perfect for summertime:

Image via miamism/ Flickr

What would Mother's Day brunch be without sparkly pink cocktails? (Boring and sad, that's what.)

I'm not talking about your everyday, run-of-the mill Cosmo, either -- this Mother's Day, why not mix it up a little?

Pomegranate liqueur, edible flowers ... these fun and fizzy concoctions are guaranteed to put Mom in a great mood.

You know, the kind of mood that makes her forget about those 364 other days of the year when nobody appreciates anything and a "thank-you" would be nice and ... here Mom, have another cocktail!

Olive Garden may serve critically-acclaimed cuisine, but there is something deeply wrong with their beverage service. For the second time in barely over a year a child has been served an alcoholic drink at an Olive Garden restaurant. This time it was a frozen rum cocktail for a 10-year-old. If he'd been wondering all this time what Jack Sparrow's favorite drink tastes like, now he knows. Fantastic!

The server who plunked the stuff in front of the kid was supposed to have delivered a Wildberry Fullato, so you can imagine how things might get confusing, right? And this just begs the question: Do some of these chain restaurant cocktails look and taste just a little too much like kiddie drinks?

What better way to celebrate 420 (that's National Weed Day, in case you've been hiding under a rock all week) than by knocking back a few shots of hemp-flavored vodka? Oh, don't tell me you're surprised. You can get marshmallow fluff-flavored vodka now, for the love of cripes. All bets are off.

Alaska Distillery picked the perfect day to debut their new hemp seed-infused vodka, to be sure, but don't expect any dope in your drink (the hemp seeds used contain no THC). So what's the point?

Apparently hemp imparts a rather lovely nutty sweetness to vodka. Which I must admit sounds a hell of a lot better than whipped cream/gummy bear/cotton candy-flavored "vodka."

And it must make for some eeeenteresting cocktails! Here are 3 ideas for Hemp-Flavored Vodka Cocktails (along with suggestions for appropriate occasions).

Using the words "Dirty Bastard" to describe another human being isn't exactly a term of endearment, but seeing it written on a bottle of beer really isn't all that offensive. That is, of course, unless you live in Alabama. The folks down there are all bent out of shape over this brew -- so much in fact that they've banned the sale of it.

Apparently since beer is sold in grocery and convenience stores in the state, they figured kids might be subjected to seeing the label, which they describe as "profanity." Profanity? Really? Maybe I'm not old fashioned enough or something, but I actually find the name of the beer kinda funny. Can't you hear the potential jokes that go along with sharing a pint of this stuff? "Drink up, you old, dirty bastard!" Ha ha ha.

Beer loving ladies of America, we have officially arrived! After years of being shifted to the background while the Carrie Bradshaws of the world sip their cosmopolitans, a photo of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hoisting a beer to her lips at the Cafe Havana in Cartagena, Colombia that's gone viral could bring the change we've always wanted. Could we soon see beer as the official beverage of badass chicas everywhere?

With the role Secretary Clinton's been enjoying in the national zeitgeist of late (if you haven't caught an iteration of the texts from Hillary meme yet, just wait ... you will), I wouldn't be surprised to see some copycat beer drinking mamas in bars across the country sooner rather than later. And as one of the ladies who likes a good brewski now and then, I have to say it's about time!

Is it too early in the day for a cocktail? It's Thursday, and yet I am still mourning the end of Downton Abbey's 2nd season. And apparently I'm not the only one out there thinking Downton Abbey + booze = bloody good time for all. TheKitchn has begun a series of their own: Downton Abbey cocktails, little drinky-poohs inspired by the characters.

It's a brills idea, but I think it could do with a wee bit of tweaking. The Lady Sibyl is a champagne cocktail with gin and St. Germain, and the Lady Edith is also a champagne cocktail, but with grapefruit juice and more gin. Hmm, I get the bitter for Edith, but why not go all the way and use Campari? And honestly, I think Lady Sibyl is made of much stronger stuff than a delicate floral liqueur. Let's give this some more thought.

The 84th Annual Oscars are almost here and I couldn't be more pumped. I mean, I'm all for gawking at Best Actor in a Leading Role nominees Brad Pitt and George Clooney any day! While host Billy Crystal is prepping his best A-list material this week, you too should be prepping for your own Academy Awards extravaganza, because hey, why not!? Oscar night is the perfect chance to jazz things up a notch. You know, get sophisticated. Feel fancy. Clank glasses. You get the picture.

Plus, who doesn't love a good excuse to cook up something delicious? Check out these 5 easy recipes for the perfect Oscar party: