Go Above and Beyond With One of These 14 Valentine's Day Cocktails
First, a hat tip. If your Valentine's Day plans include the researching, prepping, and executing of an on-theme cocktail, truly, you are going above and beyond the call of duty. Most people settle for grocery-store flowers. Some reach higher with a gift intended to impress. But few dabble with pink-hued refreshments. Really, well done.
Considering we've all flexed our cocktailing muscles at home this year—had to if we wanted a drink in isolation—you are more than ready to pull off one of the following. They are, with a few exceptions, pink. Or red. Since there isn't really a flavor palate assigned to Valentine's Day other than sweet, and loads of cocktails incorporate sweetness, the only sure sign of a Valentine's Day cocktail is thematic coloring. So, pink and red. The colors of love. Or, you know, the colors of maybe-it's-love-but-this-is-also-only-our-third-date.
With that, here are 14 cocktail recipes, plus wine and beer recommendations, that embody all that gooey romantic stuff that you outwardly roll your eyes at but inwardly kinda like. If nothing else, they'll take the edge off.
Rosita
A more complex cousin of the Negroni, the Rosita is an intoxicating blend of tequila, two kinds of vermouth, bright red and bittersweet Campari, and a dash of bitters.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz. tequila reposado
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Campari
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
Directions
1. Stir ingredients with cracked ice in a mixing tin until chilled.
2. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass over cubed ice. Garnish with an orange (or lemon) twist.
Sangria
Mix a pitcher of Sangria, and you might as well be eating tapas over romantic candlelight on the cobblestoned streets of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. It's nearly the same thing as sipping it in your apartment. This is our way of making it.
Ingredients
• 1 bottle red table wine
• 1/2 c. brandy
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1/2 c. pomegranate juice
• 2 c. sparkling water
• 1/4 c. simple syrup
• orange slices
• apple slices
• blackberries
• pomegranate seeds
Directions
1. Stir all of the ingredients together in a pitcher.
2. Put the pitcher in the refrigerator and let stand overnight.
3. Pour sangria into glasses. Garnish with an orange wedge.
Cape Codder
For the upper crust—or anyone else who's interested in expanding upon the Vodka Cran—the Cape Codder is an easy-drinker that'll remind you of warmer weather.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. vodka
• 2-3 oz. cranberry juice cocktail
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• club soda
Directions
1. Pour vodka, cranberry juice, and lime juice into a Collins glass over ice. Stir.
2. Top with club soda, then garnish with a lime wedge.
La Paloma
A Paloma is a light and fizzy tequila cocktail, with a pink-ish tint if you find pink grapefruit soda (not all of it is). It suits a fun sort of night more so than a deeply intimate, earnest one.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. tequila reposado
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• pinch of salt
• grapefruit soda
Directions
1. Combine the tequila, lime juice, and salt in a tall glass.
2. Add ice, top off with grapefruit soda, and stir.
Cosmopolitan
The most recognizable pink cocktail of them all isn't one to be underestimated or written off. It's vivid in both color and flavor, carefully balancing tart with sweet.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. cranberry juice
• 1 oz. Rose's lime juice
Directions
1. Shake the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then garnish with lime.
Negroni
True, the Negroni is most often associated with summertime day-drinking. That doesn't mean it can't be retooled as a bittersweet wintery nightcap.
Ingredients
• 1 oz. London dry gin
• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. vermouth rosso
Directions
1. Add the ingredients together in a mixing tin. Stir well with cracked ice.
2. Strain into a glass over cubed ice. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.
Bellini
If breakfast (or brunch) in bed is on the itinerary for the day, upgrade that Mimosa to a Bellini, with peach purée and Prosecco. Not in a peach mood? A Rossini uses strawberry purée and Prosecco, while a Tintoretto uses pomegranate juice and Prosecco.
Ingredients
• 2 parts Prosecco, chilled
• 1 part fresh white peach purée
Directions
1. Pour Prosecco into a champagne glass.
2. Top with peach purée.
Champagne Cocktail
Why not celebrate love with the most celebratory alcohol of all? With Angostura bitters and a sugar cube, this cocktail has just enough body to make it more satisfying than champagne alone.
Ingredients
• brut champagne
• 1 sugar cube
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
• lemon twist
Directions
1. Place a sugar cube in a chilled champagne flute, lash it with 2 or 3 dashes of bitters, and fill the glass with brut champagne.
2. Squeeze a lemon twist on top, then use as garnish.
Pink Lady Cocktail
Courtesy of Monkey 47
Frothy and fresh, the Pink Lady cocktail is a sweet treat packed with flavor.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. apple brandy
• 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. grenadine
• 1/4 - 1/2 oz. egg white
Directions
1. Add all ingredients into cocktail shaker, seal your shaker, and shake vigorously for 5 seconds. Add ice and shake again for another 5 seconds.
2. Fine strain into a cocktail class and garnish with a brandied cherry.
Immortal Old Fashioned
Courtesy of Mount Gay Rum
The most classic cocktail gets a rum update made sweeter with chocolate and vanilla liqueur and a hint of orange—like a good chocolate candy, with alcohol.
Ingredients
• 1 oz. Mount Gay XO
• 1/4 oz. dark crème de cacao
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions
1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir.
2. Strain over big cube into rocks glass. Garnish with expressed lemon peel.
Forbidden Fruit
Courtesy of Tim Herlihy, national ambassador for Tullamore D.E.W.
This cocktail pulls apple flavors from Aperol and the cider casks in which the Irish whiskey is aged. It's very easy to make, too.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 parts Tullamore D.E.W. Cider Cask
• 1 part Aperol
• 1 dash orange bitters
Directions
1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
2. Stir and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an apple slice.
The Heartbreaker
Courtesy of Grounds & Hounds founder Jordan Karcher
This cocktail isn't pink, but for some, caffeine is more romantic than flowers ever could be. Consider it as an early-morning drink to start the day off right.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz. dark roast coffee (espresso or strong brewed)
• 1/2 c. crushed ice
• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 tsp. simple syrup
• 1 oz. heavy cream
Ingredients
1. Add a handful of ice to a cocktail glass. Gently pour in vodka.
2. Add simple syrup, heavy cream, and finish with espresso. Stir to mix or serve with cream floating.
Big Red
Courtesy of Natasha Soto-Albors, bartender at Motel Morris
The rich, spicy-sharp cinnamon undertones in this cocktail are complemented with bright twists of citrus. Top it off with candied hearts—after all, it's the only day of the year eating sugary cardboard is acceptable.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. cinnamon-infused bourbon (Four Roses Yellow Label works)
• 1/4 oz. Mandarine Napoleon
• 1/4 oz. Bruto Americano
Directions
1. Fill a mixing glass with ingredients, and stir.
2. Strain over one large ice cube in a glass, and garnish with candy hearts and orange twist.
The Rose
The Rose is a French cocktail, and some say Paris is the city of love. There you have it: a classic, tailormade for Valentine's Day.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1 tsp. raspberry syrup or Chambord
Directions
1. Stir the ingredients well in a mixing glass with cracked ice.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cocktail cherry.
Rosé or Syrah
Courtesy of Justin Chearno, wine director at the Four Horsemen
Chearno has two recommendations for a Valentine's Day wine. The first is Les Capriades’ “Piège à Filles” Rosé, which is "mostly Gamay with some Côt, Pineau d'Aunis, and Cabernet Franc in there for good measure." Rosé of course pairs well with romance, and with this particular bottle, a "slight bit of residual sugar in this wine makes for a great apertif," Chearno says. The second is more suited for a very special occasion: Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph. "There's something lush and romantic about Northern Rhone Syrah, and Gonon is a master of the grape," says Chearno, assuring it's worth the price. If you can't get your hands on these specific bottles, stay in the ballpark with a bubbly Rosé or a deep red Syrah.
Mexican Lager or Sour Ale
Courtesy of Ashley Santoro, regional beverage director for the Standard Hotels
Beer is never off the table. "I think Valentine's Day should either be super lowbrow or kind of exclusive and over the top. If you're going fun, playful, and on the cheap, my beer go-to is Victoria lager from Mexico—light, malty, and refreshing," says Santoro. A more impressive selection, if that's your goal, is the Stillwater/Dugges Tropic Punch Ale—"super limited production, creamy texture, and just the right amount of sour," she promises.
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