Make this a Valentine’s Day to remember with one of the dozen mood-setting cocktails below:
1) Love Under The Bridge
2 oz. Peach vodka
½ oz. Lemon juice
½ oz. Simple syrup
1 oz. Cranberry juice
1 Strawberry
3 Basil leaves
Top off with rosé Champagne
Muddle strawberry and basil leaves. Add other ingredients except Champagne and shake with ice until chilled. Double strain, top with Champagne and garnish with a strawberry and a mint leaf.
The mixologists at The Rye Bar at Rosewood Washington D.C., created this recipe.
2) My Sherry Amor
2 oz. Novo Fogo Barrel-Aged cachaça
1 oz. Oloroso sherry honey
(mix 2 parts honey, 1 part sherry)
Dash Scrappy’s chocolate bitters
Dash Angostura bitters
Stir and strain into a rocks glass, then express the oils of an orange peel over the drink.
The mixologists at Novo Fogo created this recipe.
3) Tickled Pink
¾ part Elit vodka
½ part Cranberry syrup
¼ part Lemon
juice
2 dashes Orange bitters
Champagne or sparkling wine
Combine first 4 ingredients and shake with ice and strain into coupe or flute. Top with bubbles and add an orange twist.
Ashtin Berry, bartender at Ace Hotel Nola in New Orleans, created this recipe.
4) Heartbreak Hotline
1 ½ oz. Azzurre vodka
½ oz. Triple sec
½ oz. Pom pomegranate juice
¾ oz. Fresh lime juice
¾ oz. Simple syrup (1:1)
Combine ingredients and shake. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with an orange twist
The mixologists at Azzurre created this recipe.
5) Cupid’s Hope
1 ½ parts Reyka vodka
1 part Lemon juice
¾ part Rosemary syrup*
2 parts Pear juice
Build all ingredients into Hurricane glass over crushed ice and swizzle & garnish with stalk Rosemary or dried pear.
*For Rosemary syrup: Combine equal parts water and sugar. Let cool. Blanch the rosemary for about 30 seconds. Pat dry and remove the leaves. Place the sugar, water and blanched rosemary leave into a blender. Blend to a consist texture. Fine strain and bottle.
The mixologists at Reyka created this recipe.
6) Boyfriend Material
6) 1 oz. Beefeater London Dry gin
½ oz. Del Maguey Vida mezcal
½ oz. Ancho Reyes chile liqueur
½ oz. Aperol
¾ oz. Fresh lime juice
½ oz. Honey syrup
Combine all ingredients to a cocktail tin and shake. Double strain into a coupe, and garnish with togarashi Japanese spice mix.
Dan Casto, bartender at Double Dragon in Portland, OR, created this recipe.
7) Sweet & Spicy Chocolate Margarita
1 oz. Soltado Spicy Añejo tequila
½ oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Chocolate syrup
½ oz. Heavy cream
½ oz. Cinnamon syrup
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for 1 minute, strain into a martini glass, drizzled with chocolate syrup. Garnish with cocoa powder.
Kourtney Wenke of Butapub in Rochester, NY, created this recipe.
8) Livin’ in Sin
1 oz. Juniperus gin
½ oz. Ancho-infused Bluebird vodka
¾ oz. Maple syrup
½ oz. Lemon juice
2 drops Fee Brothers Cranberry bitters
2 drops Absinthe
1 Egg white
Combine ingredients and reverse dry shake. Strain into Nick & Nora glass and garnish with cranberry bitters.
Matt Giarratano, beverage manager at The Bar at Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville, PA, created this recipe.
9) A Rose Story
2 parts Hendrick’s gin
1 part Rose petal jam
½ part Lemon juice
½ part Sugar syrup
1 part Cranberry juice
1 part Egg white
Combine ingredients and double shake. Strain into coup glass and garnish with rose petals and spray of orange bitters and rose waters.
Hendrick’s gin ambassador Erik Andersson created this recipe.
10) Bubbles and Roses
¾ oz. Vodka
¾ oz. Lillet Blanc
¾ oz. Combier Pamplemousse liqueur
Chandon Brut Rosé sparkling wine
Dash of grenadine
Combine vodka, Lillet Blanc, Pamplemousse, and a dash of grenadine in a cocktail shaker. Shake for around 10 seconds and strain into a Champagne flute. Fill the flute the rest of the way with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon and orange twist.
Geoffrey Rich, bar manager of the RingSide Grill in Portland, OR, created this recipe.
11) The Guilty Husband
1 ¼ oz. Rose- and almond-infused Grey Goose vodka*
⅓ oz. Crème de Cacao Blanc
⅓ oz. Rose liqueur
Rosé Champagne or prosecco
Combine the first3 ingredients in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a flute and top with Champagne.
*Infuse 1 bottle with 4 large tablespoons of dried rose pedals. Add in 8 drops of organic almond essence. Strain the rose pedals after 1-2 days or to taste.
The mixologists at Grey Goose created this recipe.
12) Killer in Red
¾ oz. Campari
¾ oz. Cinzano 1757 Bianco
½ oz. Grand Marnier
¾ oz. Chamomile gin
Drop of rose essence
Pour all the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir with a bar spoon. Strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe. Finish with a drop of rose essential oil and serve.
The mixologists at Campari this recipe.
Melissa Dowling is editor of Cheers magazine. Top photo courtesy of The Kinzie Hotel in Chicago.