It's been a long, cold winter for many of us, but tomorrow (March 20) will finally bring the first day of spring. To mark the occasion, here are 7 bright, fresh ways to toast the Vernal Equinox.

COCKTAIL RECIPES

• Maple Syrup Cocktails: Two sweet cocktail recipes that are sure to get your sap flowing.
• Rhubarb Is Springing Up in Warm-Weather Drinks: A roundup of drink ideas featuring this puckeringly tart springtime vegetable.
• Gibsons - With Ramps!: Pickled wild onions are subbed in for traditional cocktail onions in this new twist on an old classic.

LIQUEURS, CORDIALS, AND APERITIFS

• All About Apéritifs: Bright and refreshing on the palate, apéritifs make a wonderful lead-in to a springtime meal.
• Crème de Violette: The recent return of this delicate, old-timey cordial is as welcome as the arrival of forsythia blooms.
• St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur: The light, fresh taste of elderflowers plucked from the French Alps.
• Roses in Cocktails: A roundup of ways to bring the rose garden to the glass.

Nora Maynard is a longtime home mixologist and an occasional instructor at NYC’s Astor Center. She is a contributor to The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries and is the recipient of the American Egg Board Fellowship in culinary writing at the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow. She previously covered food and drink in film at The Kitchn in her weekly column, The Celluloid Pantry.

Related: Tall, Cool Drinks for a Relaxing Long Weekend

(Images: Nora Maynard)