Cocktail Recipes & Ideas

Looking for new ways to toast Valentine’s Day at home this year? Polish up your best stemware for this bouquet of 12 cocktail and spirit ideas.Say It with Flowers St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur – A crystal-clear liqueur made from a white, star-shaped flower hand-harvested from the French Alps and delivered to the distillery by bicycle. Spirit backstory doesn’t get much more romantic than this.

The Bloody Mary is one of those decades-old drinks that seems to have earned itself as many die-hard haters as it has devoted fans. But love it or loathe it, this tangy, spicy, vodka and tomato juice-based cocktail’s a classic. In honor of Breakfast Week here at The Kitchn, here’s an up-close look at this savory brunch tipple/hangover cure.

Um, is it the long weekend yet? Here are 22 tantalizing (and citrusy, fizzy, garden-fresh, and easy) drink ideas to help get you into summer holiday mode.Citrusy and TangyKick back with something citrusy. There’s simply no substitute for the bright tang of just-squeezed lemon or lime (or grapefruit, or yuzu…) in a cocktail.

Looking for drinks to serve a crowd this Thanksgiving? Or maybe just to toast a romantic dinner for two? Something traditional? Or perhaps something with a more modern twist? Here are 12 Thanksgiving cocktail ideas from The Kitchn’s archives that we hope will inspire you.Looking for Something Using Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients?

I am plotting a Mother’s Day brunch and right now I have bubbly on the brain. I love having a little sip of something cool, bubbly, and sweet to start off a special weekend brunch. Here’s my current favorite: crisp, inexpensive Spanish cava with a touch of elderflower syrup. When it comes to refreshing, effervescent wines, there are many alternatives to pricey Champagne. I love prosecco, from Italy, and cava, from Spain.

Looking for a cocktail to cool off with over the Fourth of July weekend? Something simple and not too fussy that can help max out your chillaxing time? Here are 20 quick-and-easy ones from our archives, each made from no more than three simple ingredients. Perfect for these lusciously lazy days of summer.Fizzy Free-PoursJust a shot of spirit, a couple of glugs of soda, and a squeeze of citrus – these brightly bubbly combos can be thrown together in a snap. Exact measurements optional.

Spicy, zesty, and addictively tangy and salty, Sangrita makes the perfect sipping partner for tequila. I recently tried a version I’m over the moon for, and am excited to share the recipe with you today. What Is Sangrita? But first a little background. Sangrita is a non-alcoholic beverage traditionally served in a small glass alongside a shot of tequila or mezcal.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a momentous occasion than with bubbly. To be honest, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a non-momentous occasion than with bubbly. Are you with me? Whether it’s a mimosa to welcome in the weekend or a fancy bottle of Veuve to ring in a new year, sparkling wine makes everything seem just a bit, well, brighter. So when my very best friend finally made her permanent arrival to Atlanta, I felt the need to pop a cork.

image:4db405b5c855741b7a4758aeeb7f7280c1c8ef10 w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" As the days grow shorter and cooler, I begin to crave drinks with subtle, complex flavors. With its delicately layered and nuanced flavors and aromas, the Sazerac feels like the perfect drink for this time of year.

In the mood to mix your nightcap and dessert tonight? Something boozy and sweet — and brief? Here’s just the thing. It’s giggle-inducing to call this a recipe; it’s more a whisper of a suggestion, a nudge to let you know that yes, Scotch and ice cream go very well together. This little dessert is inspired by two things. First, obviously, a classic Italian affogato, where a shot of hot espresso is poured over a lump of ice cream and eaten expeditiously.

A Hurricane is a bit like a Long Island Iced Tea — you can order one almost anywhere, but you never know quite what you’re going to get. This year, for Mardi Gras, do yourself a favor and sample the original (and, in my opinion, best) version of this classic New Orleans cocktail. A true hurricane does not contain grenadine, pineapple juice, or vodka. It is not made from a mix. It is not served in a giant plastic cup.

Today, our series of Downton Abbey cocktails concludes with a drink inspired by the Crawley sister you love, or hate, or maybe love to hate – Lady Mary.I’ll confess I don’t find Lady Mary to be particularly likable. Fellowes tries hard to give us reasons to sympathize with her, but to me, she just seems – mean.

Some of the tastiest cocktails (think the martini, the Manhattan, the margarita) are also the simplest. At a time when it’s not unusual to walk into a cocktail bar and see drinks with seven or eight ingredients on the menu, it can be refreshing to look back to the simpler drinks of a bygone era. Here are four cocktails, all variations on the humble gin sour, that thrilled pre-Prohibition drinkers with their simple elegance. First up: the gin sour.

For Cocktail Week at The Kitchn, I decided to share, well, not much of a cocktail recipe at all. The thing is, I rotate between three alcoholic beverages year round: vodka + lemonade, vodka + ginger beer, and vodka + orange juice. Yes, I am very adventurous when it comes to my booze. Here’s the thing about those three drinks—I only like them when the mixers are fresh, meaning straight from squeezed lemons, grated ginger, or juiced oranges.

After many years waiting tables and working in restaurants my only brush with bitters was as the staff cure all for hangovers. After a late night we’d all belly up to bar for our daily drink of bitters and soda. It cured everything from a headache to indigestion. Then it was only Angostura but now with the cocktail craze comes the bitters boom, and yes a book dedicated solely to this aromatic flavoring agent.

The G & T (gin and tonic) has long been a standing favorite at happy hour. Believe it or not some people just don’t like gin and we’ve even heard of juniper allergies, so we replaced the G with V, added a little kiwi for vitamin C, and voilá we’ve got an equally refreshing sip that may just become a serious summer cocktail contender. This kiwi vodka and tonic is simple to whip up and makes for a gorgeous pitcherfull too.

Five o’clock friends aren’t as much the norm these days as they were perhaps in our parents’ or even grandparents’ time. I think most people remember what their parents or grandparents drank (or still drink), and for food and drink freaks like us, these memories are precious and held dear to our hearts.

Mix icy cold beer with spicy Sriracha, fresh lime juice and a couple dashes of Maggi sauce and what do you have? A refreshing, terrifically savory beer cocktail with a lingering heat that has become my new favorite summer drink. Meet the Cocky Rooster. The recipe comes from An Choi, a banh mi restaurant in New York City that serves the drink alongside their Vietnamese sandwiches.

There’re so many elements of happy hour, besides the drinks, that I adore; the cocktail couture (you know — all the gorgeous glassware and suave shaker sets) the toasts, and of course the snacks, both on the bar and in the glass! True, Bloody Marys are known for hosting a delicious array of garnishes but I’ve found gin, and in particular this week, a brand spanking new batch from Michigan, to be just as ideal in transporting all sorts of amazing nibbles.

It’s that time of year again when we get to throw costume parties, eat copious amounts of store-bought snack size candy, and dress inappropriately — all in the name of Halloween. Halloween happy hours can be as serious or sweet as you like them. A few years back, as a guest on NBC’s TODAY show, I had the chance to sip and shake with the authentic George Lucas-endorsed Yoda, Chewbacca and C-3PO, which for sci-fi nerds is about as serious as Halloween can get.

Attention, ‘nog heads! If you live in the small cross section on the Venn diagram of “beer lovers” and “eggnog lovers,” then boy oh boy, do I have the most perfect holiday brew for you. It’s called Beer Nog and it’s exactly what it sounds like: heaven.Beer nog comes from the crazy and wonderful mind of Randy Clemens, co-author of both the Craft of Stone Brewing Co. and The Sriracha Cookbook.

In my household we firmly believe a hot toddy will make you feel better than any cold or flu medicine you can buy. I’ve experimented with many versions and varieties and this simple soothing concoction always does the trick. It’s also excellent alongside all sorts of holiday treats from cookies to cakes making it your perfect pick me up for this week’s 10-Minute Happy Hour.You may wonder what is Rye Whiskey anyway?

Once a year, usually late December or early January, we receive a case of the sweetest pink grapefruits delivered to our doorstep. At first we love them. For breakfast, in salads, in cake and juiced. Then our citrus enthusiasm slowly begins to wane. There’s no avoiding the mound of softball- sized fruits each time I step into the kitchen. As with anything abundant in our culinary arsenal over to the bar they went. I decided it was time for them to have a go at the shaker.

It’s that time of year again for little girls in green sashes to storm your grocery stores and go door to door to sell, sell, sell all sorts of wickedly tempting cookies. I have a ridiculous soft spot for Girl Scout cookies, almost every flavor. I’m not kidding. The first Girl Scout to hit me up, and without hesitation, I place an order.

I’m not sure whether it’s the beginning of tax season or the gray Pacific Northwest days we’ve been having lately, but many people I know have been a bit down. In line at the grocery store, I hear families dreaming up sunny vacations and faraway weekend plans. But for the rest of the week, for the slog that February can feel like, I have a small solution: The Winter Warmer Cocktail.

In my quest for the perfect Passover cocktail to share with you for today’s 10-Minute Happy Hour, my first instinct was to phone a friend. Since she converted to Judaism as an adult, I thought she would forgive my ignorance and be able to give me the inside scoop on what a kosher cocktail might look like. Her hard and fast answer was, “We don’t really drink cocktails. We just drink wine and champagne.”  Hmmm, I thought, that’s a start.

The deep love of a G&T continually proves strong, not just in the summer and most definitely not just stateside — the New York Times called 2013 the Year of the Gin and Tonic and Europeans love this little cocktail just as much as we do. Yet, on a recent trip to Portugal, I found their G&Ts to be quite different than what I was used to sipping. That’s when a local bartender dropped some knowledge on me.

A friend of mine recently dined at Tashan, this killer upscale Indian spot in Philadelphia, and she said I must go and order a particular whiskey cocktail. She described it as an Indian Old-Fashioned. So I ventured downtown only to find that the cocktail my friend thought she was describing was something else entirely. What she thought was a whiskey cocktail was in fact made with an aged tequila, a trace of blood orange liqueur and a hint of bitters.

It’s tough to make a drink that can please both those who abstain from and those who imbibe alcohol. Many mocktails are no more than sugary juices with a bit of soda water added. For Cambria’s winter glam cocktail party I was tasked with coming up with something a little more interesting — a mocktail that had the edgy notes of a grown-up drink without any of the alcohol. But it had to accommodate a splash of stronger stuff, too, for those who wanted a boozy punch. My solution?

Everyone has their take on what a nightcap should be. Some even say it should always be brown — that’s right, they say your G&T is better off as an aperitif than your last sip of the evening. (That being said, a nightcap is much different than last call!) For this week’s happy hour, a simple combination of two delicious ingredients will have you pouring the perfect nightcap in no time. For me the perfect nightcap requires little effort with much reward.

Sloe gin is not gin at all. This plum-colored and plum-flavored spirit is sweet to sip, but plays nicely with citrus. Add some lemon and some spritz, and we have a lovely drink perfect for brunch. Sloe gin comes from little fruits called sloes, a relative of larger plums. On their own, they are tart and unpleasant but our friends across the pond discovered how to turn them into a lovely spirit. It’s not so popular these days, but at one time, it was consumed as a morning sip.

In a time when snow in the southern states isn’t unheard of and power outages have become the norm, the arrival of spring has been suspect. So today when something woke me up and it wasn’t a snow plow, a generator, or even a chainsaw, I blinked my eyes open and thought, Sunshine? Birds chirping? Could it really be spring? Bursting with excitement like a child on Christmas morning, I bound from my bed and threw open the curtains. What was this bright light that seared my eyes?

Late last summer I spent a week in Boulder, Colorado, and one morning we had breakfast with friends at The Kitchen, a bright and modern bistro downtown. While they had a full roster of appealing brunch cocktails, I decided to keep it light with a mocktail — and it blew me away. The Bright & Bitter was a jolly mix of fresh fruit juice, strengthened by non-alcoholic bitters into a very grown-up sip. Lucky for all of us, The Kitchen is sharing the recipe with all of us here at The Kitchn.

While the Cosmopolitan Cocktail (Cosmo for short) may be pink, it is anything but a frilly drink. When made correctly, the Cosmo delivers a delicious sip of cold smooth vodka flavored with a splash of cranberry juice, orange-flavored Cointreau, and a squeeze of fresh lime to finish. Like many cocktails, this one is often made incorrectly with way too much cranberry juice, so I wanted to make sure readers of The Cocktail Club get to taste what a great Cosmo is.

The devilishly named Satan’s Whiskers cocktail is a longstanding classic, catalogued in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) and likely of even older vintage. It’s a “perfect” drink, meaning that it contains equals parts of sweet and dry vermouth. The base spirit is gin, and many versions of the recipe call for orange liqueur, orange juice, and orange bitters, resulting in a rounded, layered exploration of the citrus fruit in all its bitter-juicy-sweet complexity.

I’ve never met a Bloody Mary I didn’t like, but thick tomato juice in the dead of summer isn’t exactly something I crave. Take a quick trip to farmers market, and you can have this fresh Bloody Mary makeover instead, perfect for summer sipping. The secret? Tomato water. Savory and cool, tomato water is a far more refreshing base for a breakfast cocktail. What’s tomato water, you say? You really should find out.

These days, any brunch place worth its salt serves a michelada alongside the requisite Bloody Mary, and my beer-loving heart thrills to see it on menus. But when I’m out at picnics or tailgates and don’t have a full spice cabinet on hand — or when I’m feeling a little lazy on a summer afternoon — I like to go the old-timers’ route with my tomato cocktails and mix up a Bloody Beer instead.

There’s a cocktail named for each of New York City’s five boroughs, so why not its neighborhoods, too? The Red Hook cocktail shares its moniker with a waterside enclave in south Brooklyn. Recipe-wise, this bold and booze-driven drink is a cross between the Manhattan (rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters) and the Martinez (Old Tom gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, bitters), pulling ingredients from both.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year to put on a pot of hot cocktails and call up some friends for some holiday cheer. This week for our 10-Minute Happy Hour, the classic Buttered Rum cocktail gets nutty with a little browned butter. Butter in your cocktail is a bit odd, but even I can admit that this drink — like anything with a little butter — is delicious.

Looking for a little something to get you into the holiday spirit? Something that could go under the tree just as easily as in your glass? I’ve got just the thing: let’s infuse some bourbon with holiday flavors. Throwing apples and cinnamon into bourbon feels like the cozy, boozy, slow start that this holiday season needs. You in? Great. Let’s seize the holidays. I think you’ll be really surprised at how easy this is!

It’s a sad, sad tale, and one that’s no doubt caused a few New Year’s tears over the years — being saddled with an allergy to Champagne and feeling a little left out during the Auld Lang Syne toast. That’s the case for one of my very dear friends, with whom we’ve been ringing in the New Year for the past decade.

Have you been following along with our 9-Bottle Bar column this year? The premise: nine bottles for a modestly-sized (and moderately priced) bar, but still flexible and powerful enough to create many, many cocktails — including quite a lot of classic drinks that every cocktail-lover should know.

Today is the first day of spring — does it feel like it where you are? It’s still cold in my Midwest neighborhood, but all the telltale signs of spring are here. It’s the perfect day for The Hint of Spring, a rum, blackberry, and sage cocktail created for our team retreat a few weeks ago. Back in February The Kitchn team took itself far away from the snow and the ice, all the way down to St.

Kelli and Ariel recently hosted a dinner party inspired by The Kitchn Cookbook, and this week they’ve been sharing all the recipes and tips! Every party deserves a good cocktail, and for this one, we decided to make something new, inspired by the Mediterranean appetizer and dessert — both of which included pomegranate. This complex and vibrant cocktail is perfect for one and easily adaptable for a gathering.

Don’t you especially love the parties and get-togethers that happen just after Christmas? I do. The stress is lower, the gifts have been given, and the vibe is all about hanging out with family and friends and welcoming in the new year. I’ve already picked up a few boxes of wine for the holiday season — some for sipping, some to cook with, and some to use as a cocktail mixer.

Rosé has everyone’s attention, and now that it has finally received the praise it deserves, I thought one day of this week’s series on wintry boxed wine pitcher cocktails should be dedicated this wine that’s so often associated with summertime. You can tell by the gorgeous holiday color why I thought it was an appropriate fit this week. This serious pink cocktail is for those with a slant toward the bitter side.

The margarita may be the classic Cinco de Mayo sipper, but this year try Mexico’s other favorite tequila cocktail, the Paloma. Rosey-hued and bittersweet, this grapefruit and tequila highball gets a fizzy finish with a splash of grapefruit soda. You don’t have to abandon the margarita, buy why not pour a pink Paloma with your next order of chips and salsa?

What’s cool? Bloody Marys with brunch. What’s cooler than being cool? Bloody Marys with kombucha. Time to give this classic brunch cocktail a fizzy, gut-healthy update. Kombucha is fermented tea made simply from water, sugar, dried tea leaves, and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).

This cocktail is polarizing. Either you’re going to be with me and love every briny sip, or you will not. And don’t for a second think you only have to drink it during Oktoberfest — it’s just that people are far more affectionate toward pickled cabbage during this time of year. To be quite honest, I need no special occasion to shake one of these up. A Wednesday evening is just as good of a reason as any. Says who?

Is there anything that spells party more than glow-in-the-dark jello shots? When lit up by a black light in the dark, these spooky shots look like a mad scientist whipped them up in a laboratory. You might think that this requires some spooky alchemy, but the secret ingredient is so simple and easy: tonic water, which contains quinine that lights up under UV light. This jello shot is a twist on the classic gin and tonic with a hint of lime juice and splash of rosewater for a floral finish.

The Bloody Mary is a ubiquitous brunch beverage, a supposed hangover cure-all and the perfect savory sip to accompany eggs and waffles alike. Made from a base of tangy tomato juice, seasoned with lemon juice and spices, and finished with a pour of vodka, Bloody Marys provide a savory respite from sweet brunch drinks and can be easily made by the glass or by the pitcher.

Keep a few bottles or cans of club soda tucked away in your fridge and know that if a friend drops by or you just had a bad Wednesday, an easy cocktail can be whipped up in no time. The bubbly water can turn just about any bottle of booze from your collection into a cocktail that’s fit for whatever the occasion. Here are 10 of our favorites. Sweet vermouth rarely gets play time on its own, which is a shame, because it’s too tasty to simply be hidden in a Negroni or Manhattan.

The Sazerac is a beautiful drink in its simplicity. It is unique and exact. It requires technique and style. And each ingredient tells the history of New Orleans — the French absinthe, the American rye, the Louisiana sugar, the Caribbean bitters. (Even the Italian influence can be seen in the lemon peel.) It’s no wonder the Sazerac is the city’s official cocktail. The origin stories of the Sazerac are, you might say, under the influence.

The Greyhound is a simple drink — just grapefruit juice and vodka or gin. You can salt the rim and call it a Salty Dog, but for some that’s getting a little too fussy. The Greyhound wasn’t invented in Oakland, but some would argue it was perfected here at a funky little art gallery/cafe-turned-bar called Cafe Van Cleef. Cafe Van Kleef, named after its owner, Peter Van Cleef, opened on 16th and Telegraph in 2004.

A glass of cold lemonade never seems to be beyond arm’s reach during some of the very best moments of summer — whether that is lounging on a front porch, running around the backyard, or dipping into your friend’s pool. Enjoying the classic is near perfect, but it doesn’t hurt to make it a little more adult-friendly and fit for 5 o’clock. Spike it with a little white rum and sweeten it with a handful of muddled strawberries and suddenly it is ready for happy hour.

A few years ago I visited Tofino, a remote surfing town on the west coast of Vancouver Island. One Sunday morning, I headed to one of the town’s best restaurants. Perched on a bar stool in a packed room, I spotted the bartender assembling the telltale ingredients for a Caesar: Clamato juice, vodka, Worcestershire, hot sauce. As a server took that lone drink to the other end of the room, heads turned. For the next hour, the bartender tended to an assembly line of Caesars.

Bubbly Champagne makes the perfect, effervescent pairing for potato latkes and other fried foods served on Hanukkah. Here, apple cider enhanced with homemade fennel seed syrup and offset with a splash of lemon juice puts a cozy, winter-friendly spin on a classic Champagne bellini. The fennel syrup is simple to prepare and keeps well in the fridge, making it the perfect prep-ahead base for holiday cocktails.

After a battle with alcohol addiction, my friend Lauren struggled with how to socialize without booze. For her, parties always meant having a glass of wine or a cocktail in her hand at all times, so when she emerged from rehab, she simply avoided seeing her friends. Soon, though, she learned how to ask politely for non-alcoholic drinks, often bringing them herself so she knew she’d have safe options. When Lauren started entertaining again, a mock mojito was her go-to drink as a hostess.

This Galentine’s Day, celebrate with a pitcher cocktail that’s easy to make, sophisticated, and crowd-pleasing. It’s a little sweet, a little fruity, a little bubbly, and a little bitter, which pretty much sums up my thoughts on what this day is all about. It’s not too boozy, either, so it’ll fit in whether you’re in for a girls’ night or up for a lazy brunch.

For when you need something fresh, festive, and fast.