Cocktail Recipes & Ideas

With all the fabulous Latin American food this week on The Kitchn I’ve been craving an equally suited cocktail. With a little digging and, I’ll be honest, some taste-testing too, I found a great drink that stays with our Latin American theme and it’s perfect for toasting the end of summer this Labor Day weekend. If you’re into rum, rum drinks, or the history of booze in general you’ll love this sip.

If you’ve ever tasted an ice-cold glass of limoncello on a hot summer day, you know how amazing this Italian liqueur can be. Mixed into a sangria with fresh fruit, it’s quite possibly even better. This sangria is all of summer captured in one delicious pitcher.

Can you throw Thanksgiving dinner for a crowd and still hold to your budget? Of course! Holiday meals on a budget never have to feel stingy or scant, and the simplicity of the traditional Thanksgiving meal is particularly suited to watching your pennies. But what about drinks? Can a small budget stretch to wine? Oh baby, believe it. Let us show you our super budget, super awesome sangria, trimmed out for your Thanksgiving table. You’ll want a sip of this.

I refuse to believe this summer is coming to an end. So for this week’s taste of happiness in less than 10 minutes, join me in mixing up the perfect coconut-infused, island-inspired pitcher drink for any Labor Day soiree. A Cojito is a simple spin on the classic Mojito. You probably can guess by it’s name that we’re going coconut for this week’s cocktail.

Sangria is one of the oldest forms of cocktails on the planet. We’ve been mixing wine, spirits, and fruit for thousands of years. There’s no wonder sangria has survived this long: it’s delicious. This particular sangria blanca is a twist on the southern Spanish classic, Zurra, a white wine-based sangria mixed with peaches or nectarines. Sangria is nature’s bounty in a glass. It conjures up summertime memories and it’s packed with fruit.

Hosting an Oscar party means adding a little luxe to your usual gathering. Portable appetizers and easy snacks along with big batch drinks allow even the host to stay tuned to the show. Here are my Oscar party tips: Skip any food that requires a knife and fork and stick to one or two bite appetizers. The red carpet kicks off early in the day so no need for a full meal.

Expect to pour this all wedding season long.

It's the only excuse you need to throw a party.

A traditional mimosa is an ounce or two (depending who is pouring!) of fresh-squeezed orange juice topped with chilly Brut Champagne. Today, we’re replacing those navel oranges with the brilliantly-hued juice from blood oranges. This makes a striking and delicious pitcher drink to serve at brunch. And, as we know, nothing makes brunch better than a fabulous cocktail.

I am such a fan of the after-dinner drink. Sure, you’ve had your bubbly to start, and your red wine with the meal, but hopefully you’ve saved a little room for a digestif, a hot tipple to round off the meal and smooth your way into the evening. For our small, swanky Thanksgiving menu, I knew I wanted just such a drink, leaving something warm in guests’ hands as they lingered around the table, talking into the evening. And the right book fell into my lap the moment I needed it.

This is the Halloween cocktail you’ve been searching for. With no smoky special effects from dry ice or creepy eyeball garnishes, this deep, dark red wine sangria comes together without fuss yet feels just as celebratory as those other spooky drinks. It’s an understated take on the holiday — something that fits in at the big costume party but also feels right being sipped with friends from the neighborhood while the kids are out trick-or-treating.

This crisp, bubbly pitcher drink pairs perfectly with potato latkes.

Fish House Punch is a famous tipple dating back to 1732. I first came upon it in Dave Wondrich’s book Punch, and was recently offered a cup at a New Year’s Day celebration. When I asked the bartender what was in it, he replied, “What isn’t in it?” With thoughts of Long Island iced tea whirling through my mind, I hesitantly raised the glass to my lips.

The best cocktails don’t require a whole lot of effort, but win accolades with friends. This is one of those cocktails. It starts as a classic crowd-pleaser — the margarita — and then leans into fall with the help of plenty of tart cranberry juice. If you’re hosting Friendsgiving this year, this is the easy pitcher drink to serve while the turkey is roasting and friends trickle in with stuffing and mashed potatoes and pies.

Sometimes an end-of-summer sunset can feel bittersweet. You know the number of sunsets is dwindling, yet the beauty of it never wears off. Much like those sunsets, this punch brings together bitter and sweet flavors with a combination of Campari and pineapple juice for a big pitcher cocktail that looks and tastes like those bittersweet sunsets themselves.

Nothing says fall and Halloween like classic candy corn. If you are a fan of these fun striped candies, this is the perfect cocktail for you. It pays homage to these delightful little treats with a colorful layered combination of juice, booze, and cream that transforms into a tropical punch when poured. You might be wondering if you have to be a skilled mixologist to create the layers in this colorful punch. Fear not — the secret ingredient is actually gelatin!

You get salsa and a cocktail, so basically you win at life.

The 10-minute happy hour can be as simple or as sophisticated as you like. For me, the fastest and most delicious way to enjoy happy hour is to use what I have on hand — not to go searching for something I don’t. This week blueberries and lavender were at my fingertips, thus resulting in a gorgeous pitcher perfect for the centerpiece of my weekend party, and a fairly impressive happy hour requiring little effort.

Murky, green, and swampy, this punch is sure to conjure up monstrous images of Swamp Thing. If this creepy-looking cocktail has your tastebuds worried, don’t fret — the spooky green coloring comes from tangy lime sherbet, so it’s a hit for ice cream-lovers (basically everyone). This party-friendly punch is spiked with vodka and makes a huge batch to power your fright fest. It only takes a few minutes to toss together, so mix it just as the guests and ghouls start to arrive.

As our wardrobes change from flip flops to socks, fall cocktails typically turn golden brown (just like the leaves!) and pick up some warm spicy notes to keep us toasty. This pretty pitcher drink is a serious sip that captures all of the above. It’s a great choice for any fall gathering and it was a perfect match for the menu we planned for The Kitchn’s Thanksgiving Dinner Outdoors! Sangria and fruity Champagne pours aren’t the only cocktails that can be served in a pitcher!

Thanksgiving is arguably the most highly anticipated culinary day of the year. While some people may resort to beer and football on this day, I personally enjoy leading the charge in the kitchen. I like to ease those pre-dinner jitters and possible family tensions by making a shareable, seasonal punch that gets everyone into the holiday mood. Here’s a fall-inspired cocktail that you can share and enjoy all morning while you’re prepping Thanksgiving dinner.

We’ve been drinking these margaritas for as long as we can remember, and I mean year-round.Right about now as the days get longer and warmer, the rest of the world catches up and decides it’s margarita time. With Cinco de Mayo celebrated today, what better time to share the recipe? Watch out, they’re strong.

Margarita purists may need to sit down and take a few deep breaths before reading this post.We know, this is an unconventional recipe for margaritas. But we promise it’s good — and, it turns out, the idea is not really that uncommon.Epicurious and Rachael Ray both have recipes for margaritas made with beer, and ours is very similar — a mixture of tequila, beer, and frozen limeade. We refer to these as Markaritas, named after the friend who created them.

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. Why not get things started a little early this weekend with a Margarita?A cool, thirst-quenching combination of tart and sweet, accented by the warmth of tequila and the savory piquancy of salt, the Margarita is the perfect drink for a warm evening. But which recipe to choose?I’m going to tell you my absolute favorite way to mix one, but then I want to hear yours….THE STORYThere are many competing stories about how the Margarita came to be.

So what if it’s just the 5th of March and not Cinco de Mayo. Why not toast the last days of winter (and the seasonal availability of tart and juicy blood oranges) with a spicy-cool spin on the Margarita? I recently test-drove this intriguing recipe as part of a “virtual cocktail party” hosted by Kara Newman, cocktail columnist for Chile Pepper Magazine and author of Spice & Ice: 60 Tongue-Tingling Cocktails.

We asked some of our favorite food bloggers to share a holiday treat with us during our holiday break. I really appreciate the multi-generational focus of Yvette’s blog, Muy Bueno Cookbook, and her loving recreation of authentic Mexican cooking, family-style. And when she sent along this bright, festive take on the margarita, I was sold! Here, complete with swizzle stick, is drink number one for your New Year’s festivities.Move over cranberry sauce and, H-E-L-L-O Cranberry Margarita!

It involves tequila, of course.

Nothing brings people together quite like a good cocktail. This holiday season, whether you’re spending time with family, or gathering with old friends to reflect on the past year, mix up something special, like this Spiced Pear Margarita.Typically one thinks of margaritas as a drinking-on-the-beach kind of cocktail; this one gets seasonally appropriate with pear and a medley of spices.

For lots of us Cinco de Mayo kicks off spring so I felt it’s only proper to toast the warmer weather with another delicious version of the famed Margarita. This one is served on the rocks but would be equally as delicious buzzed up in a blender.Margaritas have morphed over the years from simple citrus, lightly sweetened tequila cocktails into basically any drink with tequila blended or on the rocks.

This fruity, fizzy cocktail is fit for whatever occasion the season brings.

My new crush may very well be shishito peppers with sea salt. I tried them for the first time at a restaurant a few months ago and now I’ve been seeing them everywhere! They’re popping up at restaurants, the farmer’s market, and all over that make-me-jealous-of-what-you’re-eating app called Instagram. Well, it’s finally time to put these peppers where they belong — muddled in an ice-cold margarita with a few extra for munching alongside.

When the Oscars roll around, my husband and I usually shrug at the noms since we typically haven’t seen any of the movies. This year, though, the mythical gods of “free-time” shone down on us and we were able to squeeze in a few of the films we usually only hear about. So it seems we will have a reason to actually watch the ceremony for more than the red carpet.

You've been warned: It's dangerously sippable.

In our week of summer cocktails so far we’ve had some new concoctions, like The Cuke and The Pickletini. We’ve had herbed drinksMeet the Americano.The Americano is not to be confused with its espresso namesake, which is an equal part espresso and hot water – a common order for coffee-lovers who don’t trust commercial drip coffee.The cocktail Americano, on the other hand, is a creation of Americans abroad and the bartenders who served them in Italy.

Citrusy and spicy, with a honeyed texture and the golden color of a summer sunset, Lillet Blanc is the perfect pre-dinner patio drink for a lazy June day.Produced in Bordeaux since 1872, this classic French wine-based aperitif is deliciously refreshing all on its own – either served chilled with a twist of orange, or poured over ice with a splash of club soda. It also pairs nicely with vodka and gin, giving a dash of zesty, bittersweet citrus flavor to summer cocktails.

This week’s 10-Minute Happy Hour is inspired purely by the long overdue dose of gorgeous weather here in the Northeast. My hubby had been outside shoveling mulch into our much-neglected gardens for about 5 hours now, so off I went in search of finding him the perfect cold drink to toast his hard day’s work. A bright orange box that shouted Perfect Margarita was just too hard to pass up. With all this sunshine there was no way we could hold out until Cinco de Mayo for margaritas.

Last week we shared one of our favorite aperitif cocktails: The Bittercup, from Christopher Flett and Uva Wine Bar in Vancouver. That cocktail is a special occasion drink, with two kinds of juice and prosecco included. Here’s our next favorite aperitif: a rich, bitter cocktail that calls for more common bar ingredients.This classic yet obscure recipe comes with a curious backstory.

Can you guess what gives this Champagne cocktail its peachy-pink blush? After I sampled a glass of it, I just had to find out. My friend Hillary discovered this sparkling cocktail years ago while traveling through the French countryside. She was staying in small inn with an adjoining restaurant. An assortment of cocktails were offered before dinner as apéritifs. Hillary chose the house specialty, the cocktail maison. It was cool and effervescent.

Just because the 4th of July weekend is over doesn’t mean our look at quick and easy celebratory cocktails has to end. After all, Bastille Day’s just around the corner, storming in next Thursday, July 14th. Here’s a light and lovely 3-ingredient cocktail to toast the occasion: the Liberté featuring the summery, citrusy apéritif, Lillet Blanc.When I first spotted this cocktail on the menu at an event I attended the other week, I was eager to give it a try.

Over the years I’ve had many close brushes with the famous Julia Child but I never had the pleasure of meeting her face-to-face. I did however get to interview her once via phone, and her words on wine still ring through my ears each time I crack open a wine list. She said, “A restaurant is only as good as its least expensive bottle of wine.” For that bit of wisdom my purse and my husband continually thank her.

IKEA is known for being intuitive to small space design and budget-minded shoppers. Apparently they are also in tune with the intense feeling of anxiety one experiences when approximately a third of the way through their store, thus requiring a stiff drink upon departure. So I was thrilled to find they offer two fun and cheap mixers along with those Swedish meatballs and dollar soft serves at check out. You see, everyone wins at the end of the IKEA maze.

Waxing poetic about what we love about summer has many of us here at The Kitchn raving about one fruit above all others: ripe summer peaches. From easy peach sorbet and peach pie ice cream to sparkling peach punch and white peach sangria, this food love affair is endless. Here’s one more recipe to add to the list! Peaches wrapped in proscuitto and tossed on the grill for a few minutes may be the easiest, most delicious summertime snack ever.

If you’re like me and have friends who celebrate Christmas, friends who celebrate Hanukkah and ambitious friends who celebrate both, this is the perfect cocktail to serve no matter what holiday is on hand. Campari is always a fave of mine in the aperitif category — that’s the before-dinner drinks.

The highly anticipated premiere of Downton Abbey’s third season is so close we can almost taste it. This Sunday night fans from coast to coast will be toasting the return of their favorite characters and a few new additions to boot. At my house we love any reason to have friends over and mix a few drinks, so this occasion suits us just fine. Since almost tasting isn’t good enough we’d like you to actually get a taste of Downton for this week’s 10-Minute Happy Hour.

Two years ago I stumbled onto the description of an intriguing summer cocktail: a shot of Campari topped with IPA, served with ice and a twist of lemon. One bitter sip was all it took; I was hooked on what has since become my favorite simple summer apéritif. Have you tried it?

Every Valentine’s Day, my husband and I celebrate with a bottle of Brachetto d’Acqui, an intoxicating, purply-red sweet sparkling wine from Italy that goes perfectly with a box of chocolates. This year we decided to switch it up and and enjoy our bubbly as an aperitif well before dessert. For that to be a success we needed something on the drier side.

Vin d’orange is a delicious, refreshing, and slightly bitter (but not too bitter!) fortified orange wine that’s easy to make at home. It does require you to move fast, though, as Seville oranges — the primary ingredient for vin d’orange — are just in season a short while from December to the end of February. Hurry up! It’s worth it! Vin d’orange is a slightly sweet, slightly bitter fortified wine traditionally made in Provence using Seville oranges.

And it's just 3 ingredients.

This is the perfect winter cocktail.

For fans of sweet vermouth, the Fig Leaf cocktail is the kind of drink that ought to be in your regular rotation. Unlike the majority of cocktail recipes, in which the spirit is the most plentiful ingredient, the build of the Fig Leaf is heavy on the aperitif wine rather than the booze (in this case, light rum). This drink falls into the category bartenders often call “reverse cocktails.

Everybody knows that Brooklyn has made a huge comeback in real estate, restaurants and the cocktail scene. It’s only fitting this old school sip, named after the popular New York borough, is also showing face again. Like a Manhattan, the Brooklyn is a whiskey-based drink — preferably made with spicier rye whiskey. However, that’s where the similarities end.

“Green mint, that’s what the boy said.” In the noir classic, The Big Clock (1948), the dizzying sting of a certain green cocktail sends New York crime magazine writer, George Stroud (Ray Milland, left), reeling.Married seven years, and the father of a five-year-old boy, workaholic Stroud has finally scheduled a long-delayed honeymoon with his wife, Georgette (Maureen O’Sullivan). But time is of the essence.

Simple and made ahead, this granita has the requisite bright red color for a Valentine’s dessert. Its bittersweet taste is satisfying. This ice cleanses the palate and aids your digestion, leaving you ready for any post-prandial fun. Campari and orange juice is an excellent aperitif, and a good introduction to bitter. The same combination, though in different proportions to the cocktail, can be frozen into a granita.

We have a thing for cocktails with complexity: we like more than a touch of bitterness, with a little sweet, a little sour, a little fizz to keep us interested all the way to the last drop. If you like that sort of drink, here is one you will love. It’s a cocktail for grownups, and it’ll carry you all the way through the fall and holiday season.

The point of an aperitif it is to wake up your taste buds, readying them for the meal to come. For me, bubbly aperitifs are always a win. This week’s 10-Minute Happy Hour is a mash up of Spanish pours and a ripe Bosc pear, perfect for a refreshing, fall-inspired aperitif. Licor 43, also known as Cuarenta y Tres, is a sweet liqueur that reminds me of the cans of cream soda we sipped as kids. It’s oozing with vanilla and light citrus notes and a fun pour to keep at your bar.

My kids aren’t used to me saying things like, “Hey, y’all! Come downstairs! I’m making crêpes!” They are used to me cooking odd things at odd hours, because that’s what you do when you write about food and love experimenting in the kitchen. Usually I ask them to try things like radish butter which, while delicious, is no ginger ale crêpe with orange zest and chocolate chips. So they were pretty excited when this happened.

Cool and crisp, with a citrusy, herbaceous tang, served over tinkling cubes of ice, Pimm’s Cup is the quintessential British summer drink. Although this tall refresher is most famously enjoyed by spectators at Wimbledon and at cricket matches and sailing regattas, it will be forever tied to gardening for me.

It's the best bubbly cocktail we know.

It's the perfect addition to movie night.

This might be the most festive drink we know.

You may want something a little more special than beer and sparkling wine to ring in the new decade.

Grab a bottle of vodka and get mixing.

Cha-what? If that’s what you’re asking yourself, I’m with you. The invention of mixologist Eben Freeman for his subterranean bar, Genuine Liquorette, the cha-chunker is named after this machine, which looks like something out of an advanced woodshop class. The apparatus has a more official title, by the way (it’s an arbor press), but cha-chunker is what Freeman calls the device he uses to create his cheeky cocktails of the same name.

A French 75 is a wonderful thing. Fizzy, refreshing, and just boozy enough, it’s a cocktail we can get behind. And we’re in good company: Papa Hemingway was a fan, and so was Dickens (or so we hear). But what if we told you there was a way to make this delightful sipper even better?