Spring has sprung and in-tandem with the new season, many lockdown restrictions are being lifted, allowing some of us to once again enjoy the outdoors with friends and family. To celebrate all the good news and weather, we’ve put together a list of spring cocktails that are sure to get the season off on the right foot.
From vodka, tequila, and rum offerings to ones topped with flowers, these spring cocktails are sure to make the bright days ahead that much more enjoyable, especially if friends and family are involved.
So without further ado, here is Spirited Zine’s list of spring cocktails perfect for the new beginnings of 2021:
Irish Eyes
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Broken Shed Vodka
- 3 Basil leaves
- 1 oz Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Fresh muddled strawberries
- Seltzer
Muddle basil leaves in balsamic vinegar, combine with strawberries, add in Broken Shed, top off with seltzer.
One Night In Jalisco
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Crystal Head Onyx
- ¾ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
- ¾ oz. Agave Syrup
- Red Jalapeno
- Cilantro
Garnish a rocks glass with coarse salt rim. In a cocktail shaker, add Crystal Head Onyx, lime juice, simple syrup, jalapeno and cilantro. Muddle ingredients, then add ice and shake. Double strain into rocks glass with ice. Garnish with cilantro.
Gunpowder of Middle Earth
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin
- .5 fresh kiwi peeled and cubed*
- .5oz lemon juice
- .5oz simple syrup
- *can use 1.25 oz kiwi puree alternative
Combine all ingredients in a shaker and muddler to create flavor. Add ice to vessel and toss. Double strain into coupe glass. Garnish with a slice of kiwi.
Garden Spritz (Created by Mixologist Lauren Davis)
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz Tanqueray No. TEN
- .75oz Hibiscus Syrup*
- Club Soda
- Glassware: Copa or Wine Glass
- Garnish: Grapefruit Wheel
Build ingredients in glass. Add ice. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with grapefruit wheel.
Hibiscus Syrup: Seep 1-2 hibiscus tea bags in 1 cup of hot water. After 5 minutes, remove tea bags. Add one cup of sugar and stir until it dissolves. Syrup can be refrigerated for up to one month
Decanso Bloom
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Don Papa 7
- ¾ oz Unfiltered Sake
- ½ oz Lime Juice
- ½ oz Simple Syrup
- 3 Honeydew Spheres
In a cocktail shaker, muddle 2 melon spheres. Add Don Papa Rum, sake, lime juice, and simple syrup into shaker. Fill with ice and close shaker. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass with half of a cup of ice. Spear and garnish with the remaining melon sphere.
Harper Spiced Sour
Ingredients:
- 1.25 fl oz I.W. Harper
- 1 fl oz Egg white
- .25 fl oz Amaro (Italian Herbal Liqueur)
- .75 fl oz Lemon
- .5 fl oz Fig jam
- .25 fl oz Chai syrup
- 4 Chai tea teabags
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- Coupe
- Grated cinnamon
Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin, dry-shake, add ice and shake again, double-strain into coupe.
* Chai Syrup: Steep tea bags in hot water for 5 minutes, pull teabags out, then stir sugar in until fully dissolved (simmer in a saucepan, if sugar granules do not fully dissolve, prior). Cool, and store in an airtight container (it can last up to a week, refrigerated)
Buchanan’s Spring Fling Julep
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Buchanan’s Special Reserve
- 1.5 oz Cantaloupe Juice
- .5 cup cantaloupe melon chunks blended until smooth, then strained yields about 4 oz juice
- 1 sugar cube
- 8 mint leaves + 2 sprigs for garnish
- Melon balls for garnish
- Crushed ice
- Glassware: Julep cup or small juice glass
- Garnish: Melon balls
Muddle mint and then .5 oz cantaloupe juice and sugar in the bottom of your cup. Add ice halfway up your cup then add 1 oz whisky and another .5 oz cantaloupe juice, stir until cup is chilled. Fill cup till it’s overflowing with ice, and drizzle the remainder of the whisky, then cantaloupe juice over the top. Garnish with mint sprigs and melon balls.
Shirley Templeton
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Templeton Rye 4 Year
- 4-7 oz. Lemon Lime Soda
- Dash of Grenadine
- Rocks Ice
Combine Templeton Rye and lemon lime soda in a tumbler or Collins glass filled with ice. Top with grenadine until the drink is pink in color. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Kid Curry
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz American Prairie Bourbon
- 0.5 oz Aperol
- 0.25 oz Cynar
- 0.5 oz Lemon Juice
- 0.25 oz Sudachi Juice
- 0.5 oz Garam Masala Syrup
- 1 Dash Saline Solution (1:5)
- 4 Watermelon cubes
- Fresh Curry Leaves
Muddle watermelon in shaker tin, add remaining ingredients. Shake with ice then double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a fresh curry leaf.
Pineapple Ginger Spritz
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce pineapple ginger juice (see below)
- 1 ½ ounce Italian bitter aperitif, such as Aperol
- Chilled Mezza di Mezzacorona Brut, to top (about 3 ounces per cocktail)
Prepare the pineapple ginger juice. Add 2 medium knobs peeled ginger root (about 2 inches total) and 1 cup fresh pineapple juice to a blender, then blend on high speed just until the ginger root is liquified. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and store in the refrigerator until ready for use (one cup will make 8 cocktails). For each cocktail, pour 1 ounce of the pineapple ginger juice and 1.5 ounces of Aperol into a chilled rocks glass filled with ice, then carefully top with the chilled prosecco. Optional: Garnish with an orange slice and fresh herbs, such as mint, rosemary, and thyme.
Corralejo Blood Orange Margarita
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Corralejo Tequila Reposado
- 3 oz. fresh Blood Orange Juice
- ¾ oz. fresh Lime Juice
- 1 oz. Simple Syrup
Rub the rim of an old fashioned glass (or whatever similar vessel you prefer to drink out of) with an edge of a blood orange slice. Swirl the rim through a small pile of kosher or sea salt to salt the rim. Combine all ingredients into an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake for 15 seconds. Put a few cubes of ice in the salted glass. Strain the cocktail into the glass and enjoy.
Note 1: A basic simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of sugar dissolved in water. example- One cup sugar dissolved in one cup of water.
Riondo Prosecco Rosé Strawberry 75 Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 to 4 ounces Riondo Prosecco Rosé
- 1 ounce Gin
- 1/2 ounce Lemon Juice
- 3/4 ounce Strawberry Syrup
- Strawberry and Lemon Twist Garnish
Add Gin, Lemon Juice, Strawberry Syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake then strain into glass and top with Riondo Prosecco Rosé. Garnish with Strawberry and Lemon Twist.
Pomegranate Ginger Bubbly
Ingredients:
- 1/2 can Spicy Ginger Volley
- ½ oz. triple sec
- Juice of ½ lime
- Splash of pomegranate juice
- Garnish with an orange and/or lime wheel and pomegranate seeds
Combine 1/2 can Spicy Ginger Volley, ½ oz. triple sec, juice of ½ lime into a cocktail shaker and shake thoroughly. Once shaken, pour into glass and add a splash of pomegranate juice. Top with orange and/or lime wheel and pomegranate seeds.