What’s more romantic than mixing your sweetheart an elegant cocktail on Valentine’s Day? To turn up the saccharine sentimentality to 11, try a holiday-colored drink. We’ve collected 50 great red and pink cocktails to woo your partner on Valentine’s Day.
Nothing says romance like champagne. Our Sicilian 75 is a riff on the French 75 made with blood orange juice, gin, and campari. Or try the Volstead, with vodka, St. Germain, and fresh berries. For something sweet-tart, the Rhubarb Fizz pairs champagne with a ginger-rhubarb syrup.
Hopefully your relationship isn’t bitter, but your drink can be. The negroni is a classic, with equal parts gin, campari, and sweet vermouth creating a bitter, refreshing sipper. Replacing the vermouth with light, citrusy Lillet Blanc gives you our floral pink negroni.
Gin Campari Sour
Sometimes we like cocktails to have a bit of an aggressive bite; other times, we’re looking to round them out a bit. Gin, Campari, and lemon are three ingredients that pair beautifully, but all have their sharp edges. Adding an egg white helps mellow and integrate these flavors without muting them, while also contributing a silky texture and an opacity that’s quite elegant in a vividly colored drink. Get the recipe for Gin-Campari Sour »
Easy Fermented Soda
Cookbook author Amy Thielen likes to add a splash of this tart, naturally fizzy juice to grown-up, not-too-sweet ice cream floats for a bright swath of flavor. We also like mixing it into cocktails and even vinaigrettes. You can start with any fruit, but the smaller and juicier the better. Get the recipe for Fermented Raspberry Soda »
Evening Shade
Heaven Hill Distillery‘s brand abassador, Lynn House, enjoyed nothing more as a child than picking peaches and other fresh produce on her grandparents’ farm in Tennessee. She continues the tradition as an adult, incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into her cocktails whenever she can—hence her nickname, “The Garden Girl.” This summery drink combines peach purée, cucumber, and whiskey. Get the recipe for Evening Shade »
The Merchant’s Wife
A bright mix of watermelon, gin, Aperol, lemon juice, and a splash of club soda, this cocktail from Stella Rosa Pizza Bar in Santa Monica sidesteps the normal pitfalls of watermelon-based cocktails, which tend to veer to the overly sweet. Well-balanced and pleasantly effervescent, the mild astringency of the Aperol tugs back at the melon’s sweetness and reignites the gin, elevating this brightly-hued cocktail to the heights of sophistication. Get the recipe for The Merchant’s Wife »
Tinegroni
A snack-sized negroni with a savory agave twist from bartender Tristan Willey of Long Island Bar. Get the recipe for Half-Sized Negroni Cocktail (TiNegroni) »
Beth Dixon, bartender at Pasture in Richmond, Virginia, describes this fun cocktail as the lovechild of a Mai Tai and a Negroni. Get the recipe for Bermuda Hundred »
We asked Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta, bartenders at The Broken Shaker in Miami, to create a cocktail for SAVEUR’s 21st birthday. They obliged with an elevated twist on a classic vodka-cranberry using housemade cranberry vinegar—because nothing screams 21 like vodka and cranberry juice. Get the recipe for Shaker Vodka Cranberry »
Lose Your Shoes Cocktail
Sometimes, the only creative direction you hear as a photographer is “Make it sexy.” So here you go: a sexy, ruby-red cocktail to drink tonight. Get the recipe for Lose Your Shoes Cocktail »
Moradita
A jalapeño-infused, blood-colored tequila and beet cocktail, the Moradita (“Little Death”), is a fresh, nearly healthy-tasting drink with some real body and a balancing hint of elegant richness. Get the recipe for Moradita »
Il Palio
Campari ice cubes morph this drink from a Manhattan into a Boulevardier as they slowly melt. Get the recipe for Il Palio »
Stone Fruit Rosé Sangria
This version of a Spanish sangria is ripe with summer fruit; its light, crisp flavors complement seafood and poultry. Get the recipe for Stone Fruit Rosé Sangria »
French Monaco
This fruity beer-based cocktail is an ideal outdoor sipper—mix the pomegranate lemonade ahead of time and bring a six-pack to top each glass individually. Get the recipe for French Monaco »
Venetian Cup
A mix of Campari, Pimm’s No. 1, and ginger beer, this drink makes an excellent warm weather apéritif. Get the recipe for Venetian Cup
Rhubarb Fizz
This bubbly cocktail makes the most of rhubarb season. Get the recipe for Rhubarb Fizz »
The Charleston Fizz
The floral flavor of gin is a natural match for bright grapefruit and elderflower liqueur in a refreshing cocktail. Fresh tarragon adds an aromatic, peppery anise note. Get the recipe for The Charleston Fizz »
The Soul Train
Tequila and cardamom is an unexpected combination, but it works beautifully with the help of lime and grapefruit juice. Get the recipe for The Soul Train »
Surviving recipes for this once-forgotten cocktail call for a curious ingredient called “red Hembarig.” We have it on good authority that a raspberry shrub works well to replace this mystery ingredient. Get the recipe for Roffignac »
Negroni
This classic cocktail couldn’t be simpler—it’s simply even parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Get the recipe for Negroni »
Strawberry-Lillet Crush
Muddled strawberries and mint star in this refreshing, lightly sweet cocktail that packs a punch. Get the recipe for Strawberry-Lillet Crush »
This refreshing frozen drink from Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right gets its baby pink color and pleasant bitterness from a combination of Campari and fresh grapefruit juice, while a pinch of finely ground yerba maté adds subtle herbal flavor and a gentle caffeine kick—the perfect fuel for a night of revelry. Get the recipe for The Pink Baby »
Strawberry Cachaça Shake
Use an aged cachaça like Avuà Amburana to add warm depth to this fruity drink. Get the recipe for Strawberry Cachaça Shake »
Sicilian 75
Campari and blood orange juice give this twist on the French 75 a beautiful color. Get the recipe for Sicilian 75 »
Bourbon Smash Jelly Shots
This jelly shot is a mix of fresh raspberries and mint with just a touch of bourbon. Get the recipe for Bourbon Smash Jelly Shots »
Raspberry-Rose Collins
The best and most surprising part of this tall, refreshing drink is the taste of rose on the finish. It comes not from any floral ingredient but from the gin—Nolet’s Silver, a brand with a pronounced rosy finish. Get the recipe for Raspberry-Rose Collins »
Plum-Basil Gin Fizz
Deep and sweet, this cocktail is an ideal vehicle for summer’s juicy red plums. Get the recipe for Plum-Basil Gin Fizz »
Cranberry Crush
Spiced rum and fiery ginger beer combine with tart cranberry juice in this flavorful cool-weather cocktail. Get the recipe for Cranberry Crush »
Shrub, the sweet-tart syrup favored by colonial Americans, is simply made by macerating fruit in sugar until the fruit exudes its juice, straining, then adding vinegar. Mixed with rum and soda it makes a bracing drink ideal for summer afternoons. Get the recipe for Blackberry Rum Shrub »
Rose Cocktail
A popular cocktail in 1920s Paris, this delicate concoction gets its soft pink color from the addition of raspberry syrup and its floral notes from vermouth and kirsch, a dry cherry brandy. Get the recipe for Rose Cocktail »
Rock & Rye & Rum Punch
This throat-warming punch is a sophisticated take on the old-timey cold-season cure of tea dosed with Rock and Rye cordial. Get the recipe for Rock & Rye & Rum Punch »
Red Nose Punch
This sweet and tangy cranberry–beer–bourbon punch, delicately spiced with cinnamon-infused simple syrup, is perfect for a festive gathering. Get the recipe for Red Nose Punch »
Sweet and tangy, with the mild smokiness of pink peppercorns and the salty edge of black cured olives, this elaboration of a vodka martini is as grand and glamorous as the wide avenues of Paris. Get the recipe for La Grande Parade de Paris »