A little corny? Maybe. But nothing rounds out a Valentine’s Day menu quite like a pretty-in-pink cocktail to get your evening started. Here are our favorite cocktail recipes for Valentine’s Day.
Touch of Evil Punch
Touch of Evil Punch
Lemons and raspberries add tartness and a beautiful pink hue to this punch, slightly smoky thanks to the addition of mezcal. Get the recipe for the Touch of Evil Punch »
A Lightly Heated Drink Infused with Peppercorns
Sweet-tart strawberries and spicy peppercorns make for a fruity twist on the classic gin and tonic. Get the recipe for the Plymouth Gin Tonic »
A Glass of Tropical Pink Paradise
Use an aged cachaça like Avuà Amburana to add warm depth to this fruity drink. Get the recipe for the Strawberry Cachaça Shake »
Beet Kvass Gimlets
Kvass is a fermented drink traditionally made from rye, but in this version, we use beets, which lend their beautiful red color to the finished cocktail. Get the recipe for the Beet Kvass Gimlets »
Potion of the Desert Dunes
This irreverently named cocktail, composed of grenadine, cardamom, fresh mint, and boukha, a Tunisian fig distillate, comes from Casino de Paris. Located in a former brothel that’s tucked into a courtyard in Jerusalem’s central market, Machane Yehuda, Casino de Paris boasts some of the holy city’s most stupendous sips. Get the recipe for the Pomegranate Fig Smash »
Dainty’s Cranberry Gimlet
Dainty’s Cranberry Gimlet
This pucker-inducing cranberry twist on a Cosmopolitan delivers striking color and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Get the recipe for the Dainty’s Cranberry Gimlet »
An Italian Twist on a French Classic
Sicilian 75
Campari and blood orange juice give this twist on the French 75 a beautiful color. Get the recipe for the Sicilian 75 »
Lose Your Shoes Cocktail
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 the Lose Your Shoes Cocktail »
The Monkey Gland
The Monkey Gland
Credited to Harry McElhone, the famed proprietor of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris where the Bloody Mary originated, the Monkey Gland is a classic 1920s cocktail that balances gin and fresh orange juice with a splash of Absinthe and a little pomegranate grenadine. Get the recipe for the The Monkey Gland »
Saveur’s 21st Anniversary Pastel Cranberry Vodka
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 the Shaker Vodka Cranberry »
The Pink Baby
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 The Pink Baby »
Rock & Rye & Rum Punch
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 the Rock & Rye & Rum Punch »
Red Nose 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 the Red Nose Punch »
Blackberry Rum Shrub
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 the Blackberry Rum Shrub »
Scarlet Starlet
This cocktail brightens up smoky scotch with vanilla cognac liqueur and hibiscus and strawberry syrups. Get the recipe for the Scarlet Starlet »
A Thirst-Quenching Pomegranate Cocktail
In this sweet-tart cocktail with fresh pomegranate juice, vodka brings a spirit backbone while a touch of Cointreau adds rich orange sweetness. Get the recipe for the Fresh Pomegranate Juice Cocktail »
Bicicletta
Traditionally made with white wine, this popular Italian aperitivo gets an aromatic punch with a citrusy American vermouth as a substitute. We prefer Ransom Dry for its notes of candied orange, lemon verbena, and vanilla, but other high-quality dry vermouths will also work well. Get the recipe for the Bicicletta »
Romero and Julieta
Danny Sanchez of Rancho Pescadero in Mexico gave us the recipe for this vibrant, summery cocktail in honor of our 21st birthday. He starts with a tea made from dried hibiscus, then adds tequila, a rosemary-infused simple syrup, and lime juice. Get the recipe for the Romero and Julieta »