16 Cocktails for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is all about romance and indulgence. Show your guests—singles and couples—some love this Feb. 14 with specialty cocktails that express the sentiments of the holiday. Here are 16 recipes to consider.

Strawberry Flirtini
1 ½ oz. Ciroc Red Berry vodka
½ oz. Fragoli strawberry liqueur
½ oz. Pomegranate juice
¾ oz. Lemon juice
2 Strawberries, muddled
1 oz. Champagne

Add all the ingredients to a shaker except the Champagne and garnish. Fill with ice and shake. Strain into a Martini glass and top with Champagne. Garnish with marigold flowers, strawberries and pomegranate.

The mixologists at Byblos Miami created this recipe.

Ever Thine, Ever Mine 
(Shown atop)
1 ½ oz. Kerrygold Irish Cream liqueur
1 ½ oz. Koskenkorva vodka
¾ oz. Pama pomegranate liqueur 

Combine ingredients and shake. Pour in a coupe glass and garnish with raspberries.

Pamela Wiznitzer of Seamstress in New York created this recipe.

Smoked Chocolate Raspberry Grenache Martini
½ oz. Mezcal
1 ¼ oz. Light crème de cocoa
1 ¼ oz. Godiva Chocolate liqueur
3 Raspberries (not muddled)
Dash chocolate syrup

Combine ingredients. Shake and strain into Martini glass. Garnish with a 3 raspberries on a pick and chocolate-powder rim.

The mixologists at The Loews Regency Bar & Grill in New York created this recipe.

Red Tempest
1 ½ oz. Crystal Head vodka
½ oz. Amaretto
1 oz. Fresh orange juice
2 oz. Soda
½ oz. Monin Wildberry purѐe
¼ oz. Monin Exotic Citrus syrup
Fresh rosemary sprigs

Stir vodka, wildberry purѐe, amaretto, orange juice, and exotic citrus syrup in shaker until all ingredients have dissolved. Add ice and a sprig of rosemary to shaker. Shake well then strain into a cocktail glass with ice. Top with soda. Skewer blackberries on a sprig of fresh rosemary for garnish.

The mixologists at Crystal Head created this recipe.

Strawberry Mamie Taylor
2 parts Monkey Shoulder Scotch
½ part Lemon juice
¾ part Ginger syrup
¼ part Strawberry puree
Soda

Combine first 4 ingredients and shake. Pour into rocks glass with ice and top with soda.

Giuseppe Gonzalez of Suffolk Arms in New York created this recipe.

Bitter Love
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Carpano Antica
½ oz. Grapefruit juice
½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Simple syrup
4 Raspberries
1 Egg white

Muddle berries and simple syrup in a tin. Add remaining ingredients and two cubes of ice. Shake vigorously and double strain in to coupe glass. Garnish with 3 raspberries on a pick.

Cassie Hesse, beverage director of international hospitality firm Ellis Adams Group, created this recipe.

Love Boat
1 ½ oz. Ketel One Vodka
½ oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. Passionfruit/pear syrup*
¾ oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 ½ oz. Passion fruit La Croix

Combine all ingredients except the La Croix in a cocktail shaker, adding ice. Shake and strain liquid into a glass. Add passionfruit LaCroix (or other flavored club soda of your choice). Garnish with a mint sprig and a dehydrated lime wheel.

*For Passionfruit-pear syrup:
1 cup pear juice
1 cup passionfruit juice
1 cup granulated sugar

Combine and heat until sugar dissolves.

The mixologists at Cold Storage in Chicago created this recipe.

Chocolate Negroni
1 oz. Bombay Sapphire gin
¾ oz. Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Rubino
¾ oz. Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Bitter
¼ oz. Dark crème de cacao
3 dashes Chocolate bitters

Stir and strain on ice into an etched rocks glass. Garnish with orange wedge and grated Valrhona chocolate.

The mixologist at Bombay Sapphire created this recipe.

The Hot Date
1 ½ oz. Bombay Sapphire East gin
½ oz. Blanco tequila
½ oz. Date syrup
4 dashes Blue Lotus tincture
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Dash (or more) Capsaicin tincture

Stir well without ice. Serve neat in a brandy snifter over a candle flame, garnish with 1 spray of rose water.

Mixologist Justin Lavenue created this recipe.

Single Rose
4 oz. Clase Azul Plata tequila
1 ½ oz. Fresh lime juice 
½ oz. La Pinta Pomegranate tequila
4 tsps. Agave nectar
Champagne or sparkling wine

In a shaker, place lime juice, tequilas and agave nectar. Fill shaker halfway with ice. Shake ingredients for 15 to 20 seconds, or until chilled. Strain and fill flute to ¾ glass, fill the rest with Champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon or lime peel.

The mixologists at Clase Azul created this recipe.

Jello Shot Valentines
¼ cup Three Olives Naked Vodka
3 oz. Flavored Jello (small box)
1 tsp. Unflavored gelatin
1 cup Boiling water
¼ cup Cold water

For each flavor: In a medium bowl, add cold water and unflavored gelatin. Wait 1 to 2 minutes and add Jello powder and boiling water. Continue stirring until Jello is completely dissolved; add vodka and set aside to cool a bit. Pour into molds on a flat surface in your refrigerator. Let molds chill for at least an hour. Work slowly out of the silicon molds.

The mixologists at Three Olives created this recipe.

Amor Prohibido
2 oz. Pisco
¾ oz. Honey syrup
¾ oz. Lemon juice
2 Strawberries

Add all ingredients to a shaker. Muddle, shake and strain into coupe glass. Garnish with a strawberry.

Feisser Stone, founder/creative director of cocktail lifestyle company Barlingual, created this recipe.

Casa Bellini  
1 oz. Casamigos Blanco tequila
1 oz. Peach puree by Perfect Puree
2 Red raspberries 
Prosecco or Champagne

Combine all ingredients into tin shaker, except prosecco. Muddle fruit. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into Champagne flute and top off with chilled prosecco. Garnish with a raspberry through skewer. 

The mixologists at Casamigos created this recipe.

Love Of A Lifethyme
1 oz. Patrón Silver tequila
½ oz. Lemon juice
¼ oz. Pomegranate syrup
¼ oz. Honey
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Prosecco
Absinthe

Shake first five ingredients with ice. Then strain into an absinthe-rinsed coupe, top with a float of prosecco and garnish with a fresh thyme sprig.

The mixologists at Patrón created this recipe.

Flor Adora
1 ½ oz. Plymouth gin
¾ oz. Lemon juice
¾ oz. Small Hand Foods raspberry gum syrup
4 oz. Bruce Cost ginger ale

Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice, garnish as desired.

The mixologists at Bruce Cost created this recipe.

Smoking Rose Paloma
5 oz. Q Drinks grapefruit soda
2 oz. Mezcal
¾ oz. Fresh lime juice
½ oz. Rose simple syrup

To create flower ice (optional): Fill a glass ¼ full with water. Add rose petals and prop on its side in the freezer, making sure it doesn’t spill. Let freeze completely. Add all liquid ingredients except grapefruit soda into a shaker. Shake well and strain into the glass with the flower ice, top with the soda and stir. Garnish with grapefruit slice and rose petals.

Ashley Conway of Craft and Cocktails created this recipe.

Melissa Dowling is editor of Cheers Magazine. Reach her at mdowling@epgmediallc.com.

The post 16 Cocktails for Valentine's Day first appeared on Beverage Dynamics.