Campari is red, rosé is pink, make Valentine's Day sweeter with a festive hued drink!
The Hallmark holiday that loves to peddle overpriced chocolates and prix fixe dinner menus in the name of Cupid can be equally -- if not more -- romantic by celebrating the day of love at home, especially with a handcrafted cocktail.
Preparing a loving libation can show someone special how well you know them -- and more importantly, know their palate -- while adding a personal touch and creating a memory for future romantic celebrations together.
And if you're reading this with eyes rolling to the back of your head, thinking, "Where's the love for those of us who are single?", the prospect of a solo, self-care night with any of the delicious sips from the selection below would be equally as fitting and heartfelt.
Julianna McIntosh, author of "Pretty Simple Cocktails," channeled her inner romantic lyricist, Frank Sinatra, for this delicious pink-hued drink duo of the Clover Club, pulling inspiration from Sinatra's hit song, "My Funny Valentine."
"This is the kind of cocktail that feels like it came straight from a top-tier bartender, yet it's crafted right in your own kitchen," McIntosh told "Good Morning America." "With its pretty in pink hue, it's the perfect drink to shake up for two."
She said this classic pre-Prohibition drink made with "a blend of gin, fresh lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and egg white shaken to create that signature frothy top" is a perfect Valentine's Day cocktail because it's "romantic, vibrant, and effortlessly elegant."
McIntosh also shared her simple riff on a classic champagne cocktail, writing in her caption on Instagram alongside the demo video, "If you make just one cocktail this Valentine's Day, let it be the French 75."
To a cocktail shaker add:
4 fresh raspberries
1/2 ounce simple syrup (I used a ginger syrup)
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces gin
Muddle the raspberries, and then shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
Double strain and top with bubbles.
X's and O's aren't just for hugs and kisses. This Mount Gay XO cocktail is perfect for any rum connoisseur and picks up on the caramel, vanilla, and spice notes served neat over a coconut water ice cube, ideal for toasting to love.
Ingredients
2 ounces Mount Gay XO
.25 ounces Dark Crème de Cacao
2 dashes of Orange Bitters
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain over big cube into rocks glass. Garnish with expressed lemon peel.
This fruit-forward reposado concoction taps into the rested sweet, nutty and vanilla flavors of the Maestro Dobel and marries it with citrus, strawberries and rhubarb bitters for a delightful Valentine's Day drink.
Ingredients
2 ounces Maestro Dobel Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounce Agavero Orange Liqueur
1 ounce lime Juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup (1:1)
3 fresh strawberries
3 dashes of rhubarb bitters
Method: Place strawberries in shaker and muddle. Add rest of ingredients to a shaker. Add ice. Shake, and double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Place garnish in drink.
Enjoy cocktails and a show with this smoking sprig of fresh rosemary to punctuate the aromatics of this romantic beverage.
Ingredients
2 ounces Maestro Dobel Diamante Cristalino Tequila
1/2 ounce raw agave syrup
1 ounce grapefruit juice
1/4 ounce lime juice
3 sprigs rosemary
Method: Muddle 2 sprigs of rosemary and agave nectar until the rosemary becomes fragrant.
Add tequila, grapefruit, lime juice and ice to the shaker.
Shake and double-strain into an ice-filled glass.
Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Rob Giles, the director of beverage at New York City hotspot Beefbar, shared his sweet and boozy, balanced with all the romantic flavors of Valentine's Day in a rocks glass.
Ingredients
1.5 ounce Valrhona infused Bourbon (Old Forrester Signature preferred)
.5 ounce white honeysuckle vanilla syrup
1 cocktail barspoon Allspice dram liqueur
Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, stir for 20 seconds and strain into a rocks glass with a large rock. Garnish with 3 drops of Meletti Fernet and a frounceen, Japanese strawberry Kit-Kat on the side.
Giles also crafted this delicate, floral and fruity highball that finishes with a sweet sip of cream soda.
Ingredients
1 ounce Rose flavored Vodka (Ette Rose vodka preferred)
1.25 ounce Strawberry / Kumquat puree
.25 ounce citric acid Solution
1 cocktail bspn Rose liqueur (Giffard rose preferred)
Dash soda water
Method: Add all ingredients to a mixing tin, and shake vigorously with ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled highball glass and then add 1 ounce cream soda (Boylans brand preferred).
Top with a toasted rice foam and dehydrated strawberry juice powder.
Create a lovely rosé ice cube as the centerpiece for this romantic, Cinderella-inspired champagne cocktail from James Grant -- the director of beverage at the luxurious Fairmont Royal York resort in Toronto.
Ingredients
1 ounce Hendrick's gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
5 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1 1/2 ounces Veuve Clicquot champagne
Spray of absinthe
Garnish: Frosé Ball -- Freeze rosé of choice in a spherical ice mold
Method: Combine gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker. Shake well and strain into a coupe glass. Add Veuve Clicquot and a spray of absinthe for a sparkling finish.
Calling all margarita fans: This drink adds just the right amount of sweetness thanks to the fresh strawberry puree, which gives the drink a gorgeous deep pink color. Plus, the addition of mint and balsamic vinegar add a touch of complexity.
Ingredients
2 ounces Teremana Blanco
1 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce agave syrup
1 ounce strawberry puree
2 dashes balsamic vinegar
8 to 20 mint leaves
Method: In a cocktail shaker, add Teremana, lime juice, agave syrup and mint. Gently muddle. Add strawberry puree balsamic vinegar. Shake with ice and strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Nick Wright, an expert bartender and current Dewar's brand ambassador with extensive experience concocting new drinks at some of the top cocktail bars in London and New York, created this sweet "twist on the iconic Boulevardier cocktail."
"The chocolate notes help highlight the rich vanilla notes [of the 12-year-old blended whisky], while the cherry flavors complement the vermouth and bitters in the cocktail, creating a complex and rich cocktail -- perfect to accompany your favorite chocolates on Valentines Day," Wright said.
Ingredients
1.5 ounces Dewar's 12-year scotch whisky
0.75 ounces Martini & Rossi Rubino
0.75 ounces Martini & Rossi Bitter
1 ounce cherry juice
2 dashes chocolate bitters
Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled. Add melted chocolate to base of glass and add cherry and mint as garnish.
Going zero-proof this Valentine's Day? No problem. Check out some delicious drinks without the boouncee below.
The longtime classic mocktail, before the term was trendy, is a simple mix. To a tall glass of ice add an ounce of grenadine, ginger ale and, of course, a couple maraschino cherries to garnish.
Get the best of both worlds with McIntosh's drink/dessert that has all the flavor profiles of a chocolate-covered strawberry.
Check out chef Carla Hall's mocktail version of the popular caffeinated cocktail here.
This story was originally published on Feb. 13, 2025.
