Sakura Dreams cocktail
The chill is breaking and spring has officially sprung. It's time to sit back, relax and enjoy the mood-lifting weather with a sweet and fruity cocktail.
Celebrate all the vibes the season brings with a mix of rich flavors, sweet tastes and refreshing sips that brings this series of spring-inspired cocktails to life.
See Also: Four Fierce, Femme Bartenders Share Their Most Inspired Cocktail Recipes
Crafted by some of the country's leading bartenders and submitted for your pleasure, these cocktail recipes blend floral brightness with fruity ingredients perfect for the blossoming season.
Created by Erik Andersson, Hendrick’s Gin Brand East Coast Ambassador, this refreshing sip mixes sweet and tart with a bit of honey and lime.
Ingredients:
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and stir well to incorporate honey. Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled stemmed glass. Top with a splash of sparkling wine and garnish.
From the fine folks at Nolet’s gin, this recipe uses the peach and orange blossom botanical from Ketel One vodka to create a boozy but bright peach-flavored specialty.
Ingredients:
Directions: Add Muddle peach slices in a cocktail shaker with Nolet’s Silver, Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom. Add ice, shake and strain into a martini glass. Add two dashes of peach bitters. Garnish with orange twist.
This recipe by Meghan Dorman, Bar Director of Dear Irving and The Raines Law Room in New York City, features Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru gin and a floral array of bitters, lemon and other additions.
Ingredients:
Directions: Add saline, bitters, lemon juice, Licor 43, Lillet and Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru to a shaker. Shake well with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with one small edible flower.
Who doesn’t love a bit of kombucha! It’s good for your gut microbiome, and while markets do sell hard kombucha these days, this cocktail from Mezcal UNIÓN tastes even more spring-time fresh.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin. Add ice, shake and strain into an ice filled rocks glass, rimmed with Tajin. Garnish with a watermelon spear.
Rosé all day! Especially when it’s from Mumm Napa and you spice it up with a bit of raspberries and lime.
Ingredients:
Directions: Muddle lime wheels, raspberries and sugar. Rest until sugar is dissolved. Strain using fine mesh strainer. Add 1 part compote and 5 parts Mumm Napa Brut Rosé to a glass. Garnish with additional raspberries and lime wheels. Enjoy!
Gran Centenario concocted this delightfully flavorful cocktail, mixing bitter grapefruit with the brightness of tequila and prosecco for a complex play on a mimosa.
Ingredients:
Directions: In a cocktail shaker, combine the grapefruit juice, tequila and honey. Shake until well mixed and pour into a mimosa glass. Pour Prosecco or sparkling wine on top. Garnish with a grapefruit slice and serve.
Hat tip to El Bandido Tequila who bring us this Dancing Lady. The taste of strawberry-infused tequila compliments the tastes of blood orange juice, rose prosecco and rose cordial. This sweet cocktail has a kick that'll help you spring into action.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Chop up enough fresh strawberries to loosely fill a 16 oz jar. Fill the jar to the top with blanco tequila, and allow to infuse for anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. Strain out the liquid, pour it back in the jar, and eat or discard your strawberries. Combine the infused tequila with blood orange juice and rose cordial in a mixing glass with ice. Stir quickly to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Top off with chilled rosé prosecco, and garnish with a blood orange slice.
Another from El Bandido, this Jingle Juice will bring joy to your taste buds with the tangy tastes of pineapple, lime and grapefruit juice. With its strong citrus flavors, this cocktail is perfect for your after-work cocktail pick-me-up.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and whip shake with a small amount of ice. Pour into a gorgeous double rocks glass filled with pebble ice. Garnish with pineapple fronds, a dehydrated pineapple slice, and a hopefully non-poisonous flower.
Created by Alex Teisanu, CEO and Director of Atlantic Grill in New York City, the White Flower is not only pretty to look at but brings an uplifting taste with sweet and tangy additions. The White flower is perfect for your next girls’ night, and will get you ready for the springtime bloom.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Shake all ingredients and double strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Created by Brian Evans of Sunday in Brooklyn, you can enjoy the springtime breeze with this Japanese Whiskey cocktail in hand. The Kyoto Yacht Club is made with Suntory Toki Japanese Whiskey infused with hints of cherry, lemon and cucumber.
Ingredients:
Directions:
To make the cherry syrup, combine 1 cup of tart cherry juice with 1 cup of white granulated sugar in a small saucepan on an induction burner, and heat on a low simmer for approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring to combine. Let cool, then refrigerate for up to two weeks. To finish the cocktail, build the ingredients in a wine glass filled with cubed ice, and lightly stir to incorporate.
Created by Natasha Velez, Master Mixologist of Davos Brands, this cocktail showcases one of Japan’s most beloved spirits, made with TYKU Junmai Sake. The Sakura Dreams creates a complimentary taste with floral ingredients mixed with the long-loved Japanese spirit.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients but the sparkling wine into a cocktail shaker, shake and strain into coupe glass. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with edible flower. Velez suggests cherry blossom syrup from 1883, Monin and Floral Elixir brands.
Another by Velez, this floral sip adds a sprinkle of matcha powder for a pop of green that will please the eye and bring a unique taste. In honor of the cherry blossom season, the Cherry Blossom Sour is the ideal cocktail for enjoying the beauty of springtime and sunny days ahead.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix all ingredients into a cocktail shaker without ice. Dry shake for 1 min, then add ice and shake again. Double strain into a sour cocktail glass or coupe. Sprinkle yuzu salt and matcha powder over the cocktail, and garnish with flowers.
Created by Alex Teisanu, CEO and Director of Atlantic Grill in New York City, this cocktail will seriously step up your spritz game. Serve this at your next luncheon or patio party to guarantee satisfaction with its refreshing tastes of Pasqua Prosecco and Limoncello Vivere.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine the prossecco, limoncello, Ramazotti and Cointreau into a red wine glass over ice, then stir everything together. Top with club soda, and garnish with fresh basil and a lemon slice.
This spritz comes courtesy of Iichiko Shochu, one of the highest grades of the Japanese spirit. A white spirit with hints of jasmine tea and white peach, the Citrus Spritz cocktail compliments the Iichiko Saiten with its tangy addition of lime and grapefruit juice.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix all ingredients except the club soda into a cocktail shaker with Ice. Shake, then strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with club soda and garnish with mint and a grapefruit wheel
Another for Howm, this twist on the classic Blood Marry is the perfect springtime brunch cocktail. With a tomatillo-base, it can be made with either tequila or vodka and is definitely with freshly-juiced veggies. Create the perfect wake-up call with a spicy kick from ancho verde.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Build ingredients in a footed beer glass over ice. Stir to incorporate and garnish with a cucumber stripe.
Straight from the bar of HOWM Cocina + Cocktails in New York City, this delightful drink is perfect for your evening patio cocktail hour. The Howm Negroni brings the classic bitter taste with a twist. The strawberry vermouth gives this drink some sweetness and is complemented with the depth of the cacao and chipotle-infused Campari.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a shaker over ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice.
Mix a little blueberry and lime with your rum, and how can you go wrong? This cocktail screams spring with its sweet and powerful flavors, creating the perfect springtime mojito. BacardÍ put this recipe together, using its lime-flavored rum to make this cocktail a must-have at patio parties.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Muddle blueberries in a highball glass, then add the mint and gently press to release the oil. Add crushed ice and BacardÍ Lime Flavored Rum, then stir to incorporate. Top with BacardÍ Lime and Soda Real Rum Cocktail, and add more crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a mint sprig.
Another from BacardÍ, the Cuatro Smash is a fresh drink to sip while chilling in the spring-time sun. With ruby red grapefruit juice and BacardÍ Añejo Cuatro, this vibrant cocktail will help you ring in the new season with refreshing taste.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Combine the first three ingredients in a shaker with plenty of ice, and shake. Strain into a highball glass filled with crushed or cubed ice. Top with tonic water. Garnish with a grapefruit peel and a mint spring.
This refreshing cocktail was created by Federico Doldi, Food and Beverage Director of Gansevoort Meatpacking hotel in NYC. Enjoy it year-round at The Gansevoort Rooftop, or indulge in its flavor in your own home with the recipe below!
Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix the Martini Fiero and St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur together in a wine glass with ice. Top with a splash of prosecco, add a fresh slice of grapefruit, and enjoy!
Now that you've got a slew of spring-themed cocktail for your first seasonal soiree, pair your glass with a beautiful spring manicure and try one of these designs from celeb nail artist Naomi Yasuda.
Photography by: Courtesy of Hendrick's Gin; Courtesy of Nolet’s; Courtesy of Bombay Sapphire; Courtesy of Mezcal Union; Courtesy of Mumm Nape; Courtesy of Gran Centenario; Courtesy of El Bandido Tequila; Courtesy of Atlantic Grill; David Cotsworth; Courtesy of Davos Brands; Courtesy of Iichiko Shochu; Courtesy of Howm NYC; Courtesy of Bacardi; Courtesy of Gansevoort Meatpacking
