Who says Valentine’s Day is all roses and chocolates? If you’re more into cocktail lounges than cuddly toys, we’ve got your romantic night in sorted. Dress to impress, light the candles, and toast some uniquely tastebud-tantalising drinks together.
Not interested in Cupid’s favourite day? Galentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to get you and your BFFs together to raise a glass and share some fun. Who said it’s just for lovers?! Keep scrolling to find our favourite fruity and unique cocktail ideas, bold and colourful recipes, drinks made for sharing, as well as some non-alcoholic options to keep everyone’s glass overflowing.
Easy Cocktail Recipes
Most of us don’t rock a full cocktail bar kit at home, but creating irresistible drinks doesn’t have to require all the bells and whistles. These ideas are simple enough for any amateur bartender, but tasty enough to impress.
COSMOPOLITAN
What makes it special?
The girls from Sex and the City made this one famous for a reason. It’s a cute pink cocktail that packs a flavourful punch, and one you can drink several of without ever getting sick of the sweet and tart taste combination.
Ingredients
50 ml vodka
15 ml triple sec
30 ml cranberry juice
10 ml lime juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
A twist of orange peel
Method
Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds of the way with ice, then add all your liquid ingredients together. Shake firmly, until the outside of the shaker is very cold. If you don’t have a shaker, you can use a large jam jar or mason jar, just ensure it’s sealed before you shake!
Pour into Martini glasses (or any small glass you have at home). Twist the orange peel above the glass and drop it into the drink.
Twist it up
For a little more bite, add an extra 5 ml of lime juice in each serving. If you want a more mature taste with oaky vanilla notes, swap your triple sec for Grand Marnier.
NEGRONI SBAGLIATO
What makes it special?
You’ve probably seen it all over TikTok, and for good reason. This delicious cocktail might be trending because it’s “stunning”, but it’s also really easy to make without any fancy kit.
Ingredients
45 ml Campari
45 ml sweet vermouth
45 ml Prosecco
A slice of orange
Method
In a highball, or short drinking glass, pour the Campari and vermouth straight in and top with half a glass of ice. Stir to combine. Then just pour over the Prosecco slowly to let it mingle. Pop your orange slice into the glass. Yes, it’s that simple!
Twist it up
You can make this longer and less intense by using a taller glass and topping up with as much Prosecco as you prefer. A Sbagliato is already a “mistake” - that’s what the name means. So choose a twist with a traditional negroni, where the Prosecco is replaced with a shot of gin and topped with sparkling water.
SIDECAR
What makes it special?
Crisp and tart, this cocktail makes a break from sweet options for something that’s totally zingy. Perfect if your tooth isn’t too sweet, and really easy to whip up in a flash.
Ingredients
60 ml bourbon whisky
30 ml triple sec
25 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
A twist of lemon peel
Method
Fill a shaker (or whatever you’re shaking with) full of ice cubes and add all your wet ingredients. Shake it up very firmly until the outside gets cold. Then hold back the ice and pour into a Martini glass, or any other small glass. Twist your lemon peel over the glass and drop it in.
Twist it up
Make it into a Pisco Sour by swapping out the bourbon for pisco brandy - it’s a different flavour with a sour plum note and none of the sourmash sweetness of bourbon. Or if it’s a little too tart, add a dash of sugar syrup in your shaker to take the edge off.
Punch Cocktail Recipes
Not interested in being a bar whizz all night? Whipping up batch cocktails is the perfect remedy, so you can keep your glasses charged with something delicious, without ever interrupting the flow of fun on a night together.
ROSÉ SANGRIA
What makes it special?
Who doesn’t want to reminisce about sunsets spent with a full glass of sangria? Recreate the feel of Spanish seaside at home with this pitcher that’s got a twist on the traditional thanks to its inclusion of rosé instead of red.
Ingredients
1 Bottle of Rosé Wine
80 ml triple sec
3 tbsp white sugar
400 g strawberries
2 oranges (1 to slice, 1 to squeeze)
1 lime
A bunch of mint leaves
Sparkling water to serve
Method
Take a large pitcher jug and fill it halfway with ice, before pouring in the full bottle of wine. Add your triple sec and sugar. Remove the stalks from the strawberries and slice them up, along with 1 orange and your lime. Add all the fruit, and squeeze in the other orange’s juice. Add the mint leaves. Now, stir vigorously to combine everything. You can press the strawberries as you stir to mash out some extra juices.
Pop into the fridge and let the flavours combine, ideally for up to 2 hours before serving. When it comes time to drink, add a few ice cubes to a wine glass and half fill it with the mixture. Then top it with sparkling water and a straw.
Twist it up
Add 150 ml of grapefruit juice to the mix to make it even more sharp and juicy. If you want something stronger, swap the triple sec for vodka and lose the syrupy orange notes of the liqueur.
FROZEN MANGO DAIQUIRI
What makes it special?
Fruity cocktails are a surefire crowd pleaser, but daiquiris always turn up the volume thanks to their intense flavours and frozen serving. Mix up a blender-full at a time, and say cheers as the icy tropical tipple goes down.
Ingredients
250 ml white rum
300 ml mango juice
350 g mango chunks (frozen or fresh)
60 ml lemon juice
Method
Add all your ingredients into a blender with two handfuls of ice cubes, and simply blitz and blitz until it’s smooth. If it’s a little too thick add more juice, a little water or extra ice and blend it again. Pour into a stemmed glass (so your guests don’t get cold hands when they drink) and top with a maraschino cherry.
Twist it up
Add some extra sweetness with 100 ml of triple sec, or 80 ml of sugar syrup if you don’t want the extra alcohol content. Swap out white rum for coconut rum to make it extra tropical and beachy.
PINK COLADAS
What makes it special?
Do you like pina coladas? The song’s stayed famous for a reason, because we certainly do. This recipe gives that slightly old fashioned, creamy original a new life with coconut water instead of milk, and a fresh and tempting pink and pineapple twist.
Ingredients
400 ml coconut rum
800 ml cranberry juice
450 ml coconut water
350 ml pineapple juice
Pineapple wedges
Method
Fill your pitcher jug a third of the way with ice, then pour all your liquid ingredients in and stir with gusto! Fill a tall glass halfway with ice, and pour the punch to the top. Dress the glass with a wedge of pineapple.
Twist it up
Get back the traditional creaminess of the original pina colada by replacing half of the coconut water with coconut cream. You can pop this recipe in your blender for an even creamier result thanks to the blended ice.
Colourful Cocktail Recipes
Don’t let the tastebuds be the only thing you dazzle on your big night. These cocktails are made to delight the eye too, with bright and bold ingredients that’ll help you wow your drinking partner (or partners)!
BLUE MARGARITA
What makes it special?
Who doesn’t love sharing a margarita? The classic, Mexican tequila cocktail gets a new lease on life in this dazzling blue version. It’s just as zesty, and boozy as ever, with an extra sweetness on top. You’ll want more than two.
Ingredients
50 ml tequila (reposado is best)
25 ml blue curaçao
25 ml lime juice
Flaky sea salt
Lime wedges
Method
First you need to prep your glass, so take a lime wedge and run it along the rim of a stemmed cocktail glass. Now pour a thin layer of salt flakes onto a plate, and run the wet glass rim around in the salt.
Pour your liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker with 5 cubes of ice. Shake it very hard until the outside is freezing cold. Hold back the ice and pour the drink into your prepped glass, and serve.
Twist it up
Try a spicy chilli salt rim if you like a little extra kick on your cocktail, it goes so well with the tequila and lime combination!
ARIZONA MULE
What makes it special?
Sweet and spicy and eye-poppingly pink, this cocktail requires a rare cactus syrup ingredient that’s worth hunting down. The unusual sweetness will have you coming back for them time and again. It’s half Moscow Mule, half Margarita, all deliciousness.
Ingredients
60 ml blanco tequila
30 ml prickly pear syrup (or if you can’t source it, here are some alternatives)
15 ml lime juice
250 ml ginger beer
Lime wedges
Method
Take a shaker and add 5 ice cubes, then pour the tequila, syrup and lime juice inside. Shake it up until it’s cold to touch. Now take a tumbler glass and half fill it with ice, before straining your shaker mix on top. Pour over the ginger beer and add a lime wedge to the rim or inside the glass.
Twist it up
If tequila isn’t your thing, you can swap the alcohol in this one for vodka. The taste will be simply sweet, tart, and warmingly gingery.
Virgin Cocktail Recipes
Prefer to leave behind the booze? Whether you’re always alcohol-free, or you simply want to enjoy a deliciously refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail now and again, these recipes are just as impressive as the high-percentage options.
PASSIONFRUIT AND ELDERFLOWER SPRITZ
What makes it special?
Fizzy, fruity and a little bit floral? Sign us up straight away. You won’t miss the alcohol content in this sweet and tart combination that’s full flavoured thanks to the elderflower. And who doesn’t love a little sparkle too?
Ingredients
50 ml passion fruit juice
25 ml lemon juice
2 tsp elderflower cordial
150 ml sparkling water
Method
This cocktail doesn’t use ice, so it’s important to make sure all your ingredients are fully chilled in the fridge before you start to make it. Take a champagne flute glass, or substitute with a small wine glass if you need to. Pour in the passion fruit and lemon juices, followed by the cordial. Stir gently in the glass. Then top slowly with your sparkling water. If the juices aren’t mingling, give it one slow stir to combine.
Twist it up
For a more tropical take on this fruity spritzer, take away the elderflower and add 20 ml coconut water and a dash of sugar syrup. You’ll lose the floral and add a beach resort feel instead.
BLOOD ORANGE MOJITO
What makes it special?
Two twists on a classic keep this version of the Mojito from being a cocktail cliché. First off, the addition of the grown-up citrus flavours of blood orange make this taste instantly unique. Secondly, it does away with the rum to keep you sipping for as long as you want.
Ingredients
45 g fresh squeezed Blood Orange juice
4 teaspoons white sugar
4 lime wedges
5 mint leaves
150 ml sparkling water
Method
In a tall glass, pop the lime wedges, sugar and mint into the glass and muddle vigorously. If you don’t have a cocktail muddler, use a long wooden spoon to press the ingredients to release their juices and oils, until you can smell the fragrances combining.
Pour over the orange juice and stir roughly again, then fill the glass one third of the way with ice. Top with the sparkling water and give it once last stir, serving with a straw. You can add extra slices of lime and orange as an attractive garnish.
Twist it up
Replace the sugar with a dash of honey for something a little more unique - the flavour goes so well with the blood orange juice. If you don’t mind adding something with a trace amount of alcohol, add two dashes of orange bitters in yours for a whole new depth of flavour.
Need more inspiration to make your date night in pop? We’ve got it covered. Don’t forget to find the right gifts for your Valentine too.
