This season, give guests a reason to spring into your bar or restaurant. Just bring a little fresh air to your drink list! Use these 32 spring cocktail recipes for inspiration.
On-Trend Spring Cocktail Recipes
Get the “it” factor. Infuse the National Restaurant Association’s alcohol trends into your spring cocktail recipes.
Culinary Cocktails
This year, bartenders are taking a cue from the kitchen. Trendy spring cocktail recipes feature bright green herbs and other unexpected foodie-approved ingredients.
- Rosemary Blueberry Vodka Spritzer: Rosemary adds an herbaceous twist to fresh and fruity blueberry flavors.
- Cucumber Infused Gin and Grapefruit Fizz: Muddle cucumber and top it with gin, grapefruit, and soda to capture springtime in a glass.
- Bacon Breakfast Cocktails: Say what? Bacon in a martini? Yes, and your guests will love it. Put one of these 3 bacon-forward spring cocktail recipes on your brunch menu…ASAP.
Onsite Barrel-Aged Drinks
Barrel-aging your own drinks is a beverage trend you can easily incorporate into your spring cocktail recipes. Three-liter barrels start at $150 and can be tapped right at the bar.
- Barrel-Aged Last Word: Created in the 1920s at the Detroit Athletic Club, the “Last Word” is a botanical cocktail starring gin, green chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur. This recipe calls for aging your concoction for 4 weeks.
- Aged Negroni: For vermouth lovers, this classic drink delivers bittersweet citrus flavors after being aged for a month in house. It’s one of the simpler spring cocktail recipes that never goes out of style.
- Barrel-Aged Vieux Carré: Bring New Orleans to your bar with this famous French Quarter recipe. First created at the Hotel Monteleone’s Carousel Bar, you can age the cocktail yourself to give your patrons a true taste of NOLA.
Local Ingredients
- Rumbarb: Rhubarb is a versatile vegetable that adds interesting notes – and a ruby red color – to your spring cocktail recipes. This rum drink involves a house-made rhubarb simple syrup…that’s truly simple to make. For fresh rhubarb, head to your local farmers market.
- Housemade Vermouth: Get super local with your spring cocktail recipes: make your own vermouth.
- Your Home State’s Signature Cocktail (with a twist): Check out this Buzzfeed list of signature cocktails across the U.S. Pick the one from your home state and add a twist with house-made simple syrups or infused liquors.
Smell the Roses: Spring Cocktail Recipes with Floral Notes
- Lillet Rose Spring Cocktail: Made with Lillet Rose and ruby red grapefruit juice, this refreshing beverage puts the “spring” in spring cocktail recipes. Add a few edible flower blossoms to make the drink really bloom.
- Aviation Gin Cocktail: With a floral flavor and periwinkle hue, Crème de Violette makes this drink pure eye candy.
- Elderflower Rose Gimlet: This mix of gin, rose water, and elderflower is an elegant take on the classic gimlet.
Holiday-Themed Spring Cocktail Recipes
April Fool’s Day
Calling all practical jokesters! Pull a fast one on your patrons with spring cocktail recipes that trick the eye – then surprise with unexpected flavors.
- Apple Fool’s Martini: The green color and apple garnish say Appletini. But it’s actually made with tequila, green chartreuse and basil leaves.
- Chocolate Cake Shot: This clever cocktail looks like a shot of tequila, with the clear liquid, sugared (not salted!) rim and lemon wedge. But the combination of Frangelico and vanilla vodka tastes just like a piece of warm chocolate cake.
- The Not Manhattan Cocktail: Who knew spring cocktail recipes could be so witty? This one look just like a Manhattan but tastes like one big apple (thanks to apple juice).
Earth Day
Raise a glass to Mother Earth with spring cocktail recipes inspired by nature.
- The Green Vesper: Go green with a house-made arugula simple syrup that adds a unique flavor to this gin and vodka drink.
- Deep Blue Sea Martini: Dive into this ocean-inspired martini, made with blue curacao, vodka, and pineapple juice. This is one of the most eye-catching spring cocktail recipes. Serve with a pineapple wedge.
- Tequila Honey Bee: Honey has always been a popular addition to spring cocktail recipes. This smoky-sweet tequila cocktail will leave your patrons buzzing.
Easter
- Brunch Punch: This refreshing punch can be made in large batches before a busy Sunday brunch. Filled with fruit juices, sparkling sodas, and fresh berry garnishes, this is one of the spring cocktail recipes sure to draw an Easter crowd.
- Lavender Lillet Cocktail: Looking for sophisticated spring cocktails to pair with your Easter brunch? This sparkling lavender cocktail is a beautiful and refreshing step up from the traditional mimosa.
- Raspberry Sorbet Champagne: Spring cocktail recipes that double as desserts, what could be sweeter? This celebratory cocktail involves pouring bubbly over sorbet.
Open Season: Drinks for Spring Sports
Baseball
- The Boilermaker: This American take on a traditional Irish Car Bomb is one of the more casual spring cocktail recipes out there. Just pour a pint of the domestic beer of your choice – and let patrons drop in a shot of whiskey. It also tastes great as a slow sipper for fans looking to pace themselves for nine innings.
- The Mickey Mantle: Celebrate the golden age of baseball with the Mickey Mantle: made with whiskey, club soda, and bitters. Best served with a side of cracker jacks.
- Cooperstown Cocktail: Named for the town that houses the National Baseball Hall of Fame, this minty fresh and orange martini is the perfect recipe for an early afternoon game.
Kentucky Derby
- Mint Julep: The mint julep is the traditional beverage of the Kentucky Derby, and has been for nearly a hundred years. For the most traditional mint julep, follow this recipe – straight from the horse’s mouth.
- Smokin’ Lemon: For spring cocktail recipes that are equal parts smoky and savory, this scotch-based concoction is a sure bet. Served with a charred lemon, it evokes the high-end tailgates at the Derby.
- Jockey Club: Named for the heroes of the race track, this cocktail is like a Southern version of the Manhattan. Made with bourbon, sweet vermouth, and maraschino liqueur, it’ll make guests feel like winners (even if their horse loses).
March Mania
- Bloody Bull: This fresh take on a Bloody Mary is a delicious way to jumpstart a day of watching those bracket-busting games!
- Beer Cocktails: Surprise and delight your patrons: Craft one of these beer-infused spring cocktail recipes.
- Billionaire Cocktail: Put the “mad” into basketball madness with this absinthe cocktail featuring bourbon, lemon juice, and grenadine. (P.S. Today’s absinthes won’t actually make you go nuts.)
Escape with Spring Cocktail Recipes: A Sip of Spring Break
Even if you’re miles from the coast, make locals feel like they’re at the beach with these vacation-inspired spring cocktail recipes.
- Paloma: Add a taste of Mexico to your cocktail menu with the Paloma. A mixture of tequila, grapefruit juice, and lime, it’s the perfect springtime sipper.
- Spiced Rum Guava Green Tea Cocktail: This high-end cocktail is more jet-setter than spring breaker. To level up your drink, follow the recipe for making your own in-house Gunpowder Green Tea syrup.
After a long winter, guests are ready to shake off the winter blues and catch a little spring fever. These spring cocktail recipes will cure their cravings for a refreshing drink – and keep them coming back all season long!
[fl_builder_insert_layout slug=”whitepaper-signup-module-37-trending-happy-hour-menu-ideas”]