ICE BREAKING VALENTINES COCKTAILS

Make your Valentine a Cocktail that Really Pops!

There's more to having a nice cocktail together than simply having a drink. They're thoughtful. Cocktails take time to make and show dedication and careful crafting. They also stimulate the appetites — yes, that's appetites plural — the appetite for food, but also for conversation. Add a bubble on the top of the drink when you serve to wow your guests with a bit of theatre. When you pop the bubble and aromatic smoke plumes out, you have an instant talking piece to break the ice. By making someone a well made mixed drink, you are asking them to spend time in your company, and what could be a better gift to give people in this crazy busy world than the invitation to slow down and savour the moment.

What Kind of Cocktail?

• Have a think about what your beloved loves. Are they the fancy type? Or do they like paired back simplicity?
• What flavours float their boat, and do they prefer an elegant drink or a fun and frivolous one?
• You also need to consider your skill level and how much time and money you want to spend. Shop-bought ingredients can be expensive, but homemade ingredients are generally more complex.
• Try out your recipe a few times and get it right to not feel under pressure when you make it in their company.

A Modern Valentines

Most people these days see Valentines Day as a broad celebration of love, rather than specifically about who you're dating. You can make a bunch of drinks and have your 'Galentines' over, or make a cocktail for yourself as a form of self-love and appreciation. Even your pets get presents these days. So use our collection of recipes like a springboard to innovate yourself. You can always check out our cocktail recipe videos for more inspiration.

The Valentines Cocktail Menu

Each recipe makes one drink. To make two or more, repeat as necessary.

Drunk on Love

This non-alcoholic cocktail will give you the real feeling of a treat without the hangover. You can either buy or make the ingredients yourself.

Mix 20mls of rosemary and raspberry syrup with 50ml of non-concentrated pink grapefruit juice in a stirring glass. Stir the ingredients over ice and strain them into a martini glass. Then pour 100mls of raspberry kombucha to top the drink up and float a fresh raspberry as a garnish. Use the Flavour Blaster to create a rosemary smoke-filled bubble to make it a bit spesh.

Find the ingredients here: Jarr Kombucha, Urban Cordial, Eager Juice and Rosemary Aromatic.

The Heart Throb

This is a strong drink that would suit someone who likes neat spirits, whiskey sours or old fashioned cocktails.

In a cocktail shaker, pour 60mls of Cognac, 30mls of Cherry Herring and 15mls of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Dash two drops of angostura bitters, close the shaker and give it a hard shake over cubed ice. Double strain into either a rock or martini glass (depending on whether you want to drink it over ice or straight up) and drop a maraschino cherry into the glass to garnish. Use the Flavour Blaster to add a neutral smoke-filled bubble to create some drama.

Find the ingredients here: Good quality VS Cognac, Cherry Herring Liqueur, Angostura Bitters.

Woo your Boo

This cocktail is a modern twist on the classic Woo Woo. It makes a great party cocktail.

Add 25ml of vodka 50ml of pomegranate juice to a tall glass, fill to the top with ice cubes and add 100ml of peach iced tea. Add a slice of fresh peach to garnish and stir. Add a passionfruit flavour bubble to the top of the glass. 

Find the ingredients here: Good quality vodka, non-concentrate pomegranate juice, peach iced tea.

Strawberries and Cream Colada

If you and your date have a sweet tooth or want to replace your dessert with a drink instead, this cocktail is perfect.

Melt 50 grams of either white or milk chocolate — your choice — in a heatproof bowl and dip the rim of your serving glass and some strawberries to half-coat them in chocolate, and set them on a plate to dry. Wait for the chocolate to cool completely. In a kitchen blender, mix 30mls of Baileys Strawberries and Cream liqueur with 60mls of coconut rum, then add 8-10 strawberries and a handful of ice. Pour the blended cocktail into the pre-dipped glass and add a chocolate-coated strawberry to garnish. Serve it with a mixed berry smoke-filled bubble and a straw. 

Find the ingredients here: Baileys Strawberries and Cream, Coconut rum.

Love Potion

This is the perfect cocktail for a sexy celebratory toast.

Add 25mls of 100% blue agave silver tequila, 10mls of Cointreau orange liqueur, 25ml of merlot grape juice, and squeeze two lime wedges into a cocktail shaker and give it a good hard shake with cubed ice. Then pour the contents into a champagne glass and top it up with 60mls of prosecco. Garnish with a squeeze of oil from orange zest, and a bergamot flavour bubble.

Find the ingredients here: Good quality blanco Tequila, Cointreau, Merlot grape juice.

There are plenty of ingredients here that you can make yourself, including the kombucha, any syrups, infused spirits and fresh-pressed juices. You don't need to spend lots on the wines or spirits but look for quality markers, so if you're going for supermarket own brands, look for 'finest' or 'best' versions. Always make sure that, much like our aromas, all the flavouring additives and ingredients are all-natural. If you're not sure how to make the bubbles work on top of the drinks, please take a look at our how-to videos to get some practice. Most importantly, let love rule, and have some fun!