Valentine's Day: top co*cktail recipes to woo your beloved (2024)

1. Lupercalia by Jess Cheeseman of Worship Street Whistling Shop, London

Ingredients

2 edible roses (untreated with pesticides)

400ml water

600g caster sugar

3g malic acid

50ml Worship Street Whistling Shop cream gin (purchase online)

Method

First make a rose petal syrup. Cut rose petals away from their stems and put the 10 best petals to one side.

Bring the water to the boil and add the sugar. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes, stirring while it cools.

Add 8 of the rose petals and continue to stir until all sugar is dissolved. Add the malic acid, stir, then leave to rest for 4 hours. Dip the 2 remaining petals in the syrup and freeze until crystallised.

Store the rest of mixture in an airtight bottle in the fridge (for up to 1 week).

When ready to make, add the gin to the rose petal syrup, shake over frsh ice and double strain into a pre-chilled coupe or co*cktail glass.

To garnish:

Float a crystalized rose petal on the surface of the drink and serve on a vintage saucer with a small doily.

2. Angel Face No. 2 by Gareth Aldridge of Hausbar, Bristol

The 'Angel Face' co*cktail first appeared in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy co*cktail book. This simple twist replaces gin for Poire William, a very aromatic, 'punchy' un-aged pear brandy. The drink is perfumed and balanced, and packs a serious but enjoyable hit of liquor. Drink with white chocolate and apples, apricots or pears, sprinked with a small pinch of rock salt.

Ingredients (all can be sourced from a good spirits/wine retailer.)

25ml Poire William (Pear Eau-De-Vie)

25ml Calvados (apple brandy)

25ml apricot brandy (Edmund Briottet Liqueur)

Method

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir. Strain into chilled stemware.

Hausbar, 52 Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2XP

3. ElderLady by Nino of The Maven, Leeds

Ingredients

37.5ml Beefeater 24 Gin

12.5ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

25ml fresh lemon juice

12.5ml sugar syrup (one part basic table sugar to one part water)

One fresh egg white

Method

Dry shake all the ingredients above, then add ice to the shaker and re-shake it again. Double strain it.

To garnish:

An edible flower (e.g. pansy, hibiscus, sweet pea)

4. The Butterfly Effect by Michael Patterson and team at The Merchant, Belfast

This Reviver Style of drink has been named after The Mariposa Butterfly. When creating this drink, our bartender Mark was reminded of a beautiful butterfly that appears in February and smells like a fragrant flower. The quinine in both the tonic water and the Dubonnet work extremely well with the soft style of the barrel-aged Beefeater.

Ingredients

35ml Merchant barrel-aged Beefeater Gin

15ml Dubonnet

15ml lemon juice

10ml grapefruit sherbet

2 dashes rose water

Method

To garnish:

Fresh berries

5. Negroni Amore, by Lucy and Will Lowe from Cambridge Gin

Ingredients

25ml Campari

25ml Martini Rosso

Garnish

Orange slice

Method

This is the a beautifully simple drink to make: simply pour all the ingredients into a glass filled with ice, stir, then enjoy! If you prefer it a little sweeter, use a dash more Martini Rosso and / or squeeze in the juice from your orange garnish.

6. Beet 'n black co*cktail, by the team at The Magazine, London

Ingredients:

15ml fresh lemon juice

50ml Beefeater gin

10ml Beetroot cordial

Method:

Muddle, shake and double drain

To garnish:

Crushed walnut rim (rub the rim of the glass with lemon, then dip into crushed walnuts)

Mint leaf and blackberry

The Magazine, Serpentine Sackler Gallery West Carriage Drive Kensington Gardens W2 2AR

7. Tantric Strawberry Sour, by Carl Brown, Dishoom, London

Ingredients

3 x medium strawberries

3ml balsamic vinegar

15ml sugar syrup

35ml Santa Teresa

1 egg white

Juice of half a lemon

Method

Shake hard, fine strain into a chilled coupe glass and top with prosecco.

To garnish:

A small strawberry or a sliced big strawberry.

Available for £7.90 at Dishoom, 7 Boundary Street and 12 Upper St Martin's Lane, London

8. Casanovas bubblelishas love potion, by Andy Mil of Steam & Rye, London

Ingredients

10ml chocolate vodka

25ml raspberry presse

15ml sugar syrup

20ml lemon juice

Method

Add all the ingredients to a co*cktail shaker with ice cubes, shake it. Strain in to a small perfume-style bottle.

To garnish

Serve with a chocolate lip stick made simply by moulding dark chocolate and popping candy in to a lip stick mould. Then place the chocolate lip stick in a lip stick tube.

Available for £9.50 at Steam & Rye, 147 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3V 4QT

9. Sipsmith Sparkling Damson, by Jared Brown, Sipsmith Master Distiller

Ingredients

Champagne, prosecco or English Sparkling Wine to taste

Method

Pour the Sipsmith Damson Vodka into an ice filled co*cktail shaker, shake well. Pour into a co*cktail flute and top up with fizz.

10. Reverse cowboy, by Arminas Girtavicius, Strip Bar & Steak, London

Ingredients

30ml chocolate and raspberry vodka

15ml Hennessy VS

15ml dry vermouth

25ml rose wine

10ml frangelico

15ml cinnamon syrup

10ml egg white

Method

Add ice to a mixer, add all ingredients, shake and fine strain into chilled coupette glass

To garnish:

Cinnamon stick, edible flower, cinnamon dust

11. Elephant Gin Bramble, by Robin Gerlach

Ingredients

45ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

22.5ml sugar syrup

22.5ml Crème de Mure liqueur

Method

Shake the first three ingredients with ice and strain into glass filled with crushed ice.

Drizzle the liqueur over the drink to create a 'bleeding' effect in the glass. Serve with short straws.

12. Rhubarb Kiss by Matt Lovell, Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack, London

Ingredients

25ml Chase rhubarb liqueur

12.5ml fresh lemon juice

Dash of sugar syrup

Rose Champagne

Method

Chill the champagne coupe with ice. In a boston shaker the Chase rhubarb liqueur, lemon juice and a dash of sugar syrup. Add ice and shake. Remove the ice from the champagne coupe and add strain the mixture into the chilled glass. Top with rose champagne

To garnish:

Float a rose petal