Top 8 Valentine’s Day cocktails to get you in the romantic spirit

Whether you’re planning a romantic date night or making cocktails at home with friends, spread the love this Valentine’s Day with cocktails even Cupid couldn’t resist.

Elevate your game on 14 February this year with these five romantic Valentine’s Day cocktails, easy to make at home.

Espresso Martini

While not an aphrodisiac in itself coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that will keep you awake and alert.

The espresso martini therefore, a decadent and dessert-like cocktail in itself, is the perfect way to round of an evening, guaranteed to keep you buzzing into the wee hours.

Ingredients:
100ml vodka
50ml freshly brewed espresso coffee
50ml coffee liqueur
coffee beans to garnish

Bee Mine

Ingredients:
1.5 oz Aberfeldy 12
1 oz espresso
0.5 oz salted honey syrup*

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: 3 espresso beans and gold shimmer

Method: Add Aberfeldy, salted honey and espresso to a shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with 3 espresso beans. It’s as easy as that.

*Salted honey syrup: Add 1 part boiling water to 2 parts honey and two large pinches of sea salt and fully integrate. Let cool before using.

Chelsea Rose

If you are celebrating at home this Valentine’s then one of the following cocktails is sure to impress. Hendrick’s gin is infused with rose petals and cucumber, making it the perfect accompaniment to a romantic night in.

Method: Combine all ingredients into a teapot, stir briskly and leave to brew for a few moments. Pour into an ice filled teacup. Garnish with one fresh raspberry and slice of cucumber.

Ingredients:
50ml Hendrick’s Gin
150ml Cloudy Apple juice
5 Fresh Raspberries
Dash Fresh Lemon

G’Vine Amour

Fred Sirieix, the French maître d’hôtel best known for appearing on Channel 4’s First Dates and BBC Two’s Million Pound Menu, has created the G’Vine Amour; a Valentine’s cocktail that is simple to make at home using just five ingredients.

“Be bold this Valentine’s Day and impress your loved ones by stepping away from classic cocktails,” the Frenchman said. “My G’Vine Amour combines the smoothness of grape with the sweetness of vermouth resulting in a surprising and delicious way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”

Ingredients:
90 ml G’Vine Floraison
4 tsp Lemon Juice
Approx 20 Red Grapes
1 tsp Sugar
60 ml Sweet Vermouth

Method: Blend grapes, gin, lemon juice, sugar, and vermouth until smooth. Strain into a two glasses filled with ice and garnished with lemon peel and a red flower or petal.

Apple of My Eye

Ingredients:
2 parts Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey
4 parts Apple Cider
½ part Honey

Garnish: Apple Slice

Glass: Highball

Method: Add all ingredients to a shaker, using a bar spoon twice to collect the honey. Shake until chilled and fine strain into Highball glass with ice. Garnish with an apple slice.

St Maur’s Valentines’ cocktail

This cocktail was first created for the St Maur founders’ wedding day, and is now being shared with the world.

Ingredients
50ml St Maur
50ml dry gin
Freshly squeeze juice of one lemon
Dry English sparkling wine

Garnish: Dry rose petals

Method: Shake the St Maur, gin, and lemon juice with ice in a cocktail shaker, or stir in a jug with ice. Moisten the rim of two flute glasses with creme de cassis and “ice” with caster sugar. Carefully strain the cocktail mix into the flutes, pouring equally between the two. Top up with a dry English sparkling wine.

Takes Two to Mango

Ingredients:
1.5 oz Aberfeldy 12
5 oz honey syrup
1 oz mango puree
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.25 oz St~Germain
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Ice: Cube

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: Mango spear

Method: Add all ingredients to tins, add ice and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass and fill with ice. Garnish with a spear of fresh mango.

Red Room Passion

Mixologists at London’s Skylounge devised their own saucy cocktail to celebrate the release of 50 Shades of Grey in 2015.

Made with both pomegranate and chillies, which are known to be effective aphrodisiacs, the Red Room Passion cocktail includes…

• 40ml peach puree
• 2 slices of red chilies
• 25ml Xante liquor
• 25ml Kraken Rum
• 20ml gomme syrup (sugar syrup)
• 20ml fresh lime juice

Method: Muddle chillies in the bottom of a Boston glass, shake liquids with ice in a shaker. Strain into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with passion fruit and extra chillies.