Spring Cocktails Fit For a Garden Gathering

In the depths of a cold dark winter, it was almost impossible to believe that spring would ever arrive. And the time has finally come to cast open the back door, step into your garden, and feel the sun warm your face once again. Spring is the season to dust the cobwebs off the patio furniture, create some elegant cocktails, and toast all those long days and alfresco gatherings with your nearest and dearest.

The perfect spring cocktail should be the ideal complement to these post-winter reunions; zesty, fruity, and fizzy with a “special moment” feel. A spring beverage should be just like that early April light; delicate, jewel-toned, and full of promise. And what better way to raise a glass with friends, than with these spring cocktail recipes? 

Strawberry and Rose Mojito

Perfect for an intimate gathering in the garden at dusk, the rose syrup and fresh strawberries in this mojito just sing spring. Evocative of green grass and belly laughs with friends, nothing says spring quite like the scent of roses.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¾ oz white rum
• ⅓ oz Crème de Fraise
• ¾ oz lime juice
• ¼ oz rose syrup
• a handful of mint leaves

SERVING SIZE: 1 COCKTAIL

METHOD

In a highball glass, add white rum, Crème de Fraise, lime juice, rose syrup, and mint leaves. Fill the glass with crushed ice and stir, topping up with sparkling wine and garnishing with mint and strawberries.

Spring Sangria

Sangria is made to be placed in the middle of a festive table and passed around as you make memories; sharing your very best stories about work, life, and catching up on the moments you missed over winter. Light and celebratory, nothing says “springtime catch-up” quite like an elegant crystal pitcher of sangria made for sharing.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle dry white wine
• ¾ cup orange liqueur
• 1 diced lemon
• 1 diced orange
• 6 large diced strawberries
• 1 diced green apple
• 2 cups of lemon-lime soda

SERVING SIZE: 6 COCKTAILS

METHOD

In a large crystal pitcher combine dry white wine, orange liqueur, lemon, orange, strawberries, green apple, and lemon-lime soda. Stir well to combine and serve in double old-fashioned glasses with a handful of ice, and garnish with slices of strawberry and orange.

Blueberry Gin Sour

Catching the spring light in just the right way, this blueberry gin sour is like a precious jewel in your hand. Exactly what you’d conjure in your mind when you imagine holding a “special occasion” drink as you laugh long and hard at a personal joke with your best friends. This blueberry gin sour is just as tart and delicious as it looks.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup of blueberries
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp simple sugar syrup
• 1 ½ oz gin
• 1 egg white

SERVING SIZE: 1 COCKTAIL

METHOD

Muddle blueberries, lemon juice, simple sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add gin and egg white and shake without ice. Add ice and shake to chill. Strain into a tumbler filled with ice or, if you prefer not to have ice, a chilled coupe glass.

Sun-Drenched Mocktails

As soon as spring is in the air, Friday evenings take on a whole new look and feel. Come five o’clock your crystalware is calling you from the kitchen cupboard, just singing out to be the centre of a sunny reunion with friends on the balcony or in the garden. And they don’t need to contain alcohol to be something out of the ordinary. For friends who are driving, or just want a lighter alternative, an elegant mocktail in one hand and a hunk of melting brie on a cracker in the other makes for the perfect way to reunite and catch up on all you’ve missed over winter.

These mocktails are the perfect non-alcoholic alternative and are consumed with your eyes as well as your tastebuds, making them perfect for a moment with your closest friends.

Watermelon Daquiri Mocktail

This watermelon daiquiri is the epitome of spring; smelling divine and tasting like sunshine, it tastes the way those longer spring nights feel.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large pieces of fresh watermelon
• 1 oz lavender syrup
• 1 ½ oz fresh lime juice

SERVING SIZE: 1 COCKTAIL

METHOD

In a cocktail shaker crush watermelon, lavender syrup, and fresh lime juice. Top up the shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, garnishing with a violet petal.

Kiwi Mojito Mocktail

Fresh and fragrant, this zingy kiwi mojito mocktail is perfect for quenching your thirst as you share your favorite nibbles with your friends as the weekend approaches.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 peeled kiwi fruit
• 8 mint leaves
• 2 tbsp simple syrup
• juice of one lime

SERVING SIZE: 1 COCKTAIL

METHOD

Crush together kiwi fruit, mint leaves, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Adding the lime juice, fill your shaker with ice cubes, and shake. Strain into a highball glass over crushed ice and garnish with fresh kiwi fruit and a bouquet of mint.

Nothing creates memories like warm spring evenings filled with reunions, beautiful plates of food, and the perfect cocktail. These are the moments you remember forever, and what better way to mark the occasion than with a timeless Waterford piece. A unique gift for someone you love, Waterford offers engraving on some of our finest crystal stemware, allowing you to carry the memories from spring’s brighter days with you throughout the year.