8 floral cocktails to make at home to usher in the spring season

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Spring has sprung in Northeast Ohio, which means that warm weather is looming, flowers are blooming and everyone is itching to get outside.

Whenever seasons change, so do our tastebuds. Many people tend to naturally crave the flavors of the season, such as the floral freshness that comes with the dawn of spring.

To celebrate the start of spring, we’ve gathered up 8 floral cocktail recipes worth making at home to usher in the season. The drinks include notes of elderflower, rose, lavender and beyond for blossoming notes in every sip.

Cherry Blossom Martini

The blooming cherry blossom trees are a tell-tale time of spring, so this martini translates that into a cocktail. The addition of hibiscus liqueur gives the drink its pastel pink hue.

Ingredients

1.75 oz. Fierce & Kind American Vodka

1 oz. Vermouth blanc

.25 oz. Sorel hibiscus liqueur

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Fill with ice and stir for 30 seconds or until very cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an edible flower.

Lychee Rose Gin Spritz

Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin looks like spring in a bottle thanks to its delightful deep pink hue. It’s complemented by notes of lychee and rose in this refreshing spritz.

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin

.5 oz. Fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. Rose jam

2 oz. Soda water

4 pieces of lychee

Garnish: lemon juice

Instructions

Muddle lychee in a shaker. Add ice and lemon juice; mix well. In a glass, add rose jam and fill it with ice cubes. Pour the lychee mixture into the glass and add soda. Float Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin on top. Garnish with lemon juice.

Normandy Flower Calvados Cocktail

For those looking for a floral cocktail with a unique base spirit, the Normandy Flower Calvados cocktail is their ticket. The apple-based spirit is complemented by elderflower and citrus for a bright sip.

Ingredients

2 oz. Boulard Calvados VSOP

.5 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

.25 oz. Fresh lemon juice

4 oz. Tonic water

Orange peel for garnish

Instructions

Add Calvados, St Germain and lemon juice into a mixing glass with a large ice cube. Mix well and pour into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with tonic water. Take an orange peel and express the oils over the top of the drink. Drop the peel in the glass.

The Bang Bang

Mezcal lovers can appreciate this complex cocktail created by James Cottingham featuring hibiscus liqueur. Not only is it an easy sipper, but its deep pink hue makes it hard not to snap a photo before you finish your cocktail.

Ingredients

.5 oz. Sorel

1.5 oz. Del Maguey Vida Mezcal

.5 oz. lime juice

1.5 oz. Pink grapefruit juice

.5 oz. Peppercorn syrup

1 dash Bitterman’s Hellfire bitter

Orange peel garnish

Instructions

Fill a shaker with ice. Add the mezcal, Sorel, lime, pink grapefruit, and peppercorn syrup to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice. Add the dash of Bitterman’s hellfire bitters. Garnish with an orange peel.

Avissi Botanical Breeze

This cocktail is a take on a French 75 that’s infused with lavender syrup for a floral edge. It makes for a great alternative brunch cocktail to the traditional mimosa or bellini.

Ingredients

.75 oz. Gin

.75 oz. Lavender syrup

.25 oz. Lemon juice

Avissi Prosecco

Instructions

Combine gin and lavender syrup in a mixing tin. Fill 2/3 with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a Champagne flute and top with Prosecco. Garnish with lavender sprig.

Stories by Alex Darus

Hibiscus Basil Lemonade

Lemonade already screams spring, so it only amps up the vibes by adding the floral elements of hibiscus to a cocktail. This drink gets its booze from Crystal Head Aurora vodka for a clean and smooth sip.

Ingredients

2 oz. Crystal Head Aurora Vodka

1 oz. Fresh lemon juice

1 oz. Hibiscus syrups

3-4 basil leaves

Club soda

Instructions

Add Crystal Head Aurora, fresh lemon juice, hibiscus syrup and basil leaves to a cocktail shaker and gently muddle. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a Collins glass with ice and top with soda. Garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel and basil leaves.

Glendalough Rose Martini

Another drink for rose lovers is Glendalough’s spin on a martini. The brand’s rose gin is the star of the show that’s complemented by elderflower liqueur.

Ingredients

1.5 oz. Glendalough Wild Rose Gin

.5 oz. Dry vermouth

.5 oz. Elderflower liqueur

Lemon twist for garnish

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until very cold. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Prickly Pear & Agave Margarita

Most tequila drinks opt for citrus flavor profiles, but this option crafted by Manny Hinojosa for Tequila Cazadores is the best of both worlds. It pairs prickly pear and lime with elderflower for a floral and fruity flavor combination.

Ingredients

1.5 oz.Tequila Cazadores Blanco

.25 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1 oz. Lime juice

.75 oz. Agave nectar

1 oz. Fresh prickly pear puree

Salt rim

Instructions

In a mixing glass, add all the ingredients with ice, shake and serve on the rocks (salt rim optional).

Alex Darus writes about food, dining and drinking for Cleveland.com, check out her latest posts here. You can reach her with story ideas at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram @alex_darus.

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