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The best Valentine's Day cocktails to impress in 2025
We support any holiday that involves cocktails
We'll take any excuse for a round of delicious drinks, so we're definitely in the market for a Valentine's Day cocktail.
Whether you're a love-aholic and Valentine's Day is basically a national holiday for you, or you're less into the conventions of the day and more into Galentine's celebrations, these easy recipes have your name on. Boozy or not, there is something so fun about getting out your finest glassware, inviting your mates round and making a full-on mess in the kitchen. Especially when the finished product makes you feel so fancy.
Here are our favourite Valentine's Day themed cocktails for 2025, perfect for a romantic evening with your special someone, whether that's your friends, your partner, yourself or the dog, raise a glass!
Pink bikini
With coconut rum, amaretto and pink lemonade, this gorgeous pink drink just screams *flirty vibes*, doesn't it? And with no additional cocktail equipment this is one of the easiest Valentine's Day cocktails to make.
Gimlet
Ok so if you'd rather not go the traditional pink route, and just want an uber chic cocktail to impress, especially if it's a first date, then a gimlet is as easy as it gets. With only two ingredients - gin and lime juice - you'll be able to make it in minutes.
Hibiscus margarita
Up your classic marg game by adding an easy homemade hibiscus syrup. The vibe is floral and fancy. This one is a bit more work and will take 10 minutes to make but it's worth it for the flavour.
Pink squirrel
C'mon, with a name like that how could this not be an ideal bev for Valentine's Day? It just uses three ingredients - Crème De Noyaux liqueur, White Creme De Cacao and single cream - to make a super creamy concotion.
Bramble
A bramble cocktail is a total classic, and the pink hue and fresh berry flavours make it ideal for Valentine's Day dipping or for a Galentine's Day party with your closest friends. It uses four ingredients and will take just five minutes to prepare.
El Mayor Honey & Cranberry Spritz
A tequila based spritz? We think we're in love.
Ingredients
- 60ml El Mayor® Blanco Tequila
- 30ml Cranberry Juice
- 15ml Honey Simple Syrup
- 15ml Lemon Juice
- 45ml Prosecco
Method
To make the honey syrup boil equal parts honey and water. Shake all ingredients over ice. Top off with prosecco and roll. Strain into martini glass.
Winter Spice Negroni
It can never hurt to add a touch more spice into your Valentine's Day plans, so why not infuse your negroni?
Ingredients
- 25ml Campari
- 25ml Wild Turkey Rye
- 25ml Bottega Cinzano 1757
- Cinnamon and orange peel
Method
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and stir. Strain over a large block of ice and garnish.
Pink margarita
What says Valentine's Day more than a pink drink?
Ingredients
- 30ml Cointreau L'Unique
- 60ml Tequila
- 30ml lime juice
- grapefruit soda, to top up
Method
Add all ingredients except the soda in a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with soda. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Gordon’s Pink Paloma
Made in collaboration with Maya Jama, the Pink Paloma just shot straight to the top of our must-make list.
Ingredients
- 50ml Gordon's Premium Pink Distilled Gin
- 150ml Pink Grapefruit Soda
- Garnish: Pink Grapefruit Wedge and flaky sea salt rim
Method
Use a wedge of grapefruit to run across the rim of a coppa or highball glass. Roll the edge of the glass in a plate of flaked sea salt. Add Gordon's Premium Pink to the glass filled with ice. Top with Grapefruit Soda. Stir to mix, and garnish with pink grapefruit wedge. For Maya Jama’s twist: mix in 20ml sugar syrup and 10ml lime juice.
Grand Spiced Margarita
It's pink, so it counts as Valentine's Day themed, right?
Ingredients
- 20ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
- 30ml Espolon Tequila
- 25ml fresh lime
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 10ml cranberry juice
Method
Shake all of the ingredients over ice and strain into a coupe/margarita glass. To make citrus salt for the rim: sit citrus peels in salt for 24 hours to infuse the flavour.
Rose Petal Martini
If you're getting your Valentine a bunch of roses you might as well get them a drink that tastes like it too. Lanique Spirit of Rose is made from Attar of Rose aka an essence of rose, ensuring your cocktails taste incredibly floral.
Ingredients
- 25ml Lanique
- 25ml Gin
- 25ml Lychee Juice
- 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- Edible rose petals
Method
Shake together all ingredients in your cocktail shaker with ice, strain into martini glass and top with edible rose petals.
Passoã Punch
If you're hosting a Galentine's Party this year, a punch style drink is an easy get ready ahead of time drink. So you can spend more time with your pals, and less time in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- One part Passoã
- Two parts rosé wine
- Orange slices and fresh berries
Method
Measure out your quantities, add all to a pitcher/jug with some ice, mix together and add fruit and keep in jug until you need to serve.
Rose Clover Club
A floral twist on a classic cocktail (which is, you guessed it, pink for good measure!)
Ingredients
35ml Silent Pool Gin Rose Expression
15ml Dry vermouth
25ml Lemon
25ml Egg white or vegan alternative
10ml Raspberries syrup
5ml Sugar
Method
Pour all ingredients in a shaker without ice and shake vigorously to form a foam. Open the shaker, add ice and shake again for a few seconds to cool down the liquid. Double strain in a coupette or Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with a fresh Rose Petal, dried rose powder or dried rose buds.
Rose Clover Club
Gin raspberry martini
The perfect pink twist on the classic gin martini.
Ingredients
- 75ml The Botanist Gin
- 15ml Fino Sherry
- 15ml Raspberry honey water (made from 250ml honey mixed with 250ml freshly boiled water, and 250g raspberries. Shake well and leave for four hours.)
- Garnish: fresh raspberries
Method
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir for a minimum of 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass of your choice..Garnish with fresh raspberries
Aromatic garden
Who knew a drink could look romantic.
Ingredients
- 40ml Opihr Aromatic Bitters Gin
- 15ml sweet vermouth
- 75ml cloudy apple juice
- 10ml pomegranate syrup or grenadine
- 3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters
- mint leaf and nutmeg, to garnish
Method:
Shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with one mint leaf and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg.
French martini
This recipe from The Tipsy Panda is the perfect mix of simple method and fancy result.
Ingredients
- 50ml vodka
- 25ml Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
- 12.5ml raspberry syrup
- 3-4 fresh raspberries (+3 to garnish)
- 50ml pineapple juice
Method
Muddle 3-4 fresh raspberries in a cocktail shaker along with the vodka, Chambord, raspberry syrup, and pineapple juice. Add ice to the shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Stick a cocktail stick through three raspberries and place on the drink to serve.
Pink negroni
We love a negroni, especially when it's pink like this recipe from London restaurant Atillean.
Ingredients:
- 25ml pink gin
- 15ml rose vermouth, or sweet white vermouth
- 10ml Aperol
- wedge of pink grapefruit and a basil leaf, to garnish
Method:
Combine the pink gin, vermouth and Aperol in a tumbler with a small handful of ice. Stir until the outside of the glass feels cold. Then garnish with a wedge of pink grapefruit and a basil leaf, if you're feeling extra fancy.
Creamy caramel espresso martini
A creamy and delish take on the espresso martini, we can't wait to try this one.
Ingredients:
- 50ml freshly brewed and chilled Little's creamy caramel coffee
- 50ml Black Cow vodka
- 25ml Irish cream
Method:
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Give it a good shake until the shaker is almost too cold to touch. Strain into a martini glass and decorate with a slice of dried orange, some cocoa powder or even some caramel sauce.
Cali cooler
A non-alcoholic option for those of us having a sober V-Day. Alcohol-free, fruity and delicious. Triple tick.
Ingredients:
- 100ml Caleno Light & Zesty
- 300ml watermelon juice
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tsp agave nectar
- 4 sprigs mint
Method:
In a shaker add the Caleno, watermelon juice, lime juice, agave nectar and two sprigs of the mint. Muddle the mint and then shake well. Pour into a tumbler full of ice and garnish with the remaining mint.
Daniella Scott is Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. As part of her role, Danny covers all things entertainment, from true crime to scandalous drama (if there’s a con involved, she’s probably already binged it) and celebrity interviews, including Nicola Coughlan. Danny’s also across lifestyle, travel, interiors and food and drink, in both digital and print. So when she’s not trawling Instagram for the next best Ikea hack, she’s trying out cocktail recipes or pretending she has a driving license researching the UK’s best road trips.
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from TV and film, to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating quizzes, covering exciting new food releases and sharing the latest interior must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of The Kardashians. After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into fashion journalism, writing for the Daily Express, before working as Features Editor at The Tab, where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on LinkedIn.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
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