The world is currently on one big TIME OUT due the the Covid 19/Corona Virus pandemic that is making its rounds. It is my hope that everyone reading this article is safe, healthy, and keeping themselves sane during this period of social distancing.
That said, one of the ways I stay sane is to experiment with cocktails. Since Easter is this coming Sunday, I got inspired to make cocktails in the pastel shades that remind me of Easter eggs. Let me tell you, this was an easier assignment on paper that it was in reality. But hey, I don’t think I did that bad, and some of the colors are definitely Easter-y. So if you’re dying any eggs this weekend for the kiddos and their Easter egg hunt, make you one (or several) of these pastel cocktails to enjoy while they’re on the hunt.
Featuring:
Sorbet Mimosas (bright yellow & jewel red)
This is the absolute EASIEST cocktail recipe I may ever share.
Ever!
So, you all know I love a good mimosas and I’m always experimenting with them. For my 40th birthday, I hosted a brunch themed party and my mimosa bar was the STAR of the day. I had just about every juice you can image available. When I was shopping for the mimosa bar, I happened to find myself in the frozen section and saw sorbet and went “Hmmmm”. I added a couple of flavors to my cart, and put them on the mimosa bar. FYI, I love trying new things out on my unsuspecting friends at parties. If it sucks, I will DEFINITELY hear about it-lol. So I’ve been using sorbet in my mimosas for 5 years now.
This recipe is highly adaptable as you can use any flavor or color you desire. Have fun with it.
Ingredients
- Prosecco (or your choice of sparkly)
- Mango and Black Cherry sorbet
Directions
- 2-3 scoops of sorbet
- top off with Prosecco
- Enjoy!
Hibiscus Gin Sour (pale pink)
I found this pretty cocktail on Sugar and Charm. I love hibiscus in cocktails (Most notably in two of my signature cocktails: Red, Red Wine and Love’s Holiday!
I recommend you make the hibiscus syrup first as it needs times to cool down before you use it. The original recipe calls for Chambord, I didn’t have any on hand, so I left it out.
Ingredients
- 3 oz Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice Gin- this gin is wonderfully floral and I thought it would go great in this Easter cocktail
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon of hibiscus syrup
- 1 egg white- this is for body, you can leave it off or use foaming bitters if you prefer
Directions
- Add all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice
- Shake vigorously for 30 seconds
- strain into your fav cocktail glass
- Take a sip and pretend you are in your fav botanical garden enjoying a picnic
Hibiscus Syrup:
- 3/4 cup of dried hibiscus leaves <– click to see where I get my dried hibiscus from
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- Heat water and sugar together, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissvolved
- Add in hibiscus leaves and simmer for 15 minutes
- Remove from heat and let sit for 20 mins
This is my favorite of all the pastel cocktails I’m featuring. It is sooo tasty. It’s nice and strong, and has a great mouth feel courtesy of the egg wine. I will definitely be making more of these in the future.
Spicy Cucumber Margarita (pale green)
I can’t remember where I got this recipe, but it is not my own creation. It was a busy day the day I shoot this feature and I thought I gotten it from one of my Pinterest pins or from Instagram. I was mistaken.
**Update: I found where I got it from Isabel Eats. 😀 **
That said, this is probably the most refreshing margarita I’ve had in a while. I really like cucumber cocktails, they are perfect when it’s warm or hot outside.
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1/2 oz Triple Sec
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/4 cup cucumber juice
- Jalapeno pepper
- Tajin salt for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Peel and roughly chop about 1/2 a cucumber; Blend in a blender until pureed
- Using a cheesecloth, squeeze the cucumber puree to get the juice out, set aside
- Slice a jalapeno pepper and muddle it in a cocktail shaker with the lime juice
- use as much pepper as you want–I went with 3 slices
- you don’t have to use the lime juice, but I find it helps me muddle the pepper better
- Add the remaining ingredients to the cocktail shaker with the peppers and lime juice
- Add ice and shake until combined–about 15 seconds, but you shake for however long feels right in your spirit 😉
- Salt the rim of your favorite Rita glass with Tajin salt (trust me, you’ll be so glad you did)
- You can find Tajin in your grocery store or you can click here to order
- Pour cocktail in glass & enjoy straight or over ice
Violet & Roses (pale purple)
I got this recipe from Instagram courtesy of whats.marisa.drinking
When I saw this pretty blue cocktail, I knew I was going to make it. I have such an uncontrollable attraction to the color blue-lol. If something is blue, 9 times out of 10 want it. Anywho, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, I used what I had on hand. The resulting beverage came out more pale purple than blue, but it is still delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Midsummers Solstice Gin (Hendricks)
- 1/2 oz Violet liqueur
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1/4 oz rose water
- 1/4 oz St. Germaine
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice
- shake until combined
- Pour up and enjoy!
Let me just say, I continue to be amazed at just how well rose water complements so many cocktails. If you enjoy floral and/or herbal cocktails, try experimenting with rose water in your favorite creation. It puts me in the mind set of warm weather, and let’s face it, a little mental vacation right now is a very good thing.
Milk & Honey (amber brown)
This is another cocktail I found on Instagram, this time courtesy of craftedmixology. I made a small adjustment to the recipe as I did not have any honey syrup on hand and didn’t want to make a batch of it.
My cocktail took on an amber, brownish tone, reminiscent of a brown egg–which is NOT pastel. But since this feature was originally inspired by Easter eggs, I kept it. I choose to think of it as a brown egg before it gets a dip in the dye. 🙂
*Full transparency moment: Not all of my cocktail ideas work, and this drink is a prime example of that. The color did not come out even close to the pretty pale yellow craftedmixology posted. Again, I think my use of almond milk is to blame here. (Even though the recipe calls for almond milk, go figure.) I don’t know what happened, but it tasted good so I kept it. There is no alcohol abuse around these parts. 😀
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 oz Bulleit bourbon
- 1 oz almond milk
- 1/4 oz honey
- 1/4 oz of water
- 4 drops of cardamon bitters
Directions
- Combine honey & water and microwave for a few seconds until mixture is warm. Stir well to combine upon removing from the microwave
- Add honey syrup and the rest of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice
- Shake until combined
- Enjoy
This one is tasty, but whew chile it’s NOT for the faint of heart. If you’re a bourbon drinker you’ll enjoy this one. If not, take your time with it. This is a sipper, not a slammer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Let me know if you make any of these pastel cocktails this weekend to go with your Easter celebrations. I’d love to hear your take on them. Here’s two handy Pinterests pins to pin for easy reference in the future.
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