25 Unexpected Spring Cocktails To Make At Home

It's always during the first few months of the year that those of us that live in cold-weather climates begin to itch for the spring season. Spring represents a period best spent leisurely drinking cocktails on outdoor patios and soaking up the sun. It might feel like winter is never-ending, but once those first few warm days hit, we all have our sights set on the sights, sounds, and flavors of the season. 

Spring is all about brightness. The flowers are blooming again and the world gets a whole lot greener. That transition can be reflected in the cocktails we drink during this time of year as well. After all, some flavor profiles like citrus fruits and floral infusions can make a drink taste like the embodiment of a spring day. 

If you have no idea what we're talking about, we've got you covered with 25 cocktail recipes perfect for making in the spring. From fresh mint in a mojito to tropical fruit sangria, these drinks all have something special about them that reminds us of sunnier days ahead, even if the weather outside isn't exactly cooperating. 

Mojitos make good cocktails any time of the year, but the freshness from the mint leaves and the zest from plenty of lime juice make it specifically refreshing once the weather starts to turn. A mojito is fueled by white rum, but it's balanced out with a little club soda and simple syrup for sweetness. It's one of those drinks that you'll need to break out a muddler for, but the result of a homemade fresh mojito makes it well worth it in the end. 

Recipe: Classic Mojito Cocktail

The XYZ cocktail is as basic to make as the name suggests, even though it's not a super common bar order. It's an unassuming citrus-infused stiff drink that's shocking refreshing despite being pretty boozy. The XYZ only needs three ingredients to come together — orange liqueur, like Grand Marnier or Cointreau, light rum, and fresh lemon juice. The ingredients are shaken well over ice and served in a fancy glass, making it look like a drink that took way more effort than it did.

Recipe: Basic XYZ Cocktail 

The transition from winter to spring means it's time to ditch your usual glass of red wine for something a little more reminiscent of sunshine, like this tropical sangria. It doesn't have a high-alcohol content as it only features one bottle of white wine, but it is filled with tons of fresh fruit. We recommend tropical fruits like citrus, kiwi, pineapple, papaya, and mango to add a whole lot of sweet flavor. It's the perfect drink for kicking off the start of spring, and for keeping in your back pocket for all of your upcoming summer get-togethers. 

Recipe: Tropical Sangria

The Garibaldi cocktail is a lot more complicated than it sounds, as the drink gets its multi-syllabic name from a 19th-century Italian revolutionary leader. Essentially, the Garibaldi is fresh orange juice mixed with Campari, a bitter Italian aperitif, which is a timeless combination. The drink is a classic combination of bitter and sweet that is light and refreshing, perfect for a treat after a long day of landscaping or other spring cleaning activities. 

Recipe: Traditional Garibaldi Cocktail 

The bright hue of our Bubbly Cherry Bomb is enough to make you feel ready for the colors of spring. This cocktail is a grown-up version of a Shirley Temple, except it's made with white rum rather than vodka like most Dirty Shirley drinks. We add lime soda into our recipe for an added zip of citrus, and grenadine is responsible for that gorgeous color. The garnish of maraschino cherries and mint leaves makes the drink resemble a freshly-bloomed rose. 

Recipe: Bubbly Cherry Bomb

Pisco is an underrated spirit outside of South American cultures like Peru and Chile, and this type of brandy is best enjoyed in a traditional Pisco Sour. This cocktail is super frothy thanks to the addition of an egg white, and fresh lime juice and Angostura bitters help to balance out the drink. Pisco sours are light and airy cocktails reminiscent of a spring breeze, with plenty of added lime juice for added tang. 

Recipe: Authentic Pisco Sour

Ranch Water is the lighter and more refreshing version of a margarita, which is already one of the unofficial cocktails of the warm weather season. It's an easy mixed drink that's the tequila-lovers' version of a vodka soda, but better. The key is to get Topo Chico mineral water for the perfect amount of bubbles. Topo Chico is mixed with blanco tequila and fresh lime juice, and that's all it takes to make this cocktail fit for spring and beyond. 

Recipe: Classic Ranch Water

The Negroni is a staple Italian cocktail that's bitter and boozy, but it isn't necessarily the most refreshing drink. Our recipe for a white negroni is a bit lighter and more floral, making it a better swap for the sharper original once the weather turns. The recipe includes gin, gentian liqueur like Suze, and Lillet blanc shook together with a lemon twist. It's a classy cocktail that's meant to be sipped, but has a complex flavor reminiscent of lavender lemonade. 

Recipe: White Negroni Cocktail

Speaking of cocktails that taste like lemonade, the classic Tom Collins cocktail is a no-brainer citrus highball for spring. The key component is London dry gin which adds to the citrus flavor of the drink, as well as nice botanic notes in the background. The gin is stirred with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda water for a bubbly and refreshing drink that's easy to forget even has booze in it. 

Recipe: Classic Tom Collins Cocktail

Those loyal wine drinkers who are looking to mix up their usual glass of red for spring should look no further than our easy wine slushie recipe. It couldn't be easier to make as it just blends sweet red wine with frozen mixed berries, so it's technically a two-ingredient cocktail. The slushie is like the boozy version of sorbet, but the wine adds more depth to the fruit's tart and sweet flavors. 

Recipe: Easy Wine Slushie

Spring also means it's time for Easter to those who celebrate, and our Cadbury Egg martini recipe couldn't be more festive for the occasion. It's as much of a treat to look at as it is to drink. It's one of those heavier dessert martinis that you can probably only drink one of, but even that might be enough to have you tipsy. Our recipe mixes half and half, vanilla vodka, and creme de cacao in a martini glass. We added a melted chocolate rim and Cadbury Creme Egg garnish to make this even more of an over-the-top spectacle.

Recipe: Cadbury Egg Martini

The Green Ghost might sound like a spooky drink for Halloween, but it's really a citrusy classic cocktail reminiscent of spring greenery. It's another simple drink with a base of gin and green chartreuse, which is herbal and adds an earthy element to the drink. Those liquors are mixed with a little fresh lime juice for a small green drink that packs a mighty punch any time of the year. 

Recipe: Green Ghost Cocktail

Our recipe for a Miruvor inspired by "Lord of the Rings" isn't just for superfans of the film trilogy. Our version of the fictional drink gets its boozy kick from botanical gin and elderflower liqueur like St. Germain. To complement the floral qualities of the booze, we add honey and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The end result is a drink inspired by pollinating bees, which are a tell-tale sign of an incoming spring. 

Recipe: The Lord Of The Rings-Inspired Miruvor Cocktail Recipe

Odds are that by the year 2023, you've likely heard of the trendy Aperol Spritz. It's the fun drink people love to sip on warm-weather occasions, like long brunches or rooftop cocktail parties. Aperol has a bitter orange taste that is livened up with bubbly Prosecco. Our spritz recipe includes a splash of club soda to mellow out the drink even more, making it perfect for day drinking on a balmy afternoon.

Recipe: Classic Aperol Spritz

A gimlet is one of those classic cocktails that's often under-appreciated. It's traditionally made with gin, but people have been known to make vodka versions of the original. Besides dry gin, the other important ingredient in a gimlet is lime cordial, which adds that sour punch that makes this drink resemble a spring day. The gin and lime cordial are shaken with simple syrup for sweetness, and the resulting cocktail is as balanced as it is easy to drink. 

Recipe: Classic Gimlet Cocktail

Whisky on the rocks can be an abrasive drink that isn't as thirst-quenching as a bubbly cocktail. The best of both worlds for whisky lovers is our recipe for a Japanese whisky highball. We mix strong Japanese whisky with either ginger ale, for added sweetness, or club soda, for a plain flavor. The soda helps to open up the flavors of the Japanese whisky while also making it more palatable for sipping, and it's only one extra step (two, if you count the lemon twist) to turn a regular shot into this spring-ready drink. 

Recipe: Japanese Whisky Highball

Spicy margaritas turn things up a notch, especially when the weather is nice out. Our recipe uses fresh jalapeños to get that spice, but alongside plenty of fresh lime juice to keep it bright. We add blanco tequila, orange liqueur, and agave nectar into a shaker to make this drink. It's a good recipe to mix up from the typical margarita with a savory (and spicy) twist.

Recipe: Refreshing Spicy Margarita

Coconut-flavored anything reminds us of the beach, so coconut martinis are a must to channel that ultimate summer attitude. Our recipe uses vodka and a coconut rum like Malibu, so it's pretty boozy. To re-enforce that coconut flavor, we add coconut cream (which is different from coconut milk) and a desiccated coconut rim for a triple punch of the fruit. This drink might resemble snow, but one sip will melt away all of your worries that one more storm will hit before spring arrives. 

Recipe: Coconut Martini Cocktail

The Belmont Stakes kicks off the start of summer, but you can feel like it's sunny and the middle of June at any time by sipping on the signature cocktail of the horse racing event. The Belmont Jewel is a bourbon-based cocktail, but it's refreshing enough to sway even those who never drink brown liquor. Bourbon is mixed with lemonade and pomegranate juice for a punchy bright flavor that tastes like sunshine in a glass. 

Recipe: Classic Belmont Jewel Cocktail

Fruit and alcohol are match-made in warm weather heaven, so skip the middle man by adding booze right into a slice of fresh produce. An easy way to achieve this is through our simple vodka-spiked watermelon recipe. It requires you to be patient after pouring an entire bottle of vodka into a mini watermelon, but the results are worth it for a juicy slice of fruit that doubles as a shot of liquor. 

Recipe: Easy Vodka Spiked Watermelon

The Bahama Mama is a quintessential tiki cocktail, and it always feels like the first day of spring if you're sipping on the flavors of the tropics. Our take on the classic recipe features both dark rum and coconut rum to layer the flavors of the booze. To sweeten it up, we add orange juice, pineapple juice, and a little grenadine for color. This drink looks like the color of a fabulous sunrise, which will brighten up even a rainy day in April. 

Recipe: Classic Bahama Mama Cocktail

A mint julep earns its spot on the list of spring-ready cocktails for similar reasons as the mojito, but this version is for people who prefer drinking whiskey as their liquor of choice. Our recipe includes muddled fresh spearmint leaves, stirred with simple syrup and bourbon whiskey. It doesn't have lime juice like a mojito, but feel free to add a little squeeze — it'll only make this drink brighter and more summer-ready. 

Recipe: Classic Mint Julep

Peaches are sweet and fresh like the transition from spring to winter, so naturally peach bellinis are the only brunch cocktail you need to be sipping on when the weather changes. We start with ripe white peaches that are cooked down with sugar and lemon juice to make peach nectar. That mixture is then topped with bubbly Prosecco for a riff on the mimosa, but a whole lot sweeter. 

Recipe: Classic Peach Bellini

People are meant to enjoy Pimm's cup when the heat is sweltering and nothing will cool you down beside a refreshing cocktail. The drink is built around Pimm's No. 1, a gin liqueur that's lighter than straight alcohol so one cocktail won't give you a headache. We mix the liqueur with lemonade, sparkling water, and fresh slices of cucumber and strawberry to make a drink that looks like a bouquet of spring flowers. 

Recipe: Pimm's Cup Cocktail

A final tequila-based drink option ready to take on spring is the Paloma, the under-appreciated cousin of a margarita. A Paloma is essentially a drink based on tequila and grapefruit juice. We lighten our recipe up by adding club soda and incorporating a spicy kick with a chili powder and salt rim. The star of the sip is the fresh grapefruit, which is solely responsible for giving this drink a warm-weather vibe. 

Recipe: Classic Paloma Cocktail