A Threesome (of Cocktails) for Valentine's Day

By Roger Kamholz in Food on Feb 9, 2011 6:20PM

One surefire way to shower affection on your Valentine is to mix up a beautiful libation. Hand-crafting a cocktail, with love of course, has the thoughtful-romantic-gesture angle covered, with the added benefit of melting away any rough edges on the evening ahead. (Let's see flowers do that.) In putting together our trio, we stuck to the classic V-Day palette of pinks and reds while steering clear of the overly sweet or just plain silly. In other words, cocktails you'll actually want to drink.

We tried to keep the shopping list short by picking drinks with many of the same ingredients; in fact, you might have many of them lying around already. The Whiskey Daisy is smooth, fruity and comforting. Pictured above, the Pink Lady is a very pretty cocktail - your date is sure to be impressed - and the inclusion of egg white lends it a luscious texture; plus, after two ounces of gin, consider the mood set. For a milder option, go with the Sicilian, a staple of the bar at Belfast's Merchant Hotel. The Sicilian's very refreshing, nicely balancing citrusy tartness and sweetness. And what tale of romance isn't improved with a little help from Italy?

These are just three of dozens of Valentine's-appropriate cocktails. Go ahead and share your favorites!

Whiskey Daisy

1 3/4 ounces Maker's Mark bourbon
1/2 ounce Cointreau triple sec
1/4 ounce pomegranate syrup (grenadine)
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and double-strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.

Pink Lady

2 ounces London dry gin (try Broker's)
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce pomegranate syrup (grenadine)
1/2 fresh egg white

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled Champagne glass. For a fuller-bodied cocktail, "mime shake" ingredients first (with no ice in shaker), add ice and shake again. Garnish with a lemon zest.

The Sicilian
(Original metric measurements in parentheses)

2/3 ounce (20 ml) London dry gin (the Merchant uses Plymouth, but Broker's works, too)
2/3 ounce (20 ml) Campari
1/3 ounce (10ml) Cointreau triple sec
1/2 ounce (15ml) simple syrup
generous 3/4 ounce (25 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 ounces (75 ml) fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
2 dashes orange bitters

Build over ice in a 16-ounce Collins glass. Top off with chilled seltzer water.
Garnish with an upturned wedge of fresh ruby grapefruit and serve with a long straw.