Creative Spring Cocktail Party Drink Ideas

Champagne Punch

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 cocktails)

• 3 tablespoons grenadine
• 3 tablespoons Cointreau
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 ¾ cups Champagne
• Raspberries, apples or other seasonal fruits

Directions:

Take a large ice bucket and fill it halfway with ice. Pour in your grenadine, Cointreau, brandy and champagne, then stir it up gently. Ladle the punch into 2 wide-mouth stemmed glasses, and garnish with a piece of fruit.

Lillet-Basil Cocktail

Ingredients:

(Makes 1 cocktail)

• 1 cup ice
• ½ cup Lillet Blanc
• 1 ounce gin
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• ¼ cup loosely packed basil leaves, sprigs reserved
• Tonic water
• 1 cucumber spear
• 1 cinnamon stick

Directions:

Take a cocktail shaker and put your ice, Lillet Blanc, gin, orange juice and basil inside. Shake it up and strain into a glass. Dilute the concoction with tonic water to your liking, and garnish with a cucumber spear, cinnamon stick and basil sprigs.

Watermelon-Basil Margarita

Ingredients:

(Makes 6 cocktails)

• 8 pounds seedless watermelon, in cubes
• 4 teaspoons fine sugar
• 6 ounces silver tequila
• 24 basil leaves, sprigs reserved
• 3 ounces triple sec
• 6 cups ice cubes

Directions:

Put 24 of your watermelon cubes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and freeze for an hour or more. Puree the rest of your watermelon with sugar until smooth, then pass it through a sieve into a bowl. Put your basil and tequila in a glass pitcher and mull it with a spoon. Stir in your watermelon juice and your triple sec. Put your watermelon cubes in your glasses. Take a cocktail shaker and mix ¾ cup margarita with 1 cup ice. Strain into your glasses and garnish with basil.