Pro Tips For Crafting The Most Romantic Valentine's Day Cocktails

If you're planning to mix up your own cocktails for Valentine's Day, odds are that you're trying to impress someone. Whether the object of your affection (and of your drive to dazzle) is a partner or a group of friends, that wow factor may feel hard to come by if you aren't a professional mixologist. So Food Republic decided to ask a couple of professional mixologists for guidance. Denisse Soto, beverage consultant at the Michelin-starred Cariño in Chicago, IL, and Nicole Yarovinsky, beverage director at Daisies, a Michelin-green-starred restaurant also in Chicago, shared a few ideas for mixing up something memorable. 

Soto started by telling us, "I always like to think outside the box, and for me, St. Valentine's isn't just for couples or just for the ladies — it's also for friends and guys." If admiration is your aim (whether that be cocktail-making admiration or romantic admiration), you've got to get a little creative. So banish any thoughts of lackluster, uninspired libations — your cocktails can rely on the flavors and feelings of the season, as well as a few uncommon principles of pairing.

In February, although spring hasn't yet emerged, there are still a few delicious ingredients that are in season during this wintry holiday. Denisse Soto explained that this is the perfect place to start: "I always come up with a few options for everyone to celebrate throughout the month, using seasonal ingredients that fit the theme."

Blood oranges are in season throughout the winter, and their sweet flavor and reddish shade are ideal for a Valentine's Day frozen blood orange margarita. Tangerines, lemons, and mandarins – most citrus, really — also have a February heyday, and although pomegranate's season tends to end in November, many stores will still carry them as they stay fresh for quite a while. Soto also recommends going with evergreens, like some herbs: "Add some thyme with gin for a sweet-tart flavor combination that works beautifully as a pairing."

Another mouthwatering pairing for blood orange is rosemary. In fact, if you're making orange juice ice cubes to keep a mimosa cold, you can add sprigs of rosemary straight into the cubes for a delicious and subtle infusion, ensuring the rosemary doesn't overpower your fruit.

Speaking of semi-seasonal produce, pomegranate in particular has a lot of cocktail applications (not to mention a pretty red hue that's perfect for the occasion). Nicole Yarovinsky praises the unique notes that give at-home mixologists a lot of options to work with: "Pomegranates are such a versatile fruit in beverage making— sweet and acidic with a slight bitterness and tannins."

She suggested experimenting with unusual pairings that nevertheless complement the pomegranate flavor profile, like walnuts and pistachios, which don't often appear in beverages, or even less conventional herbs like tarragon and parsley. For an elevated finish, she noted, "A whisper of absinthe can really take things to the next level." Since absinthe is flavored with licorice, anise, and fennel, robust herbs like tarragon (with its complementary notes of licorice) make an excellent addition that helps absinthe shine with pomegranate.

Valentine's Day sees a lot of lavish sweetness, even in its cocktails. All that sugar can get overwhelming, so Nicole Yarovinsky offered a piece of advice, "Don't be scared of a touch of bitterness or acid." For example, her suggestion for a chocolate martini? "A splash of fernet in an indulgent chocolate martini." Fernet branca is a bitter, herbaceous liqueur that has a whisper of mint, a natural pairing for chocolate.

If you're making another type of martini, she noted that espresso pairs well with a dash of artichoke-based Cynar or lemon-based Limoncello. A Ramos gin fizz (with mezcal), a cocktail full of rich flavors and frothy egg white, can do with a little vermouth or Fino, the driest of the sherries. Yarovinsky specifically adds demerara sugar and salt to the shaker for a white Russian to upgrade the cream's texture — it also works beautifully in the white Russian's cousin, the Café Napoléon. 

Cranberries' bright color make them another Valentine's Day favorite for cocktails, but that doesn't mean you have to rely on the same old mixers. Nicole Yarovinsky suggested something a little more herbal and aromatic in mind for cranberry margaritas -– the flavor works well with coffee, marjoram, and bay leaves.

Okay, hear us out because there's a delicious payoff. Yarovinsky recommended creating a bay-leaf-roasted chicory root syrup; chicory root has a similar taste and appearance to coffee, just without the caffeine. That syrup with a little cranberry, she noted, "would make a very interesting margarita with an almost truffle chocolate undertone."

Valentine's Day has a very specific aesthetic — red and pink hues, hearts, flowers, and confections — so if you're at a loss with the right cocktail to mix, Denisse Soto suggested leaning on the themes of the season. Start experimenting with berries and rose water, floral and dark cordial liqueurs.

"Think crème de cassis, an amaro, or crème de cacao," she said, "paired with Cognac, whiskey, or mezcal, and complemented by strawberries, blood orange, a Luxardo cherry, or raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, or pomegranate." Anything delicious with the right red, burgundy, or blush tones will set a perfectly romantic mood, she explained. The saying we eat with our eyes first also applies to a drink — if it aesthetically works for your holiday celebration, you've won half the battle before anyone even has a taste.