Unique Romantic Cocktails For Valentine’s Night

(Mix 93-1) This Valentine's Day, thousands of Valentine's Day cards will be exchanged between romantic partners, showing just how much they love each other. In addition to those cards, beautiful bouquets of roses and other flowers will be delivered to offices throughout Tyler, Longview, and East Texas on Friday.

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Then on Saturday, Valentine's Day, boxes of jewelry will be unwrapped, heart-shaped boxes full of chocolates will be opened, and stuffed animals will be held with delight. Thousands of couples will top the holiday off with a romantic dinner at their favorite spot.

Before going out to dinner, some couples may start the evening off with a drink. Or even after dinner, they may return home and want to chill with a beverage. Instead of pouring a simple glass of wine or making a vodka cranberry or bourbon on the rocks, why not try something a bit more elaborate and unique for this special day? Playing bartender could be fun with these Valentine's Day-themed cocktails.

READ MORE --> East Texas Valentine's Day Dinner Ideas That Will Wow Your Sweetheart

To pull it off, though, you'll need to do a little prep work ahead of time to mix up these pink, red, and chocolate-themed cocktail drinks for the big day. Thankfully, Valentine's Day is on Saturday this year, so you have all weekend to mix up the drinks. Then you could even add your own flair and mix things up by putting a spin on a classic drink and adding in flavors like raspberry, blood orange, strawberry, or pomegranate. Or create a unique chocolaty dessert cocktail.

Enjoy these Valentine-themed drinks responsibly!

Rose Gin & Tonic

Ingredients:
2 oz Glendalough Rose Gin
Tonic Water
Lime wedge, garnish
Mint sprig, garnish

Instructions:
Add Rose Gin to an ice-filled wine glass.
Top with tonic water and garnish with a slice of lime and a fresh sprig of mint.

Chocolate Martini

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. chocolate syrup, plus more for drizzling
4 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
4 oz. chocolate liqueur
4 oz. Smirnoff vodka
Ice
shaved chocolate (optional)

Directions

Step 1
Pour chocolate syrup onto a shallow plate. Dip rim of martini glasses into chocolate syrup to coat rims. Drizzle the inside of each glass with chocolate syrup.
Step 2
Combine Baileys, chocolate liqueur, and vodka in a large cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until thoroughly chilled, about 20 seconds. Divide evenly between glasses. If using, top with shaved chocolate. Serve.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a228/chocolate-martini-recipe/

Cherry Sazerac

Ingredients:
1 oz. absinthe
Ice
1 tsp. Maraschino cherry juice
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
2 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. cognac
Lemon peel, for garnish
Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Directions
Step 1
Chill a cocktail glass in the freezer until chilled, at least 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add absinthe to a chilled glass and swirl it around the glass. Discard liquid.
Step 3
Fill a small glass or cocktail shaker with ice. Add cherry juice, bitters, whiskey, and cognac. Stir until chilled, then strain intoa  cocktail glass.
Step 4
Garnish with a lemon peel and a maraschino cherry.

Rose-Colored Glass

Ingredients:
1/4 ounce Angostura bitters
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup
Crémant d'Alsace rosé sparkling wine, to top
Garnish: red rose petals

Steps
Add the bitters, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a shaker with ice and shake.
Strain into a coupe glass.
Top with the sparkling wine.
Garnish with red rose petals.

Toblerone

Ingredients:
3/4 ounce Baileys Irish cream
3/4 ounce Frangelico
3/4 ounce Kahlúa
1 ounce heavy cream
1/2 ounce honey syrup
Garnish: chocolate syrup, to rim the glass
Garnish: Toblerone chocolate, freshly shaved

Steps
Place chocolate syrup in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Dip the rim of the cocktail glass in the chocolate, and put it in the fridge to chill.

Add the Baileys, Frangelico, Kahlúa, heavy cream, and honey syrup into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

Strain into the prepared glass.

Garnish with freshly shaved Toblerone chocolate.

Tootsie Roll

Ingredients:
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 ounce Lustau Pedro Ximénez sherry
6 dashes Scrappy’s chocolate bitters
Garnish: Luxardo maraschino cherry

Steps
Add the rye whiskey, sherry, and chocolate bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.

Strain into a chilled cocktail or coupe glass.

Garnish with a Luxardo maraschino cherry.

Love & Murder

Ingredients:
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce green Chartreuse
1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
3/4 ounce simple syrup
4 drops saline solution (5:1 water to kosher salt)

Steps
Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Strawberry Margaritas

Ingredients:
1 qt. strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 4 cups)
1/2 c. sugar
Juice of 3 limes, plus lime wedges for garnish
2 c. silver tequila
1/2 c. triple sec
1 c. freeze-dried strawberries
1/4 c. kosher salt

Directions
1Puree the fresh strawberries, sugar, and lime juice in a blender until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or pitcher. Stir in the tequila and triple sec and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2Just before serving, crush the freeze-dried strawberries in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin or heavy skillet. Mix the crushed strawberries with the salt in a small bowl and pour onto a shallow plate. Use a lime wedge to wet the rim of a glass, then dip the rim in the strawberry salt. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the margarita. Garnish with a lime wedge. Repeat to make more margaritas.

Raspberry Smash

Ingredients:
10 Fresh Raspberries, Divided
Ice, As Needed
2 oz. fluid Vodka
1 oz. fluid St. Germain Liqueur
1 oz. fluid Simple Syrup
1 oz. fluid Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
Club Soda, Chilled, For Topping
1 slice Fresh Lemon For Garnish

Directions
Add 8 of the raspberries to a cocktail shaker and crush them with a muddler or the back of a spoon. Add a glassful of ice to the shaker, then pour in the vodka, St. Germain, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Cap the shaker and shake it vigorously for about 15 seconds, until the liquid is chilled.

Strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Top with your desired amount of club soda and give the drink a quick stir to combine. Add the remaining 2 raspberries and a slice of lemon to the top of the drink and serve immediately.

Cherry Vodka Sour

Ingredients:
3 fluid ounces of vodka
3 fluid ounces sweet and sour mix
1 tablespoon cherry grenadine syrup

Directions
Stir together vodka, sweet and sour mix, and grenadine in an 8-ounce glass. Fill with ice.

Sweet Seduction

Ingredients:
1 fluid ounce Malibu rum
1 fluid ounce banana liqueur
½ cup pineapple juice
ice cubes
1 tablespoon grenadine

Directions
Measure the rum, banana liqueur, and pineapple juice into a cocktail shaker. Add a generous scoop of ice. Cover and shake until the outside is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a glass filled with ice and gently pour the grenadine on top. It should float.

Paloma Cocktail

Ingredients:
6 oz. tequila blanco
1 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
6 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
Pinch of salt
Crushed ice, for serving
12 oz. grapefruit soda, such as Jarritos, Squirt, or Fresca
3 slices fresh pink or red grapefruit, for serving
3 lime wedges, for serving

Directions
1Divide the tequila, lim,e and grapefruit juices among the three glasses. Add a pinch of salt to each glass. Fill three-quarters full of ice, then stir to combine. Top with grapefruit soda, then garnish with a slice of grapefruit and a lime wedge.

Red Berry Frozen Sangria

Ingredients:
1 750-ml bottle chilled dry red wine (such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot)
2 c. frozen strawberries
1/2 c. frozen blueberries
1/2 c. red seedless grapes
1/2 c. chilled brandy
1/4 c. superfine sugar
3 c. ice

Directions
1Combine red wine, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, brandy, sugar, and ice in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh strawberries.