Just because Valentine’s Day is coming up, doesn’t mean everyone needs to naturally gravitate toward pink, pretty cocktails. Whether you’re bitterly not in a relationship, or just don’t like the overkill of love on the holiday, some bartenders out there feel your pain, and have created a few special “Anti-Valentine’s Day” cocktails for the curmudgeons in all of us. Here are a few of our favorite ideas for what to drink to celebrate the big day:
Ridin’ Solo
Executive Chef Caprial Pence, Bookstore Bar & Café (Seattle)
Ingredients
½ oz Ginger Liqueur
1 oz Raspberry Liqueur
Prosecco
Directions: Combine ginger and raspberry liqueur in champagne flute; top with Prosecco.
The B.M.H. (Bite Marked Heart)
Bartender Joe Davis, Three Degrees (Portland)
Ingredients
1.5 oz Vida mezcal
1 oz red bell pepper purée
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz starvation alley cold pressed cranberry juice
0.5 oz serrano syrup
Directions: Combine mezcal, lime, purée**, cranberry and Serrano syrup in shaker tin. Shake and fine strain into a coup.
**combine 1oz of water per medium bell pepper (seeds removed) in a blender and puree. Fine strain end result.
Leaving You Behind
Bartender Chad Phillips, Pennyroyal (Seattle)
Ingredients
1 ½ oz *Hibiscus-infused Gin
½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
½ oz **Vanilla Syrup
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a tin, add ice, shake, strain into a flute, and top with bubbles. Garnish with a lemon twist and hibiscus flowers.
*Hibiscus Gin: Combine 1 bottle of gin with ½ cup of dried hibiscus flowers, let sit 30-45 minutes, then strain flowers out.
**Vanilla Syrup: Split 2 vanilla beans and add to 1:1 simple syrup. Let sit 12-24 hours.
#SingleForLife
Head Bartender Dan Rook, South Water Kitchen (Chicago)
Ingredients
2 oz Larrenssingle VSOP Armagnac
½ oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Cocoa
½ oz Cynar
½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
Egg White
Directions: Dry shake all ingredients except Cinnamon Syrup. Add Cinnamon Syrup and shake with ice. Pour in coupe. Garnish with Peychaud’s Bitters in the shape of a heart.
Single Shot of Whiskey
Don’t discount the deliciousness of a single shot of your favorite liquor. Be it rye, bourbon, or a fine craft single malt, pour yourself a glass and enjoy.