7 Great Valentine's Day Cocktails

Mix it up this Valentine’s Day with a splash of sweet or a dash of honey. These cocktails are perfect for whisky lovers and for those that don’t yet know how much they enjoy it. Follow the recipes as specified here or experiment: substitute with your favorite whisky or swap them out for something different. No matter how prepare them, choose good company to share them with.

APPLE OF MY EYE

• 2 parts Teeling Small Batch Irish whiskey
• 4 parts apple cider
• ½ part honey
• Apple slice for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, stir twice with a bar spoon twice to integrate the honey. Shake until chilled and fine strain into an ice-filled Highball glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

BEE MINE

• 11/2 oz. Aberfeldy 12 year old scotch single malt
• 1 oz. espresso
• 1/2 oz. salted honey syrup (recipe below)
• 3 espresso beans and gold shimmer

Add scotch, salted honey, and espresso to a shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with espresso beans.

Salted Honey Syrup

Add 1 part boiling water to 2 parts honey and two large pinches of sea salt. Stir until fully integrate. Let cool before using.

Chocolate Old Fashioned

• 2 oz. Black Bush Irish whiskey
• 1 Tbsp. simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• Orange twist for garnish

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with orange twist.

Cinnamon Sweetheart Old-Fashioned

• 2 oz. Stranahan’s Original American single malt
• 1 cube brown sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Pinch grated cinnamon
• Orange twist and cinnamon stick for garnish

Muddle sugar cube, cinnamon, and Angostura Bitters in base of shaker. Add Stranahan’s Original and shake with ice. Fine strain into ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with orange twist and cinnamon stick.

Roses and Chocolates

• ¾ part The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year old scotch single malt
• ¼ part Red Wine Syrup (see below)
• 4 dashes chocolate bitters
• Champagne

Add all ingredients except champagne to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir briefly. Strain into a flute glass and top with champagne.

Red Wine Syrup

Heat 2 parts full-bodied red wine to 1 part cane sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool before use.

Tennessee Rose

• 2 oz. Dickel bourbon
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 3/4 oz. pomegranate grenadine (2 parts pomegranate juice:1 part sugar)
• Lime twist and fresh pomegranate slice for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, and fine strain into a coupe. Garnish with lime twist and slice of fresh pomegranate.

Whiskey Daisy

• 2 oz. Bib & Tucker Small Batch bourbon
• 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 dashes lemon juice
• 1 dash lime juice
• Berries of choice
• 1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

Add all ingredients, except berries and Yellow Chartreuse, to a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled.

Place a few berries in a stemmed glass and top with crushed ice. Strain the contents of shaker on top. Add Yellow Chartreuse. Garnish with a few berries.

Winter Fling

• 2 parts Redemption Rye
• ¼ part Cinnamon Syrup
• 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes pimento bitters
• Rinse of dry curaçao

Rinse a chilled coupe with dry curaçao. Stir remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.