Spring has sprung! What to drink? We've got you

It’s finally here, the weather for blazers and sandals, rooftop parties and Bank Holidays. At Double Dutch we love to switch up our cocktail repertoire to celebrate the season. Spring is all about fresh flavours and refreshing moments. We go all in on the lightest, brightest and most delicious spring cocktail recipes.

Here’s our list of the best spring drinks to try for this year…

To elevate your gin cocktail game

Let’s start with something simple but sophisticated. A cocktail that’s made with 100% sparkle for the springtime weather, theSaintly Sisters.It uses St Germain, or another elderflower liqueur to give a superbly delicate flavour, enhanced by Double Dutch Cucumber & Watermelon. Blending coolness with sweetness to create an unforgettable, easy to make, springtime sipper!

 

Fly a Paper Plane

Bourbon isn’t necessarily seen as a springtime spirit, but we’ve got a cocktail that’s perfectly proportioned for spring. ThePaper Planewill impress without the fuss.

This cocktail is a pretty recent invention; 2008 in fact, inspired by M.I.A.’s single “Paper Planes”, released that year. Ready to fly? Let’s go!

In a shaker, combine 25ml bourbon, 25ml Aperol, 25ml Amaro and 25ml fresh lemon juice. Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe glass. Bet you won’t fly just one!

Bringing springtime to your gin

Do you love G&T? We do too! Spring is the perfect time to switch it up with a Tom Collins.. It’s the quintessential spring cocktail, it's long and tangy and it pulls together the simplest of ingredients in a way that can’t be matched.

It’s so famous that it even has a glass named after it, the Collins glass, but any tall glass will do. take your tall glass and fill it with ice. Pour in 50ml gin, 25ml fresh lemon juice, 25ml sugar syrup and top with around 125ml soda water. Stir gently and garnish with a lemon twist.

 

Want to double down on flavour?

Take half a handful of raspberries and muddle them in the bottom of your tall glass before adding the rest of the ingredients, and thread some raspberries interwoven with lemon zest onto a cocktail stick for a fancy finish.

We’ve got your Coronation cocktail covered

We seize every opportunity to celebrate, and this one has everything - crowns and cocktails, red carpets, pomp and ceremony, street parties and extra holidays! If you’re upgrading your drinking rituals to full on regal during the Coronation Weekend, then we recommend the Palace Punch- easy to make, easy to drink, and you can always use some edible flowers or glitter in your ice cubes if you want to blitz the glitz!

If life gives you lemons - Lemon Drop!

It’s no accident that citrus flavours are central to spring - they help celebrate the freshness and vitality of new growth and longer days. The Lemon Drop is a perfect cocktail to help us enjoy spring, by combining all the springtime elements in a single glass. It requires a little more prep than some other cocktails but believe us, it’s worth it.

Start by chilling a martini glass, and while that’s happening, blend some caster sugar with finely grated lemon zest and set aside. Pour 50ml vodka, 25ml triple sec and 25ml lemon juice into a cocktail shaker over ice and shake well. Now dip your chilled glass’s rim in water, shake off any excess and then dip it into the sugar and lemon mix before pouring in your Lemon Drop.

A surprise springtime satirical choice

Our friends in Washington tell us that this is 2023’s favourite in bars around DC. Without getting political, we understand that it’s this cocktail’s name -Dark and Stormy.The name is making it so popular Because of former porn-star Stormy Daniels.

Our take on this?

The Dark and Stormy is an amazing cocktail, especially when made with Double Dutch Ginger Beer to get the perfect blend of fiery, warm and sweet - literally the perfect storm! And it couldn’t be easier to make, just start with a highball glass filled with ice, then add 50ml dark rum, 25ml fresh lime juice and a dash of Angostura bitters, before topping off with our Double Dutch Ginger beer and a gentle stir.

Spring Fizz - for fruit fans

Fancy ice-cubes are a big deal this year, and we’ve found a way to totally boss that trend, whilst also ensuring we contribute to your 5-a-day quota. How? OurSpring Fizzis a high-fruit, all-flavour cocktail that salutes the season and is so good looking it’s insta-perfection in a glass. You’re welcome!

 

Mint Julep - pure refreshment in a glass

Make no mistake, the julep is an ancient concoction. Originally the jallab a Persian blend of rosewater and herbs, it is still drunk in the Middle East and North Africa as a non-alcoholic blend of grape molasses, grenadine syrup, and rose water, bubbled with incense. It was reinvented in America as a definitely boozy cocktail, and with the rose base changed for mint. Popular with Ernest Hemingway and Dr Leonard McCoy from Star Trek, theMint Julepepitomises America’s Deep South.

Making a Mint Julep is simple

hake 65ml bourbon, ten mint leaves and 10ml simple syrup together over crushed ice and strain. Traditionally it’s served in a julep cup (often pure silver) but you can serve it over ice in a highball glass. It’s always garnished with fresh mint.

Springtime celebration - French 75

Spring is reason enough to celebrate, but if you’ve got an extra special reason to raise your glass, we love the French 75, a springtime cocktail that makes your tastebuds happy. Start with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of sugar syrup and 50ml gin in an ice-filled shaker. Once they’re well blended, strain into a champagne flute and top slowly with champagne so it doesn’t bubble over. Cheers!

Do You Know Any More Spring Cocktail Recipes?

If you have more refreshing spring cocktail recipes let us know in the comments.