Local restaurants are spilling the recipes to their fresh spring cocktails to help you elevate happy hour at home.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OUTSHINE PR
In a shaker, mix 2 oz. Libre pepper tequila, 1 oz. carrot juice, ½ oz. freshly squeezed citrus and ¼ oz. agave. Pour ice in the shaker and shake hard. Fill a Collins glass, rimmed with celery salt and Tajín, with the mixture. Top with a splash of Fiery ginger beer and garnish with a celery sprig and dehydrated lime wheel.
Scarlet Kitchen & Lounge, Mission Viejo, 949.503.3086, scarletkl.com
“Down the Wabbit Hole is the perfect spring sip, balancing earthy sweetness from the fresh-pressed carrot juice while you awaken your taste buds with the bright zing of ginger beer.”–JACKIE PEMBER, BARTENDER, SCARLET KITCHEN & LOUNGE
PHOTO COURTESY OF SOLITA TACOS & MARGARITAS
“With fresh, exotic passion fruit and a spicy rim, this margarita is the perfect cocktail to begin a romantic night out.”–GIOVANNI SALVINO-PRADA, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, XPERIENCE RESTAURANT GROUP
Add 2 oz. Chamucos tequila reposado, 1 oz. fresh lime juice, ½ oz. passion fruit syrup and ½ oz. honey syrup to a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a rocks glass rimmed with Tajín and filled with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Solita Tacos & Margaritas, Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Irvine, solitatacos.com
PHOTO BY TIMOTHY KWON FOR MARRIOTT IRVINE SPECTRUM
Mix 2 oz. Don Julio blanco tequila, 1 oz. lime juice, ¾ oz. grapefruit juice, ½ oz. strawberry juice and ½ oz. agave with a float of Grand Marnier. Pour and garnish with a sliced strawberry, dehydrated lime wheel and rosemary.
Heirloom Farmhouse Kitchen at Marriott Irvine Spectrum, Irvine, 949.880.2420, heirloomfarmhousekitchen.com
“This margarita has a great herbal citrus aroma with a sweet and salty front end from the strawberry. Grapefruit bitterness dances on the sides of your tongue with an earthy Don Julio blanco finish. I came up with this drink because I love fresh fruit in cocktails but they are often too sweet, so I wanted something bittersweet to sip under the warm spring California sun.”–IAN HERNANDEZ, BARTENDER, HEIRLOOM FARMHOUSE KITCHEN
PHOTO COURTESY OF OLD BREA CHOP HOUSE
In a tin, pour 2 oz. bourbon, ½ oz. lime juice, 1 oz. grapefruit juice, ½ oz. falernum, ½ oz. Petite Canne syrup and 6 dashes grapefruit bitters. Whip, swizzle and serve over pellet ice. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Old Brea Chop House, Brea, 714.592.3122, oldbreachophouse.com
“There are many classic variations of sours, such as the whiskey sour and the New York sour, but we were inspired to create a bourbon-forward sour that honored these classics yet still had a modern twist. Our Western Sour features bourbon and the essence of grapefruit that strikes an elegant balance between bright and spice-forward flavors.”–TONY FASULO, OWNER, OLD BREA CHOP HOUSE
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