10 quick and easy Valentine’s Day cocktails

Ready in: 15 mins

1. Combine Martini Rosso and gin, then pour it into chilled champagne glasses on top of ½ teaspoon icing sugar.
2. Give it a quick stir with a spoon, then add frozen raspberries to each glass and top up with prosecco.

For exact measurements, follow this recipe.

2. White rum & Campari cocktail

Ready in: 15 mins

We’re big fans of the spirit world’s comeback kid, Campari, and a splash of lurid rouge is exactly what’s needed on Valentine’s Day.

1. Combine 50ml Campari with 25ml white rum, the juice of 1 lime, 2 tsp brown sugar and 200g frozen mixed fruit – we used a strawberry & banana smoothie mix.
2. Blitz it with ice, then pour into a martini glass and top with freeze-dried strawberry pieces and a couple of kaffir lime leaves.

3. Raspberry & passionfruit martini

Ready in: 5 mins

Turn up the passion – quite literally – with this elegant blend of 100ml vodka, 1 tbsp raspberry liqueur and 50ml passion fruit juice, shaken with a handful of ice, then strained into chilled martini glasses. Pop half a passion fruit to float in each glass and enjoy a totally tropical tipple.

4. Pink grapefruit margarita

Ready in: 10 mins

A tangy margarita is guaranteed to send cheeks blushing, and the classic, tequila-based treat can be given romantic rosiness by adding pink grapefruit.

1. Rim two margarita glasses with a combination of 2 tsp each table salt and caster sugar – do this by scattering the mix onto a plate, wetting the rim of the glass and dipping it to create a sparkly edge.
2. Add 75ml tequila, 25ml Cointreau, the juice of 1 grapefruit, 1 tbsp agave and some ice to a shaker, mix well then strain into the glasses, adding a grapefruit peel curl if you’re feeling flash.

5. Espresso martini

Ready in: 10 mins
This potent blend consists of 100ml vodka, 50ml Kahlua, 50ml cold espresso and 25ml crème de cacao, plus a handful of ice.

1. Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, mix well for up to a minute then strain into martini glasses.
2. If you’re feeling crafty, create a cardboard template and dust a cocoa heart over the top.

6. Vanilla & apricot fizz

Ready in: 15 mins
If your love adores all things sweet, they’re sure to be a fan of vanilla vodka.

1. Measure out 50ml vanilla vodka and mix it with 2 tsp apricot jam until loose.
2. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and pour into glasses rimmed with caster sugar – achieved using the margarita method, above – then top up with soda water and garnish with a physalis.

7. Old fashioned

Ready in: 5 mins
If all this talk of super-sweet cocktails is giving you a toothache, adopt your best Don Draper swagger and clutch a tumbler of the whisky-based old fashioned.

1. Put 2 tsp sugar syrup or 1 tsp granulated sugar into a small tumbler. Add 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters and a splash of water, then mix until the sugar dissolves, if using granulated. Fill your glass with ice and stir in 60ml Scotch whisky.
2. If you like, add soda, 1 maraschino cherry and an orange slice.

*Serves one

8. Passionfruit 'pornstar' martini

Ready in: 10 mins
Sometimes known as a 'pornstar martini', this was one of the most popular Valentine's recipes on Good Food last year.

1. Scoop the seeds from 1 ripe passion fruit into the glass of a cocktail shaker.
2. Add 60ml vanilla vodka, 30ml passoa, a squeeze of lime juice and a dash of sugar syrup with a handful of ice and shake well.
3. Strain into 2 martini glasses, top up with prosecco, then add half a passion fruit to each.

9. Mojito mule

Ready in: 15 mins
Mash up two cocktail classics – a refreshing mojito (pictured here) and a sparkly Moscow mule – in this gingery muddle.

1. Divide a lime cut into wedges, a small handful of mint leaves and 6 slices fresh, peeled ginger between two glasses and use the end of a rolling pin to mash together, being careful not to completely pulverise them.
2. Add 100ml spiced rum, mash again and fill the glass with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with sprigs of mint – très chic!

10. Herby G&T

Ready in: 5 mins
Give a quality gin a sniff and you should be greeted with a bouquet of botanicals, all of which can be amplified by your choice of garnish.

1. Add 2 rosemary sprigs and 3 slices cucumber to 50ml gin, plus a squeeze of lime juice, and muddle the mix with the back of a spoon before dividing between two glasses.
2. Add an extra 25ml gin, tonic to the top up the glass and 2 rosemary sprigs as a garnish.

Visit our cocktails & drinks section for lots more liquid inspiration, and for all things romantic, visit our Valentine's Day page. For more quick and easy menus try our 10 Valentine's Day dishes you can make in minutes.