Creative Cocktails for your Wedding Reception
/If you’ve ever been to a wedding, you know the standard drinks that guests tend to enjoy at the reception. Everyone’s had champagne, wine, beer and Jack and Cokes, but Classics V of Buffalo, NY has some unique ideas for specialty wedding cocktails and drinks.
Champagne Cocktail
Champagne is a staple of any wedding reception, but you can create a unique take on the drink with specialty champagne cocktails. A champagne cocktail features champagne, obviously, but also includes brandy, bitters, a sugar cube and some kind of garnish, like cherry or lemon. There are many different recipes you can go with to make your champagne cocktail unique, but this is the classic way of making the drink. Toast the bride and groom with a champagne cocktail!
Rose Cocktail
The perfect cocktail for the bride or bridesmaids is a pink-colored Rose Cocktail. This particular drink is made of vermouth and cherry brandy and served in a chilled martini glass. For an extra special touch, a cherry can be added to the top. This was a popular cocktail in France back in the 1920s and is the perfect concoction for a romantic occasion like a wedding reception.
Blushing Bride
One of the more popular twists on the champagne cocktail is the Blushing Bride. There may be no more aptly named drink for a wedding reception than the Blushing Bride. This form of champagne cocktail is made by pouring peach schnapps and grenadine in a champagne glass before adding four ounces of champagne on top. What you will get is a blush-colored cocktail that’s perfect for the occasion.
Tuxedo Cocktail
For the groom, an appropriate drink is the Tuxedo Cocktail. This drink is created by stirring dry vermouth, gin, maraschino liqueur and orange bitters with ice into a martini glass and toping it off with a cherry. This classic drink is perfect for the man who is celebrating a very important day.
Mint Julep or Strawberry Mint Julep
You don’t have to be at the Kentucky Derby to enjoy a mint julep. A mint or strawberry mint julep is the perfect vintage drink to enjoy at a wedding reception. Though this drink may be best enjoyed at a wedding in the Southern part of the country, where the julep originated, it will fit just about any big celebration.
The julep is prepared with a mint leaf, bourbon, sugar and water. For a strawberry mint julep, cut up some strawberries or use a strawberry mint syrup or strawberry bourbon to give it that tangy taste. The mint julep is traditionally made by muddling the mint leaves, sugar and water. The ice and bourbon are then added to the glass on top of the muddled ingredients and stirred to perfection. The drink can then be garnished with a mint sprig. For some, other types of whiskey can be used instead of bourbon.
Cranberry Crush
If your wedding is in the fall, a warmer, spicier drink is perfect for the occasion. The fall weather version of the Cranberry Crush combines spiced rum, ginger beer and cranberry juice to create the perfect explosion of taste for the season. Fill a rocks glass with ice and then pour in the cranberry juice and spiced rum. You can top off the drink with some ginger beer.
The Cranberry Crush can also be made for warm weather using gin, bourbon or vodka. Combine gin, bourbon or vodka with tonic water, ginger syrup and cranberry juice in a glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge or lime.
If you’re looking for the right wedding hall in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area to enjoy these drinks, your search should end at Classics V Weddings and Banquets on Niagara Falls Blvd. Our facilities provide the atmosphere, service and delicious food you desire for your wedding day!
For other great cocktail ideas to bring to the table, check out The Knot's 'Signature Cocktail Finder'!