The best cocktails to enjoy spring

Spring is one of our favourite times of the year and the best for enjoying the fresh air. The temperature is perfect, the sun is still pleasant, and the long days and exuberant landscapes invite you to savour every little moment.

The fresh, tasty, colourful cocktails are the perfect reflection of this season and combine perfectly with the best outdoor spaces: terraces with spectacular views, gardens full of vegetation and courtyards that are cared for down to the smallest detail.

Try some of these sophisticated combinations suggested by the Costa Brava Hotels de Luxe cocktail experts and turn any afternoon into a very special evening.

Caribbean Collins

“This cocktail is perfect for spring afternoons with lots of hours of sunlight, when you can feel your body demanding, with every sip and with more intensity, the moments of beach time and sea breeze”. This is how Cristian Hornos, cocktail expert of the Hotel Vistabella, presents the Caribbean Collins.

It is made with rum and a splash of sea water, giving it a saltiness that transports us directly to the establishment’s incredible terraces with views of the Bay of Roses. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is also added, as fresh as the blustery days of the north wind on the Costa Brava, and sugar. At this point, through an ancient technique, milk casein is used as a filter to remove all the most bitter and astringent components of the cocktail. Finally, a splash of artisanal grapefruit soda finishes the creation and makes it perfect for any time of day, and as an aperitif.

Spring Club

The name of this cocktail is a declaration of intentions, a call to the most ardent lovers of spring. Jaime De Miguel, barman at the Hotel Castell d’Empordà, proposes this drink which he defines as “seductive, as it highlights the spring fruit and herbs, such as lemon verbena”. 

It is prepared by putting raspberries and lemon verbena leaves in a cocktail shaker and crushing them together to make a light muddle that will release the flavours and aromas. Next, we add the rest of the ingredients: gin (in this specific case we use gin from the Empordà region), Italicus bergamot liqueur, lychee syrup, lemon juice and egg white. We stir it, first dry and then with ice, and we can serve it in a Martini glass. It is the ideal pairing for the intense spring colours and smells of the fields, courtyards and outdoors of Castell d’Empordà.

Anastasia

The crystal-clear, turquoise water and the green of the pine trees close to the sea surround us while we enjoy the next suggestion: the Anastasia cocktail made at the Hotel Cala del Pi Beach Retreat. “All the elements are perfectly integrated in the spring ambience of the Costa Brava, transmitting the colours and flavours that are experienced at this time of year”, explains Aziz Atabki, the hotel’s maître d’.

This cocktail is prepared with Tequila Patrón, fresh orange juice, fresh lime juice and salt. All these ingredients are served and decorated with a triangular slice of orange and lime, and a bunch of mulberries. To round off the experience, at Cala del Pi they have created an aperitif comprising a minestrone of fruits of the forest in a coconut shell and a ceviche of prawns from Palamós. A combination of flavours that work together perfectly and that invites us to enjoy the moment and the surroundings.

Cherry Blossom

The last creation comes from the Hotel Restaurant Sa Punta, a classic establishment on the Costa Brava that particularly stands out for its outdoor areas: green gardens that are full of life that invite us to completely disconnect. Its cocktail expert, Valon Qukovci, recommends we let ourselves be carried away by the sensations suggested by the Cherry Blossom, a cocktail crowned with a cherry, the spring fruit par excellence.

Fill a Bordeaux wine glass with ice, let it cool and remove the excess water. Add lemon juice, sugar syrup, orgeat syrup (sweet almond syrup), pink gin and stir. Next, we add salmon-coloured rosé wine, soda or siphon water, gently stir it and decorate with two cherries and some cherry tree blossom. Impossible to refuse.