With many people opting to enjoy a long weekend, it’s a fine excuse to indulge a little and enjoy the usually forbidden breakfast cocktail. There’s something awfully decadent about having a drink with the first meal of the day, but for a long, lazy brunch with friends or family then an occasional bit of hedonism is allowed.
If you’re looking for ideas for breakfast cocktails though, skip the martinis and the old fashioneds — no one want straight booze first thing in the morning. Instead, try one of these breakfast classics.
The classic: Bloody Mary
Tomato juice, vodka, and Tabasco sauce form the backbone of the most iconic breakfast cocktail, the Bloody Mary. There are almost infinite variations of this drink to play with, but I like to swap out the vodka for gin, as the juniper works nicely with the tomato juice, and to add a healthy wack of pickle juice and celery bitters to give the drink a sharpness and a savoury heft.
If you’re feeling fancy, add a chilli salt rim to your glasses by mixing chilli powder and salt on a plate, running a lime wedge around the rim of your glass, then rolling the rim in the salt mixture. Garnish with the essential celery stalk.
The brunch darling: Mimosa
Equal parts of orange juice and sparkling wine make up this favorite of the bottomless brunch crowd, but how tasty a Mimosa is depends heavily on the quality of the ingredients. Get freshly squeezed orange juice if you can — or even better, squeeze it yourself — and use decent prosecco. It doesn’t have to be pricey Champagne, but don’t grab bottom shelf stuff.
If you want to kick your Mimosa up a notch, you can add a shot of Cointreau or peach schnapps to each glass. But my favorite addition is Campari. Pour Campari gently over the top of the drink and it will create a beautiful ombre effect, which tastes as good as it looks.
The sparkler: Hugo Spritz
Still decadent without being too heavily boozy, the Hugo Spritz combines a half ounce of St Germain with prosecco, topped up with soda water, for a light, floral drink for hot mornings.
Muddle in some mint as well for a zing to cut through those florals, or use a squeeze of lemon juice if you prefer. It’s the more delicate cousin of the ever popular Aperol Spritz.
