Best Spring Cocktails for Your Easter Brunch
Spring has arrived, and with it comes one of the year's best excuses to set a beautiful table and pour something special. Easter brunch is the perfect occasion to move beyond the standard pitcher of orange juice and lean into the season — bright flavors, fresh fruit, fragrant herbs, and bubbles that make every sip feel like a celebration.
Whether you're hosting a crowd or keeping it intimate, these are the cocktails that belong on your spring table. Every drink here is approachable enough for home bartenders of any skill level, but impressive enough to earn a second pour before brunch is over.
1. Strawberry Mimosa
What's in it:
- 2 oz strawberry purée
- 4 oz Prosecco or Champagne
- Fresh strawberry for garnish
The classic Mimosa gets a spring upgrade when you swap plain orange juice for fresh strawberry purée. The result is a deeper blush-pink color, a sweeter fruit-forward flavor, and a drink that looks spectacular in a champagne flute.
Fresh strawberry purée made from hulled berries and a touch of simple syrup will always outperform anything from a bottle. The recipe is endlessly scalable — make a pitcher of purée the night before and brunch service becomes effortless.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: The pink color is seasonally perfect, it comes together in minutes, and every guest from mimosa fans to newcomers will reach for a second glass.
Pro tips:
- Use ripe, in-season strawberries for the best flavor and color
- Chill your glasses before pouring — cold glasses keep the bubbles alive longer
- Dry sparkling wine balances the sweetness of the fruit better than off-dry varieties
2. Peach Bellini
What's in it:
- 2 oz white peach purée
- 4 oz Prosecco
- Peach slice for garnish
The Bellini was created at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy in the late 1940s by founder Giuseppe Cipriani, who named the peachy-pink cocktail after the Venetian Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini. The original recipe called for fresh white peach purée and Prosecco — a combination that has remained largely unchanged for over seventy years.
The IBA recognizes the Bellini as an official cocktail, with white peach purée and Prosecco as its two-ingredient spec. For spring, ripe yellow peaches work just as well when white peaches are not available, producing a slightly deeper golden color and a rounder stone-fruit flavor.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: Its Italian pedigree makes it feel special, and its two-ingredient simplicity means even first-time hosts can nail it.
Pro tips:
- Blanch and peel fresh peaches for the smoothest purée
- Strain the purée through a fine mesh sieve to remove any fiber
- Frozen peaches, thawed and puréed, are a reliable year-round substitute
3. Lavender Lemon Drop
What's in it:
- 1.5 oz vodka
- 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz lavender syrup
- 0.5 oz triple sec
- Sugar rim and lemon twist for garnish
The Lemon Drop Martini emerged in San Francisco during the 1970s, attributed to Norman Jay Hobday of Henry Africa's bar, who was known for creating sweet, approachable cocktails that drew a wider audience to the city's bar scene. The original formula paired vodka with fresh lemon juice and triple sec, balanced with just enough sweetness.
The lavender variation introduces a floral note that transforms the drink entirely. House-made lavender syrup adds a soft purple hue and an aromatic quality that makes this the most visually striking drink on the spring table.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: Lavender is quintessentially spring, the pale purple color photographs beautifully, and the balance of tart citrus against floral sweetness is genuinely crowd-pleasing.
Pro tips:
- Make lavender syrup by simmering equal parts sugar and water with two tablespoons of dried culinary lavender for five minutes, then straining
- Use culinary-grade dried lavender — ornamental varieties can taste soapy
- Shake vigorously with ice for a properly chilled, frothy pour
4. Aperol Spritz
What's in it:
- 3 oz Prosecco
- 2 oz Aperol
- 1 oz soda water
- Half-wheel of orange for garnish
Aperol was first produced in Padua, Italy in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers, Luigi and Silvio, who debuted it at the Padua International Fair. The bittersweet orange liqueur spent decades as a regional Italian favorite before the Aperol Spritz became a global phenomenon in the 2010s.
Its brilliant orange color, low alcohol content (around 11% ABV when mixed), and effortlessly bittersweet flavor profile make it one of the most approachable spring and summer cocktails in the world.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: The color is bold and festive, the ABV is low enough for a long brunch, and it is remarkably hard to make badly.
Pro tips:
- Always build in the glass over ice — never shake or stir
- Add the Prosecco first, then Aperol, then soda to preserve the fizz
- Use a large wine glass or balloon glass for proper dilution and aroma
5. Strawberry Daiquiri
What's in it:
- 2 oz white rum
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- 3–4 fresh strawberries
- Strawberry and lime wheel for garnish
The Daiquiri traces its origins to the mining town of Daiquiri in southeastern Cuba, where American mining engineer Jennings Cox is credited with creating the original recipe around 1898 — white rum, fresh lime juice, and sugar, shaken with ice.
The strawberry variation takes the same clean rum-and-citrus backbone and builds in fresh fruit and a touch of simple syrup. A shaken strawberry daiquiri made with fresh fruit and quality white rum is a more refined take than the blended version and deserves its place at a sophisticated brunch table.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: It is fruity without being cloying, works both shaken and blended, and the deep red color against a coupe glass looks stunning.
Pro tips:
- Muddle the strawberries lightly before adding the other ingredients
- A high-quality unaged white rum makes a noticeable difference
- Taste and adjust sweetness before shaking — berry ripeness varies widely
6. Hugo Spritz
What's in it:
- 3 oz Prosecco
- 1 oz elderflower syrup
- 1 oz soda water
- Fresh mint sprig
- Lime wheel for garnish
The Hugo Spritz originated in northern Italy — specifically the South Tyrol region — around 2005, created by bartender Roland Gruber. The drink combines elderflower syrup, Prosecco, fresh mint, and soda water, producing a lighter, more floral alternative to the Aperol Spritz that has grown significantly in popularity across Europe and North America.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: It is lower in alcohol than most cocktails, visually elegant with its pale green color and fresh mint sprig, and approachable enough that guests who prefer lighter drinks will gravitate toward it naturally.
Pro tips:
- Use elderflower syrup, not elderflower liqueur, for a lower-ABV serve
- Fresh mint added to the glass (not shaken) provides aroma without bitterness
- Build in a large wine glass over plenty of ice
7. Bee's Knees
What's in it:
- 2 oz gin
- 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
- 0.75 oz honey syrup
- Lemon twist for garnish
The Bee's Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail that combined gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey syrup — a formula designed in part to mask the flavor of low-quality bathtub gin. Despite its utilitarian origins, the combination produces a genuinely elegant drink that has enjoyed a significant craft cocktail revival since the early 2000s.
The honey syrup brings a natural, floral sweetness that pairs particularly well with floral or citrus-forward gins, making it one of the most springlike cocktails in the classic canon.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: The honey notes are seasonally perfect, the pale golden color is beautiful, and it offers a spirit-forward option for guests who want something beyond bubbles and fruit.
Pro tips:
- Make honey syrup by combining equal parts honey and warm water, stirring until dissolved
- Always use fresh lemon juice — bottled juice produces a noticeably flatter result
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe for the cleanest pour
8. Rose Sangria
What's in it:
- 1 bottle dry rosé wine
- 2 oz brandy
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- Fresh mint for garnish
- Soda water to top when serving
Sangria has roots in Spain and Portugal, where wine mixed with fruit, spices, and water has been consumed since at least the Middle Ages. The word likely derives from the Latin sanguis, meaning blood, a reference to the deep red color of the original wine punch. Rose sangria swaps the traditional red wine base for a dry rosé, producing a paler, more delicate drink suited to warm-weather occasions.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: It is a batch drink that improves with time, making it ideal for hosting. A large pitcher on the table looks welcoming and guests can pour at their own pace throughout the meal.
Pro tips:
- Prepare at least four hours ahead — overnight is better
- Use a dry, fruit-forward rosé rather than a sweet one
- Add soda water just before serving to restore effervescence
9. French 75
What's in it:
- 1.5 oz gin
- 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- 2 oz Champagne
- Lemon twist for garnish
The French 75 is one of the great celebratory cocktails. Its name references the French 75mm field gun used in World War I — reportedly because the combination hits with comparable force. The drink appeared in print as early as 1927 in the cocktail guide "Here's How" by Judge Jr., and has remained a bar staple ever since.
For spring gatherings, the gin-based version with its bright citrus lift and Champagne effervescence is a natural fit. It signals celebration without the weight of a spirit-forward cocktail.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: It is elegant, historically grounded, and the combination of gin and Champagne feels genuinely festive without being frivolous.
Pro tips:
- Use a quality London Dry gin and always squeeze fresh lemon juice
- Serve in a Champagne flute and garnish with a lemon twist
- The cognac variation is worth trying if you prefer a richer, rounder flavor profile
10. Elderflower Fizz
What's in it:
- 1.5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur
- 3 oz sparkling wine
- 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- Soda water to top
- Cucumber ribbon for garnish
Elderflower has become one of the defining flavors of contemporary spring cocktails. The elderflower shrub blooms in late spring across Europe and North America, and its delicate white flowers have been harvested for cordials and liqueurs for centuries. St-Germain, the French elderflower liqueur introduced in 2007, was instrumental in bringing the flavor into the modern cocktail canon.
Why it belongs on your Easter table: The flavor is unmistakably spring, the drink is light and aromatic, and it works beautifully as a welcome cocktail before brunch begins.
Pro tips:
- Balance the sweetness of St-Germain with enough fresh lemon juice to keep the drink from tasting cloying
- A cucumber ribbon garnish adds to the fresh, garden aesthetic
- Non-alcoholic elderflower cordial can substitute for St-Germain in a mocktail build
Building Your Spring Brunch Bar
Hosting a brunch does not require mastering all ten drinks at once. A well-curated spring bar can work beautifully with three or four options chosen to cover different preferences:
- For guests who want bubbles: Strawberry Mimosa, Peach Bellini, or Aperol Spritz
- For guests who want spirit-forward drinks: Lavender Lemon Drop, Bee's Knees, or French 75
- For guests who prefer lower ABV: Hugo Spritz, Elderflower Fizz, or Rose Sangria
- For guests who want something fruity: Strawberry Daiquiri
Batch-making is your best friend for brunch service. Sangria can be prepared the day before. Mimosa and Bellini purées can be made the night before and refrigerated. Honey syrup and lavender syrup keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.
Essential Tools for Spring Cocktails
A few well-chosen tools make home bartending significantly easier:
- Cocktail shaker — for Lemon Drop, Bee's Knees, French 75, and Daiquiri
- Fine mesh strainer — for double-straining shaken drinks into coupes
- Jigger — accurate measuring produces consistently good drinks
- Y-peeler — for citrus twists and cucumber ribbons
- Large pitcher or carafe — for batch drinks like sangria and Bellinis
A Note on Seasonal Fruit
Spring 2026 brings excellent strawberry availability across most of the continental United States from late March through May, making this the ideal season for strawberry-forward drinks. Fresh peaches peak slightly later — late May through August — so Bellinis made in early April benefit from ripe frozen peaches thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
Fresh lemon and lime juice should always be squeezed the day of service. Citrus juice oxidizes quickly and loses its brightness within a few hours of juicing.
Final Thoughts
Spring is a short season — make the most of it. Easter brunch only comes once a year, and the right cocktail on a well-set table turns a meal into a memory. Whether you are serving twelve or just sitting down with people you love, these drinks are the ones worth raising a glass to.
Browse the full collection of spring cocktail recipes at Jigger & Joy, and if you find a new favorite this Easter, we would love to hear about it.