Birthday Drink Ideas

Festive & Yummy Birthday Cocktail ideas & Recipes

Bright & colorful drinks are the choice for your Birthday-theme party, and we have compiled a few great cocktail ideas and recipes, including:

Pre-made signature drinks
Birthday drinks for bar service
Birthday martinis
Rimming the glass

The type of cocktails you serve will depend on the type and size of your party.

For cocktail parties: We recommend a pre-mixed signature drink to:

Ensure everyone's drink tastes fabulous
Control costs
Reduce time mixing cocktails

For dinner parties: We recommend martinis to:

Relax the crowd quickly and facilitate conversation and laughter during dinner
Mix in batches and reduce the time mixing cocktails
Add style and panache

For bar service: We recommend keeping it simple by:

Offering drinks with 1 to 4 ingredients
Preparing mixes beforehand, for more complicated cocktails
Not serving frozen drinks

Regardless of the type of drink you serve, rename the drink for your guest of honor, in the spirit of your theme, your group of guests, or a current event.

Signature Drink

When choosing a signature drink to mix in large batches the day before the party, look for the following:

A drink that will appeal to most tastes
No carbonated mixers, look for juices

A designated drink is also an excellent way to control costs. Rum is a great choice here because it is the cheapest liquor, mixes well with juices, and makes a large number of cocktails with universal appeal.

Remember: Only put ice in cocktail glasses, this means never put ice in pre-mixed batches. If you have room, put your signature drink mixture in the freezer, but don't forget to defrost before the party.

Obviously, if your recipe calls for carbonated ingredients wait until right before serving to add them.

For all batch mixed drinks, first mix a single serving cocktail in the same proportions, then make adjustments to suit your personal taste. This will also give you a reference point for the final mixture.

Bubblicious Birthday
Sweet and fruity bubblegum flavored cocktail.

1 oz
1 oz
1 oz
1 oz
4 oz
Splash

Vodka
Midori*
Creme de banana
Sour Mix
Orange juice
Grenadine syrup

1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
4 parts
For color

Mix all ingredients and adjust for taste.
You may also wish to rim your glasses before guests arrive.
To serve:
Add ice to a double old-fashioned glass rimmed in nonpareils.
Fill with the pre-mixed cocktail, and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Birthday Hurricane
Delicious and potent version of the Hurricane with a fresh citrus finish.

1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
2 oz
2 oz
Splash

Vodka
Gin
Light rum (optional)
Gold rum
Almond liqueur
Triple sec
Grapefruit juice
Pineapple juice
Grenadine syrup

1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
4 parts
4 parts
For color

Mix all ingredients and adjust for taste.
You may also wish to rim your glasses before guests arrive.
To serve:
Add ice to a hurricane, stemmed, or highball glass rimmed in nonpareils.
Fill with the pre-mixed cocktail, and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Birthday Him-icane
A more masculine blue version of the Birthday Hurricane.

1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
1/2 oz
2 oz
2 oz

Vodka
Gin
Light rum
Gold rum
Almond liqueur
Blue curacao
Grapefruit juice
Pineapple juice

1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
1 part
4 parts
4 parts

Mixed Drinks for Bar Service

Birthday Cake

Tastes like a birthday cake!

1-1/2 oz
1/2 oz
3 oz

Stolichnaya vanilla vodka*
Coconut rum
Pink lemonade

Combine ingredients over ice in a double old-fashioned glass rimmed in nonpareils, then stir.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Strawberry Cheesecake
Who would have guessed, but it looks & tastes like strawberry cheesecake!

1 oz
3 oz

Stolichnaya vanilla vodka*
Cranberry juice (yes, cranberry)

Combine ingredients over ice in a double old-fashioned glass rimmed in nonpareils, then stir.
Garnish with a strawberry.

Martinis

For a birthday dinner party, we recommend the Bubblegum Martini before dinner and the much sweeter Chocolate Cake Martini for after dinner.

Bubblegum Martini
Highly recommended. This drink looks and tastes just like bubblegum.

2 oz
1 oz
Splash

Three Olives Bubble vodka*
Cask & Cream cream liqueur*
Grenadine syrup

Pour ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake for 30 seconds.
Strain into a martini glass rimmed in nonpareils.

Chocolate Cake Martini
Tastes like a chocolate-raspberry gourmet cake and very sweet.

2 oz
1 oz
1 oz
1/2 oz

Chocolate vodka
Creme de cocoa, dark
Creme de cocoa, white
Raspberry liqueur

Pour ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker or martini pitcher and shake or stir.
Strain into a martini glass rimmed in rainbow jimmies.
Garnish with a lemon twist.

Rimming the Glass

To rim the glass:

Moisten the rim of a your cocktail glass with a citrus, grenadine, or liqueur depending upon which is used in your cocktail.
Fill a saucer or bowl with rainbow nonpareils (candy sprinkles) or rainbow jimmies.
Roll the outside rim of the glass in the nonpareils or jimmies to cover.
Shake off excess.

*Compare other brands before making a substitution here. For many cocktails, an off-brand is acceptable in a mixed drink, but not always. For example, we have yet to find a cheaper replacement for Midori, but that does not mean one does not exist.