During the month of June, the LGBTQ community around the world comes together to celebrate Pride. Pride in what the community has withstood over the decades, pride in the achievements its accomplished, and pride in the wonderful things to come. It’s also a time to celebrate individuality and uniqueness through bright colors, bold fashion statements, and fabulous parties. What better way to bring the brightness and boldness of Pride home than with some delightfully fun and campy cocktails. Here are a few delicious drinks you can prepare this Pride month for your family and friends.
Stoli Pride
Stoli is easily one of the most recognizable LGBTQ allies in the spirits world, and this year they’re continuing their mission by fundraising for LGBTQ rights in Eastern Europe.
Their new cocktail, the Stoli Pride, is an intoxicating and luxurious drink that perfectly captures the passion of Pride. Muddled raspberries, sparkling wine, and freshly squeezed lemon juice create a ruby color that’s as potent as a glowing neon sign. It’s a beautiful and captivating cocktail that you and your friends are sure to love. To truly make it a Pride cocktail, you can prepare it with Stoli’s limited edition Harvey Milk Stoli bottle, which was designed by artist Oz Montania. Proceeds from its sales will help support Harvey Milk Foundation’s LGBTQ programming in Eastern Europe and the Baltic nations.
Stoli Pride cocktail
Ingredients:
~ 1½ parts Stoli
~ ¾ lemon juice
~ ½ part simple syrup
~ 4 raspberries
~ Splash sparkling wine
Directions:
~ muddle raspberries and ingredients then shake with ice.
~ Strain into a chilled martini glass and top with a splash of sparkling wine.
~ Garnish with a lemon peel, flower petal (of your choice), and a spirit of liberation.
Sugar Daddy
Crystal Head’s Sugar Daddy cocktail
Put those leftover raspberries to good use with this sweet and naughty confection. Crystal Head vodka has combined every fruit under the sun to create the Sugar Daddy. Muddled raspberries are combined with grapefruit juice, fresh lime, and the orange-infused favorite, Cointreau, to create a surreal and stunning cocktail that’s bubblegum pink on the outside, but packs punks a punch on the inside. And for anyone wondering, yes, Crystal Head’s limited edition Pride rainbow skull bottles are now on sale and proceeds go towards a variety of nonprofits that Crystal Head works with.
Ingredients:
~ 2 oz. Crystal Head Vodka
~ 4 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
~ ½ oz. Simple Syrup
~ Muddled Raspberries
~ ½ oz. Cointreau
~ ½ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Directions:
~ Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker and muddle.
~ Add ice, shake, and double strain into a chilled martini glass with a pink sugar rim.
Symone’s SKYY & Soda
Symone’s SKYY & Soda cocktail
Symone, Winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13, has teamed up with SKYY Vodka to create a cocktail that’s so simple literally anyone can make it in a snap. Best of all, it’s also proof that a great cocktail doesn’t require a copious amount of ingredients. Symone’s SKYY & Soda combines the simple pleasures of high-quality vodka with the fruity undertones of a grapefruit garnish. If anyone is looking for a quick cocktail before they hit the parade, this is the one for you.
Ingredients:
~ 1.5 parts SKYY vodka
~ 4.5 parts soda water
~ Cubed ice
~ Grapefruit peel to garnish
Directions:
~ Fill a highball glass with cubed ice
~ Pour 1.5 parts of SKYY Vodka
~ Top with soda water
~ Express a grapefruit peel and garnish, then cheers to Pride!
Peachy Pride
So, maybe you’re a little bit country, and he’s a little bit rock n’ roll. Maybe you like fruity drinks and he’s more of a whisky guy. If only there was a way to bring you both together. Well, actually, thanks to Virginia Distillery’s Peachy Pride cocktail, there is!
For anyone who isn’t into overly sweet cocktails, try indulging in the more matured, deeper flavors of whisky. This cocktail combines lemon, lime, peach bitters, and even peach tea syrup to create a cocktail that’s deliciously nuanced.
Virginia Distillery’s Peachy Pride
Ingredients:
~ 1 ½ oz VHW Port Cask Finished Whisky
~ 1 oz lime juice
~ 1 oz lemon juice
~ 1 oz peach tea syrup**
~ 3 dashes peach bitters
~ Peach slice to garnish
Directions:
~Combine ingredients in a glass.
~ Stir and garnish with a peach slice. Enjoy!
**Directions for peach tea syrup: Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 peach tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain and add 1 cup sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Minnelli
NEFT’s Minnelli cocktail
NEFT Vodka has taken a campy approach to their pride cocktail by creating a unique twist on a classic appletini and then naming it the Minnelli, honoring the one and only Liza Minnelli. Ask yourself: Could there possibly be a more fabulously queer cocktail than an appletini named in honor of Liza Minnelli? I think not, and that’s exactly why this fruity and boozy concoction should be on everyone’s must-drink list this Pride season. You can also purchase their colorful, limited-edition Pride barrel on their website.
Ingredients:
~ 1 oz NEFT Vodka
~ 1.5 Aperol
~ .25 oz Apple liquor
~ 2 dashes lemon bitters
~ Top w/ Prosecco
~ Apple peel and mint for garnish
Directions:
~ Add all ingredients into mixing glass and stir with ice.
~ Strain into Collins glass over fresh ice.
~ Top with Prosecco and garnish with peeled apple and mint sprig.
Remember to celebrate responsibly this pride season. For more info on Pride celebrations around the world, check out Passport’s Pride Guide
