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Cocktail History
The Spring Fever is a modern cocktail that was created by Jamie Steinberg at Motel Morris in New York City, New York. Inspired by the flavors sprouting up in gardens early in the season, the recipe spruces up sparkling pink wine with elderflower, lemon, strawberry, and rhubarb to make a tart and refreshing drink great for sipping in the sun on the patio.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Sparkling Rosé: This is a carbonated wine made with red grapes. This recipe specifically calls for Sassetti Vino Spumante Rosé, a sparkling wine made in Italy, but we used Veuve Clicquot Brut Sparkling Rosé. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Surely Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé in place of the sparkling rosé.
Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflowers, citrus, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. We used Edinburgh Gin Distillery Elderflower Gin Liqueur because it’s high quality and has a fresh, floral aroma and flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Rhubarb Bitters: This is a food product made with rhubarb, herbs, botanicals, and alcohol. We used Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters.
Strawberry: This a small red fruit that is soft and juicy and has yellow seeds on its skin.
Lemon Slice: This is a slice of lemon that has been cut into a half wheel shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. We used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Tasting Notes
The Spring Fever has strong aromas of strawberry and light citrus and begins with a fairly tart flavor made up of sparkling wine at first followed by accents of sweet fruit and florals that are balanced out with sour citrus.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This bubbly beverage was quite the flavor bomb, and we were both big fans of it! The powerful strawberry flavors gave the Spring Fever a pretty tart profile, but the freshness of its ingredients was just the right thing to evoke the moods of the season of rebirth.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Despite using up an impressive five strawberries and coming out of the shaker looking more like a soup than a cocktail, this drink was very tasty once stretched out with sparkling wine. Thanks to the tart flavors of strawberry and citrus, the sweet elderflower and off-dry wine are well-balanced, and the color is an outstandingly bright red. Although I don’t normally love this type of drink (floral, muddled fruit, etc.), the Spring Fever did hit a sweet spot for me… or rather, a dry and tangy spot.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This exhilaratingly fruity cocktail will have you puckering right up! The tangy strawberries and lemon up the ante on the tartness while the bubbly and elderflower dry them both back out, and the mixture altogether makes for a pretty bracing sipping experience. I could see this being a really fun alternative to a Mimosa or Bellini at a springtime brunch with the ladies. Not to mention, the color is lovely too!”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor.com, an online beverage publication.
Stem and quarter strawberries, add to a shaker, and muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, rhubarb bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Fine strain into a goblet or wine glass over fresh cracked ice.
Top with sparkling rosé.
Garnish with lemon slice.
Ingredients
Directions
Stem and quarter strawberries, add to a shaker, and muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, rhubarb bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Fine strain into a goblet or wine glass over fresh cracked ice.
Top with sparkling rosé.
Garnish with lemon slice.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Surely Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé in place of the sparkling rosé and Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Spring Cocktails
If you like this spring-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Everything’s Coming Up Rosé: A sparkling wine cocktail made with rosé, Prosecco, Lillet Rosé, hibiscus tea, lemon juice, simple syrup, Aperol, grapefruit slices, lemon slices, and flowers
Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint
The Garden Rose (Variation): A tequila and sparkling wine cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, strawberry syrup, lemon juice, rose water, and a strawberry rose
Bellini: A sparkling wine cocktail made with peach nectar and a peach slice
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