Easter is a religious festival as well as a celebration of the coming of spring. It’s the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. But the holiday traditions also have roots in the Jewish tradition of Passover and the Anglo-Saxon festival of Eastre (sometimes called Eostre). Both of these have themes of new beginnings and resurrections as their hearts, as well.
These days, whether you are religious or not, Easter is commonly celebrated by families enjoying a meal together. With any good meal, good beverages should accompany the occasion. Easter festivities are a great opportunity to fire up your drink creativity!
Some families choose to get together for Easter brunch, with breakfast foods, quiche, and pastries. Eggs, of course, are a symbol of Easter. And eggs (scrambled, over-easy, sunny-side-up, poached, and, of course, hard-boiled) are a great way to enjoy an Easter brunch. We have the perfect beverage ideas to go with these breakfast options!
(Easter trivia: Easter eggs have medieval origins. One account tells of priests that would give a hard-boiled egg to a boys’ choir. As they sang, they would pass the egg around like a hot potato. Whoever was holding the egg when the clock struck midnight would get to eat it! As far as decorating and dying the eggs, the earliest record of this comes from 1290. The household of Edward I bought 450 eggs to be colored or covered in gold leaf and distributed to the royal court for Easter.)
Alternatively, some families get together for Easter dinner. Traditionally, the lamb would be served as the main course. Sharing lamb is a tradition that has deep ties with Jewish Passover. Ham is a popular option more common in recent years. As techniques for preserving food to last the winter began to evolve, ham became more popular. The reason? Ham cured over the winter months would have been ready to eat in the spring. Whether your meal will include lamb or ham, we have some drink options for you!
In this article we are excited to give you ideas and recipes for:
- Drink ideas for Easter brunch
- Drink ideas for Easter dinner
- After-dinner drink ideas for Easter
- Funny drink ideas if you are looking for a humorous offering
Best refreshing Easter drinks for brunch
After attending church service, many families get together to celebrate the holiday over Easter brunch. A typical Easter brunch includes eggs, pancakes, French toast, quiche, or breakfast casserole. Many cultures have traditional Easter bread, which is an elaborate sweet bread. Ever heard of hot cross buns? These are an Easter treat! When it comes to choosing a drink to pair with your Easter brunch, think sparkly and sweet! You won’t go wrong with champagne, sparkling wine, bellinis, and mimosas. They’re the perfect thing to sip while watching the kids hunt beautifully decorated Easter eggs in the grass!
Below you will find co*cktails that feature:
- Champagne
- Wine
- Rum
- Bourbon
Strawberry Grapefruit Mimosa
- Grapefruit juice
- Champagne or sparkling wine
- Fresh strawberries, sliced
- Thyme
For sparkling wine lovers! In a shaker, mix up the grapefruit juice and a few sliced strawberries and shake until the juice is a light pink color. If you have time, let the mixture infuse for a few hours. When ready to serve, mix the champagne and grapefruit juice mixture together. We suggest starting off with 1/3 grapefruit juice to 2/3 champagne. Serve in a champagne flute. Garnish with thyme and strawberries.
Lemon Raspberry Sangria
- 1750 ml bottle rosé wine
- 1 cup raspberry lemonade
- ½ cup vodka (I like some berry-flavored Stoli)
- ¼ cup Limoncello
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cup raspberries
- 2 lemons, sliced
For the wine lover! First, prepare the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add ½ cup of raspberries, and cover. Set aside to cool. Next, combine wine, raspberry lemonade, vodka, and limoncello in a pitcher. Stir in the cooled simple syrup to taste. (You may not want to add all of this!) Add remaining raspberries and lemon slices. Cool in the refrigerator. Serve in tall glasses.
Mojito
- Fresh mint leaves (must be fresh—don’t use dried)
- 2 oz. rum
- 1 oz. fresh lime juice (Freshly squeezed is best!)
- ½ oz. simple syrup
- Club soda or sparkling water
- Lime slices
For the rum lover! Put mint leaves at the bottle of your shaker. Then use a muddling stick or a blunt object (the bottom of a wooden spoon would work) until you release the aroma of mint. Add the rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and a handful of ice. Shake. Strain over a fresh glass that has ice in it. Leave an inch of space at the top of the glass. Top the drink off with a splash of club soda. Garnish with lime slices and more mint.
Mint Julep·
- 8 mint leaves (must be fresh—don’t use dried)
- ¼ oz. simple syrup
- 2 oz. bourbon
- Mint sprigs for garnish
- Optional: Angostura bitters
For the bourbon lover! Put the mint leaves at the bottom of your Julep (or Moscow Mule) cup along with the simple syrup. Use a muddling stick or a blunt object (the bottom of a wooden spoon would work) until you release the aroma of mint. Add the bourbon then pack the cup with ice. Stir until the cup is frosty on the outside. Top with a sprig of mint. Add a few drops of bitters if you prefer a drink that’s less sweet.
Best Easter drinks for a savory dinner
Easter dinners typically feature one of two main courses: lamb or ham. Look for drinks that bring out the best flavors in your meats and side dishes. Your sauces and spices might determine your choice of co*cktail. Depending on your preference, you may opt to go light and fresh, like a Moscow Mule or a French 75. Or you might opt to go with something drier and heavier, like a Manhattan or a rich Bordeaux wine. (Don’t forget a thematic, seasonal wine stopper!)
If you are serving wine with lamb, try a Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, or a Chianti.
If you are serving wine with ham, try a Riesling, Rosé, Zinfandel, or light Pinot Noir.
Pomegranate Moscow Mule
- 3 oz. pomegranate juice
- 2 oz. vodka (look for something pomegranate or berry flavored)
- Juice from ½ of a fresh lime
- 12 oz. ginger beer (ginger ale)
- Pomegranate arils for garnish
- Lime wedges for garnish
For the vodka lover! Combine all the liquids in a shaker, add ice, and then shake. Pour into a glass over ice. If using a Julep or a Mule glass, stir until the glass is frosty. Garnish with the arils and/or lime wedges.
French 75
- 1 oz. gin
- ½ oz. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ½ oz. simple syrup
- 3 oz. Champagne or sparkling wine
- Lemon wedges or twists for garnish
For the gin and Champagne lovers! In a shaker, add the gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake it up! Strain into a Champagne flute and top with Champagne. We prefer a combination of 1/3 gin mixture and 2/3 Champagne, but you can play with the proportions. Garnish with lemon wedges or twists.
Manhattan
- 2 oz. rye whiskey
- 1 oz. sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
- 1 maraschino cherry for garnish
For the whiskey lover! In a shaker, add the rye, vermouth, and bitters. Shake well. Serve in a martini glass and garnish with a cherry.
Easter trivia: It’s estimated that around the globe, the average household cost to celebrate Easter is about $131.
Best after-dinner Easter drinks
When your delicious Easter meal is over, it’s nice to enjoy an after-dinner co*cktail. Get your kids started on some old-fashioned Easter games, like egg rolls or egg-tapping, and then sit back with one of these delicious drinks. These are some options that the adults might enjoy:
Toasted S’mores Martini
- 1 oz. dark chocolate or milk chocolate Godiva liqueur
- ½ oz. fluffed marshmallow vodka
- ½ oz. heavy cream
- Hershey’s chocolate syrup and crushed graham cracker for the rim
- Marshmallows to garnish
- Small bamboo sticks
For the vodka lover! First, prep your glass by dipping your glass in the Hershey’s syrup and then in the crushed graham cracker to coat the rim. Then, pour the chocolate liqueur as slowly as possible over an upside-down spoon into the glass. Next, mix together the heavy cream and the marshmallow vodka in a separate glass. When done, pour the vodka mixture as slowly as possible over an upside-down spoon. If you do it right and do it slowly enough, it will create a layered effect in the glass. Next, skewer the marshmallow with the bamboo stick. Bonus points if you toast the marshmallow garnish!
Brandy Alexander
- 1 oz. crème de cacao
- 1 oz. brandy
- 1 oz. heavy cream
- Nutmeg
For the brandy lover! In a shaker, combine all liquids with ice and shake it hard! Strain into a beautiful glass. Sprinkle with the nutmeg.
Strawberry Shortcake Mimosa
- 10 strawberries
- ½ cup finely crushed Nilla wafers
- 2/3 cup strawberry ice cream
- 10 oz. vanilla vodka
- 1 bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine
- Whipped cream
For the Champagne lover! First, prepare your glass by running a cut strawberry around the rim of each glass to get it wet. Dip the rim into the crushed Nilla wafers. Next, drop 1 tablespoon of ice cream into each glass, and add 1 oz. vodka, and top the rest of the glass with Champagne. Add a small dollop of whipped cream to the top and sprinkle with Nilla wafers. Garnish with a strawberry.
Easter trivia: The largest chocolate easter egg was over 34 feet tall! It was created in 2011 in Italy. Although it had a steel frame construction, it was made entirely of marshmallows and chocolate. Also, Americans eat an estimated 600 million Peeps during the Easter season, outselling the jelly bean!
Best humorous Easter co*cktail ideas
Are you a punster? If you feel like making your friends and family laugh this Easter season, give these co*cktails a try!
Spicy Bloody Mary
Note: the link to the article has great suggestions for making a Bloody Mary bar, as well as options for garnishes, flavorings, and sauces.
- 48 oz. can of tomato juice (or about 6 cups)
- 3 tablespoons prepared creamy hot horseradish
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 ¼ teaspoons celery salt
- 3 teaspoons garlic salt
- Kosher salt
- Tabasco sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pickle-infused vodka (or regular vodka, if you prefer)
- Garnish items (limes, lemons, celery, blue cheese stuffed olives, bacon strips, pepperorinis, cooked shrimp, pickles, pickled anything, etc.)
- Skewers long enough to handle your garnish medley
For the vodka lover! First, mix the tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire Sauce, celery salt, garlic salt, and black pepper in a large pitcher. Season with 10-15 shakes of Tabasco Sauce (or to taste). Refrigerate until ready to serve. Next, assemble the drinks by mixing the celery salt and kosher salt on a small plate. Wet the rim of the glass and then dip it into the salt. Next, pack your glass full of ice. Add 2 oz. of vodka, then top with the Bloody Mary tomato juice mixture. Add your garnish on top--the more whimsical, the better!
Down the Rabbit Hole
- 1 ½ oz. vodka
- ½ oz. chartreuse
- 1 oz. carrot juice
- ¾ oz. lime juice
- ½ oz. cinnamon syrup
For the vodka lover! Add all ingredients to a shaker. Pack with ice and then shake it up! Strain into a beautiful glass. Garnish with fresh carrot leaves.
Birds and Bees
- 2 chamomile tea bags
- ½ cup honey
- 2 oz. gin
- 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
For the gin lover! First, make a honey syrup. Place both tea bags in ½ cup of boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and squeeze them out before discarding. Add honey and stir to dissolve. (You can refrigerate any leftover syrup). Next, combine the gin, 1 oz. of the syrup mixture, and lemon juice in a co*cktail shaker. Add ice and shake it hard! Strain into a martini glass.
Zombie
- 1 oz. light rum
- 1 oz. gold rum
- 1 oz. dark rum
- 1 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1 oz. passion fruit syrup
- ½ oz. simple syrup
- 1 dash aromatic bitters
- Mint sprig for garnish
For the rum lover! Combine all ingredients into a co*cktail shaker. Pack with ice and shake it hard. Pour into a tall glass filled with ice. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Easter is a season for family…and co*cktails!
Easter is a holiday that’s filled with renewed energy, family connections, and excitement for warmer months to come. Enjoy your holiday with these fun co*cktail and drink ideas to liven up your brunch, dinner, or dessert. They are sure to please all the adult-beverage drinkers in your group! What is your favorite drink to serve with your Easter meal? Share in the comments below!
