9 Drink Recipes To Loosen Up The Mood

Nothing helps the two of you relax and enjoy each other like a classic cocktail. Mix up some recreational beverages to unwind from a long day at the office, and enjoy each other's company. Get closer, so you can go further.

1. The Bloody Mary

Flickr: pellesten

3 cups tomato juice

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons sweet and sour mix

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

3/4 teaspoon Tobasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tapatio, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon or more freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon horse radish (prepared)

1 teaspoon green olive brine

Celery salt (to sprinkle on top)

Coarse salt (for rim of glass)

Your favorite vodka

(makes 1qt. of mix)

Who said the Bloody Mary is only for breakfast? Get the recipe for the bloody mary mix here, and if you're feeling ambitious, add some pickled asparagus!

2. The Boozy Lemonade

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Ingredients:

2 bottles Moscato

1 pink lemonade concentrate

3 cups of Sprite (more or less, depending on your taste)

Fresh raspberries

Combine the liquid ingredients in a pitcher and stir. Then smash up half the raspberries and sprinkle them in to taste. Use the rest whole as a garnish. Super easy.

3. The Beer and Margarita

Flickr: bwats2

Ice cubes

3 ounces tequila

2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

1 ounce Simple Syrup, recipe follows

1/2 to 1 teaspoon orange liqueur

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, lime juice, and Simple Syrup. Shake until the mixture is chilled. The beer is pretty self-explanatory, but make sure you leave room at the top. To make simple syrup, boil equal parts sugar and water until all the sugar appears to have disolved and let it cool.

4. The Sangria

Flickr: mlehet

1.5 liters red wine

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or another mild white)

1/2 cup brandy

1/2 cup triple sec

Slices of limes, lemons, oranges (optional)

It's super easy. Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice. Get more details here.

5. The Mojito

Flickr: preppybyday

6 fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or to taste

½ lime, cut into 2 wedges

¾ cup ice cubes

1 ounce Marti Mojito

1 ounce Ke Ke Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur

6 ounces club soda

1 sprig fresh mint for garnish (optional)

This one's a little harder, but not by much. You need to muddle mint leaves, sugar, and a lime wedge in a highball glass Then add ice cubes, Marti Mojito, Ke Ke Beach Key Lime Cream Liqueur, and club soda. Squeeze remaining lime wedge into glass. Stir, taste, and adjust sugar if necessary.

6. The Fall Cocktail

Flickr: ekigyuu

1 jigger Honey liquor

1 jigger spiced rum

Apple Cider (to taste)

Pear juice (to taste)

Honey (to taste)

Combine ingredients, shake, pour into martini glass and garnish with cinnamon stick and pear slice wedge.

7. The Spring Cocktail

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1 ounce vodka

1 ounce ruby Port

1 ounce peach juice

½ ounce Grand Marnier

¼ ounce lemon juice

Peach slice

Mint sprig

Perhaps fall isn't the right season. Try this Springtime cocktail instead. It's easy. Mix the liquid ingredients and serve over ice, garnish with the peach and mint. And see a few more springtime cocktail ideas here.

If you're feeling bold:

We asked NYC Bartender Aaron Polsky (of Amor y Amargo & Desnuda, and of the up and coming cocktail group Cripple Creek) to make a few next-level cocktails just for relaxing after work. Here they are:

8. Natural Born Lover's Man

Photo By Aaron Polsky

1.5 oz Chinaco Tequila Anejo

.5 oz Amaro Cio Ciaro

Heavy dash Angostura bitters or a drop of St Elizabeth Allspice Dram

Combine in frozen rocks glass packed with crushed ice. Garnish with a few orange slices and sip with a straw.

9. WMF

Photo By Aaron Polsky)

1.5 oz Barsol Pisco Mosto Verde Italia

1 oz Combier

.5 oz Lemon Juice

Raw Egg White (optional, but highly recommended)

Shake really hard with ice until the drink is frothy, strain up into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a dash of Scrappy's Lime bitters, if you'd like.

Garnish with a sprightly mint sprig and a juicy orange slice.