Since 1914 in the United States, there’s been a specific day on the calendar set aside to honor everyone’s mother: the second Sunday in May. This year it falls on May 12, and it provides an often-overlooked opportunity for bars and distilleries to put a unique focus on their customers.
Many of my friends who work in spirits production are mothers themselves, including several distillers—one even put back a barrel of whiskey when her daughter was born, and I can imagine what an inspiration that must be. However, spirits producers—especially those marketing brown spirits—tend to overlook the potential of holidays such as Mother’s Day.
It’s a shame because holiday-themed cocktails and menus represent an opportunity to introduce approachable flavors and attract new or more casual spirit drinkers.
Recs from the Distillers
Tailoring your drinks for Mother’s Day deserves a personalized approach—just as there’s no combination of flavors guaranteed to appeal to all women or all men, there is no drink guaranteed to please all moms.
Sydney Jones—until recently, the head distiller at FEW in Evanston, Illinois, now headed to a new position at Kentucky’s Heaven Hill—says that when she thinks of her mom, she thinks of strength. “So, a cocktail with strong flavors or a slightly higher ABV comes to mind,” says Jones, who also co-hosts the Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast.
“In honor of Haley Jones, I think she best embodies the flavors of a Kentucky mule—a little bit of sweet and a little bit of spice. … Famously, my mother will always passionately declare—whether we’re out in a restaurant or a bar or drinking with friends and family—that her favorite drinks are whatever I make. That being said, she particularly loves Moscow mules and sipping FEW Cold Cut Bourbon whiskey on the rocks.”
Jones recommends looking for inspiration in culinary tastes. The cocktails she suggests to her own mom are based on the “flavors and textures I know she loves,” Jones says. “For example, she loves ginger root and citrus, so a mule-type cocktail is always a safe bet with her. She drinks a lot of fizzy water, so cocktails should have an effervescence to them, like a classic highball or French 75, which I instinctively know she’ll lean more toward, versus a stirred cocktail like an old fashioned or a negroni.”
Mel Heim, the veteran distiller who cofounded of Big Nose Kate Whiskey in Portland, Oregon, also recommends a personalized approach. “Moms are a heterogeneous group with equally diverse tastes,” she says. “To begin suggesting cocktails, I must know the individual’s preferences and establish what they like. Sweet? Savory? Smoky? Acidic? Low ABV? Mixed? Spirit-forward? Brown? Clear, bubbly, flat? Once I know their baseline, it’s a lot easier to offer suggestions.” (Heim says her own mom, Cindy, loves a hot toddy with Big Nose Kate Whiskey.)
When I ask Heim about any specific flavors that come to mind for Mother’s Day cocktails, she responds by saying that raising humans is a complex experience that exemplifies duality—strong and empathetic, fun and firm, open and protective, and the list goes on. Thus, a cocktail for Mom should “showcase the same depth of character.
“On a day all about them, stylistically, something spirit-forward, balanced, and celebratory—think all the garnishes—would be appropriate,” Heim says. “And they’d deserve as many as they want.
“Now, a cocktail that personifies motherhood is different,” she says. “The flavor profile would be a journey on the palate—an olfactory funhouse. It’s also served in a black chalice, because you can only think you know what you’re getting into, but you really have no idea. You nose it; it’s nice—ginger and grapefruit, maybe. But the second the liquid touches the lips—bam! Surprise, it’s bitter and cloying, and it is Malört. The drinking experience leaves you mystified, a little buzzed, mostly confused, and contemplating a second against better judgment.”
Taking the personalized approach to a drink for moms also invites the possibility of getting them involved in the mixing. At gatherings, Jones says she loves incorporating a DIY element into the cocktails.
“Something wildly successful for me is a build-your-own G&T bar,” she says. “Have several different flavored tonics and soda waters available to choose from, one to three different gins—a London dry, an American contemporary, and a barrel-aged gin, for example—and an assortment of citrus, botanicals, and herbs for garnish. Everyone gets to customize their own cocktail.”
Tasting rooms, cocktail bars, and restaurants often celebrate Mother’s Day with specials on cocktails, meals, and retail. Molly Troupe, master distiller at Freeland Spirits in Portland, Oregon (and the other co-host of the CS&D Podcast), says their distillery is offering just such a special this year. “For locals, we are doing a choice of spirit bottle with a 16-ounce Spring Fever mixer, a Ritual & Fancy candle, and a local chocolate,” she says. “Nationally, we offer 50 percent off a mini-gin gift pack when you purchase any spirit bottle.”
Planning a Menu
Brunch always comes to mind around Mother’s Day, and brunch cocktail menus can be an entity unto themselves. It’s a good time to be cheeky and creative, flipping the idea of savory and sweet cocktails on its head.
“Brunch cocktails are the best because there are ample varieties of food flavor to complement,” Heim says. “A good cocktail assortment includes fruit-forward and semisweet, bright and bitter, spicy and vegetal, and even a little smoky—something for everyone.”
A few suggestions from Heim:
- “a bee’s knees, using a juniper-forward gin paired with salmon benedict”
- “an aperitivo and soda—choose from herbal to citrus—with spring quiche”
- “a mi nonie with a board of pâté and pickled veggies”
- “a Tobacco Road with oysters”
- “For the trifecta of fruit, bitter, and smoky, a mezcal negroni reigns queen for versatility and is quite yummy served alongside huevos rancheros with chorizo.”
As a mixologist with a gaggle of matriarchs in my family—some who don’t imbibe, and others with their own tastes—I’ve had a heck of a time planning cocktail menus for Mother’s Day brunches.
My go-to solution: working with tea. I make chilled teas of different flavors—some fruity, some herbaceous—and build my cocktails with tea as the base. That way, it’s easy to offer an exciting cocktail (or mocktail for those who don’t drink). Having a handful of fresh juices and flavored syrups makes my job much more manageable, and these tea-based cocktails are always crowd-pleasers.
Cocktails for Mom
With all those insights in mind, you want to build approachable, easy-to-customize cocktails. The Moscow and Kentucky mules are well-known and popular—and they’re also quick to make, cost-effective, and it’s easy to change them up and make them a little special for holidays or other occasions.
Strawberry Moon
As Jones suggests, a higher-ABV whiskey in a Kentucky mule can be an excellent fit for those who like bolder flavors. To add interest, try changing up the ginger beer with a house-made strawberry-lemon soda.
2 oz whiskey (90 percent ABV or higher)
1 oz strawberry-lemon honey syrup
Club soda
Add whiskey and syrup to a mixing glass with cubed ice and stir well. Strain over a mule cup filled with fresh cubed ice and top with club soda. Stir gently and garnish with a lemon slice and a strawberry slice.
To make the syrup: Muddle 4 ripe strawberries, add 1 oz lemon juice and 1 cup of hot water to a pan. Heat, stirring well, until the strawberries are cooked down well. Strain through a fine strainer. Add 1½ cups of honey, keep warm, and stir until the honey is completely dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool. Keep the syrup refrigerated and date the container. (For a sweeter syrup, increase to 2 cups of honey.)
Gin-gria
Sangrias are a fantastic profit center for any bar that serves wine and uses fresh fruit in its cocktails. Leftover wine and fruit that’s still fresh—but perhaps not as pretty as you need it to be for cocktails—can be the perfect sangria ingredients. These drinks are easy to batch for quick service at the bar or for setting up a pour-it-yourself bar for gatherings.
12 oz gin
6 oz organic peach nectar
1 bottle sauvignon blanc wine
4 oz lemon juice
6 oz unsweetened apple juice
4 oz simple syrup
3 pinches cinnamon
Combine all the ingredients, stir well, and chill. Once fully chilled, pour the mixture into a red wine glass or a Collins glass over ice and add chunks or slices of fruit or berries. (Optional: Top with prosecco.)
Tea Fashioned
For lovers of old fashioneds, tea syrups are all the rage. They add interest, and they’re a quick fix when you’re looking to add variety to your menu without needing a ton of components on hand. Here’s a fun play on a traditional old fashioned:
2.5 oz of whiskey or aged rum
1 oz chilled chocolate-rose tea
1 oz chocolate-rose tea syrup
2 shakes Mexican chocolate bitters
Place all the ingredients in a mixing glass with cubed ice, stir well, and strain into an old fashioned glass over a large cube or ice sphere. Garnish with a chocolate-dipped orange for a fancy offering, or just add a fresh orange peel.
I tend to like a sweeter whiskey when working with tea cocktails. Pushing the steeping a bit longer to pull out some of the bitter flavors from the tea leaves and herbs creates nice contrasting flavors when added to a sweeter spirit. Typically, for black tea, you want to steep the tea for 3–5 minutes.
To make the syrup: Brew 2 cups of chocolate-rose tea blend. (Tea Forte makes a great blend.) Set 1 cup aside to cool. With the other cup, keep the tea warm, add ½ cup of demerara sugar, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool, store it in the refrigerator, and add the date it was bottled.
So, let’s raise a glass for all the moms and mom-figures in your life—and to the moms who make the spirits in your glass.