Mix up some easy Easter cocktails

Sip sangria, martinis, or even a mocktail

This Easter pour some fun and colorful cocktails like a Bubbly Bunny or white chocolate Peter Cottontail.

Hop to it! This Easter pour some fun and colorful cocktails like a Bubbly Bunny or white chocolate Peter Cottontail.

“It’s a spin on the traditional chocolate martini,” explained Melissa Gregory, event coordinator at Bourbon Blue in Manayunk. “It’s a little bit lighter flavor-wise. It’s not going to be too overly sweet.”

Serve it in a pastel, sugarrimmed martini glass or break out the bubbly for a twist on a mimosa, featuring champagne and tart cherry juice.

“I like the uniqueness of the cherry because you don’t see the tart cherry in a lot of drinks,” she said. Plus, “it will be nice and pink.”

Also pretty in pink: a Peeps Cocktail with cherry vodka, triple sec, half-and-half and grenadine.

Prefer something nonalcoholic? Young and old can dive into a Swimming Peeps Mocktini.

“Growing up, Easter was always about chocolate — chocolate and Peeps,” recalled Perry “PJ” Dortone of PJ Bartending in Broomall, whose creamy chocolate martini is more of a “dessert-type treat.”

His berry-rich spring sangria tastes as good as it looks. And if you love jelly beans, try a passion fruit jelly bean martini.

“It’s nice and simple,” Dortone described. “People like it because it tastes like a passion fruit jelly bean.”

Peter Cottontail INGREDIENTS

Simple syrup Colored sugar crystals 2 ounces vanilla vodka ½ ounce light crème de cacao 3 ounces milk or cream Splash grenadine

INSTRUCTIONS

Rim martini glass with simple syrup and colored sugar crystals. Add remaining ingredients to mixing glass, over ice. Shake hard and strain into sugar-coated martini glass. Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF BOURBON BLUE

Bubbly Bunny INGREDIENTS

5 ounces brut champagne ½ ounce tart cherry juice Tart cherry with stem

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour tart cherry juice into flute and top with champagne. Garnish with tart cherry. Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF BOURBON BLUE

The Swimming Peeps Mocktini INGREDIENTS

1 (0.13-ounce) package blue, berry-flavored unsweetened drink mix 1 cup of lemonade 2 drops of blue food coloring

1 Peeps Marshmallow Chick

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all ingredients together in a martini glass. Top with a Peeps Marshmallow Chick and enjoy! Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF OUR MINI FAMILY

Peeps Cocktail INGREDIENTS

Lemon wedge Colored sugar 1 ½ ounces cherry vodka ½ ounce triple sec 3 ounces half-and-half Dash of grenadine 1 Marshmallow Peep

INSTRUCTIONS

Rim a martini glass with the lemon wedge and then dip the rim in colored sugar. Set aside. To a shaker filled with ice, add the cherry vodka, triple sec, half-and-half and grenadine until chilled. Strain into prepared glass and garnish with the Marshmallow Peep. Serve immediately. Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF LOVE BAKES GOOD CAKES

Creamy Chocolate Martini INGREDIENTS

2 ounces vodka 1 ounce crème de cacao 1 ounce Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

1 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream 1 ounce heavy cream Chocolate shavings for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Add liquids to shaker with ice and shake hard. Strain into a martini glass. Shave chocolate on top by scraping chocolate bar with a knife. Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF PJ BARTENDING

Spring Sangria INGREDIENTS

1 ½ ounces brandy 1 bottle Pinot Grigio 1 ½ ounces vodka ½ gallon white grapefruit juice

Blueberries, strawberries, lemon, lychee or passion fruit

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine liquids in large pitcher with ice. Add blueberries, strawberries, lemon, lychee or passion fruit. RECIPE COURTESY OF PJ BARTENDING

Passion Fruit Jelly Bean Martini INGREDIENTS

1 handful of passion fruit jelly beans 2 ounces vodka 5 ounces passion fruit juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Muddle jelly beans in the bottom of a shaker. Pour vodka on top and fill with passion fruit juice. Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Drop in a jelly bean. Serves 1. RECIPE COURTESY OF PJ BARTENDING

PHOTO BY EMILY RYAN This bright, vibrant sangria screams, “spring!”

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOVE BAKES GOOD CAKES A Peeps Cocktail combines cherry vodka, triple sec, half-and-half and grenadine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR MINI FAMILY Something festive for everyone: a nonalcoholic Swimming Peeps Mocktini.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOURBON BLUE This Bubbly Bunny looks even better with a tart cherry, instead of a maraschino.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOURBON BLUE Here comes Peter Cottontail, cocktail edition.