Brunch cocktails that go beyond the Bellini
Brunch isn’t truly brunch without a bevy of beverages: coffee, water, juice and, if you’re drinking alcohol that day, a cocktail. Unlimited mimosas and heavily adorned Bloody Marys are longtime go-tos, but you certainly need not limit yourself to them.
Modern midday choices tend to trend away from high-alcohol options and toward drinks with lower alcohol by volume (or ABV) that pair nicely with the meal. “People want good-quality cocktails to go with good-quality food,” said Stacey Swenson, the bar director for Mattos Hospitality in New York City.
Meant to be sipped alongside small bites, often bitter-leaning, lighter aperitifs are a fantastic foil to whatever short stack, Benedict or scramble is on the table.
“Bianco or dry vermouth with a soda or a tonic as your first cocktail of the day is very smart,” Swenson said. “If you’re a pancake or waffle kind of person, a Bellini with fresh fruit is a really good option.” She also recommends a sparkling, citrus-laced French 75 or that most effervescent, most consummate of aperitivo beverages: the spritz.
Should a mimosa be nonnegotiable, Swenson recommends jazzing up the classic combination of orange juice and prosecco by adding orange bitters or orange liqueur. Or make another orange juice-based drink, the Garibaldi. Built on a frothy Italian mix of red bitter liqueur (usually Campari) and fresh juice, it’s refreshing and sweet-bitter, and ideal for straddling the line between late-morning beverage and afternoon cocktail.
Alternatively, spike a batch of cafe de olla, a sweet, spiced Mexican
coffee that is traditionally made in an olla, or clay pot. Infused with cinnamon and other flavorings, such as cloves and orange peels, the drink is richly sweetened
with piloncillo, an unrefined cane sugar with a deep, molasses flavor.
“It’s like biting into cake; it’s meant to be super sweet,” said Marcela
Valladolid, a chef, author and founder of the food and lifestyle brand Casa Marcela. If you can’t find piloncillo, Valladolid suggests mixing brown sugar with a small amount of molasses to approximate piloncillo’s caramelized flavors. Serve cafe de olla as is, or turn it into a brunchtime cocktail with an ounce of reposado tequila or whiskey.
Should you prefer your coffee iced, Swenson says you can swap coconut water for regular water in an iced Americano (for a touch of nuttiness and natural sweetness), and add an ounce or two of rum or amaro.
Whichever drink you choose to balance on the already brunch-packed table, make it something worthy of the space and one you’ll be inclined to sip between bites before, and even after, the sun goes down.