Spring Fever

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Cocktail History

The Spring Fever is a spring cocktail that was created by Jamie Steinberg at Motel Morris in New York City, New York. Inspired by the flavors sprouting up in gardens early in the season, the recipe spruces up sparkling pink wine with elderflower, lemon, strawberry, and rhubarb to make a tart and refreshing drink great for sipping in the sun on the patio.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Sparkling Rosé: This is a type of wine made with red grapes and yeast, which are fermented with limited skin contact to produce alcohol and then infused with carbon dioxide gas to develop a light pink color and crisp, fruity flavor.

Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflower blossoms, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a light, floral flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Rhubarb Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with rhubarb, herbs, spices, botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop a tart, slightly bitter flavor.

Strawberries: This is a type of berry grown on low plants that has bright red skin speckled with yellow seeds and tart, sweet flavor.

Lemon Slice: This is a slice of lemon that has been cut into a half wheel shape.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. I used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Vibrant orange-red color

• Aroma: Strong strawberry and light citrus

• Taste: Fairly tart flavor made up of sparkling wine at first following by sweet fruit and florals

• Finish: Sour citrus

Kendall’s Take: “This exhilaratingly fruity cocktail will have you puckering right up! The tangy strawberries and lemon up the ante on the tartness while the bubbly and elderflower dry them both back out, and the mixture altogether makes for a pretty bracing sipping experience. I could see the Spring Fever being a really fun alternative to a Mimosa or Bellini at a springtime brunch with the ladies. Not to mention, the color is lovely too!”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was found in the publication Liquor.com.