Mother’s Day (ahem, May 12, 2024) is your chance to show Mom how much she means to you, and what says “I’m grateful for everything you do” more than a top-notch adult beverage? While I’m sure she’d never scoff at a glass of white wine with a few ice cubes (she’s polite like that), pull out all the stops with one of these 30 special occasion–worthy Mother’s Day cocktails, which are ideal for serving at brunch or dinner. Whether your mom is a tequila girl, fancies frosé or prefers a decked-out bloody Mary, she’s definitely going to love the bartender—that’s you.
30 Mother’s Day Cocktails to Show Mom You Love Her (from Bloody Marys to Margs)
LYSM, Mom
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Published Apr 15, 2024
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- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
Traditional negronis require a lot of mixing if you’re serving a crowd. This version is both easier to make in large batches and lighter, so it’s ideal for a Mother’s Day celebration.
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
If the name of the game is brunch, you can’t go wrong with a bloody Mary. In my experience, the key to making them *the best* is to use high-quality tomato juice and season it so the drink is savory, spicy and balanced.
3. Very Iced, Very Frozen Coffee
- Time Commitment: 2 hours, 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Is it a cocktail or is it a dessert? You can (and should) spike this icy treat with vodka, coffee liqueur, Baileys or bourbon. It’s optional, but it will add a subtle booziness while making the frozen mixture easier to scoop.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy
Speaking of frozen, did you know you can easily give a spritz the blender treatment? It’s one part boozy, two parts refreshing and 100 percent our favorite warm weather drink.
5. Frosé
- Time Commitment: 3 hours, 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Year after year, our editors never tire of rosé. These cocktails are basically snow cones for adults—what mom wouldn’t love that? (If you need more convincing, I once served this at a brunch and it was a runaway hit.)
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
For the mom who just can’t quit a good ol’ sauvignon blanc over ice, stir together this easy, elegant version of a spritzer. It comes together in no time and serves a crowd.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Orange juice? Yawn. Switch up your usual mimosas with watermelon juice, which is oh so refreshing any time of day. This recipe yields enough juice to make a Champagne bottle’s worth of drinks—cheers.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Head to the farmers market to buy the prettiest, most fragrant strawberries you can find, then muddle them into these spicy cocktails. Habanero rum adds an additional kick, but you can use a regular rum if Mom can’t handle the heat.
10. Pimm’s Cup
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
Once you’ve sliced the fruit, this pinkies-out British cocktail is shockingly easy to throw together. It’s also light enough to serve at brunch or as an afternoon sipper.
12. Tropical Hibiscus Spritz Cocktail
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
This riff on the Aperol spritz will make your mom think she’s being whisked away on a tropical vacation. (She’s allowed to dream, right?) It’s worth noting that you’ll need dried hibiscus flowers to make the simple syrup, but you can find that at most spice stores or on Amazon.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
The gradient effect of grenadine in orange juice makes for an impressive presentation, but lucky for you, these brunch-friendly cocktails are easy enough for beginners to make.
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
Toss a spoonful of any fruit jam into your cocktail shaker and you can instantly customize your marg. (Not only that, but it allows you to skip the simple syrup.)
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Whether you’re throwing a showstopping brunch or spending Mother’s Day lazing around the house, a bellini is in order. Up the ante by using fresh peaches instead of the canned stuff.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Swap the usual grapefruit juice for fresh strawberries and this paloma is ready for spring. A spicy chili-lime rim brings out the sweetness of the fruit, but you can use plain sugar or salt if you prefer.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <15 minutes, special occasion–worthy
If your mom is a smoothie-a-day kind of lady, treat her to a boozy version for this special occasion. With Greek yogurt and coconut milk, it’s still kinda virtuous (even though there’s Champagne).
18. Rosé Sangria
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
Bring on the seasonal fruit. Swapping the red wine for lighter rosé means this pitcher is totally appropriate to serve before 11 a.m., right?
19. Pink Vodka Lemonade Cocktail
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
Homemade strawberry lemonade needs few adornments…unless you’re talking vodka. Your mom will love this one so much, she’ll ask for the recipe.
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, special occasion–worthy
Some fruit cocktails are borderline cloying, but rhubarb is mouth-puckering enough that it’s not a risk with this drink. Paired with lime juice and a bit of sugar, it tastes like SweeTarts in the best way.
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
With tomatillos, cilantro, cucumber and tomatoes, this Mother’s Day cocktail basically counts as green juice. (Right? Right.) Feel free to go over the top with your garnish, but I’d use a classic celery stalk if you want to keep it simple.
22. Lemon Raspberry Sorbet Prosecco Floats
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, special occasion–worthy, <15 minutes
These spiked floats are as simple as scooping sorbet into a glass and pouring bubbly over top, but they manage to look so impressive.
23. Grapefruit Pisco Sour with Orange Bitters
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
Pisco is clean, refreshing and slightly floral, so it’s an ideal spirit to introduce to Mom on her special day. If you don’t feel comfortable using a raw egg white, you can skip it. (The drink will have a slightly different texture, but the flavors will still be great.)
24. Frozen Blueberry Margarita
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
It looks like a smoothie, tastes like a party and comes together in no time. What more could Mom ask for? (Psst: To make it non-alcoholic, simply omit the tequila and swap the orange liqueur for orange juice.)
25. Pineapple Orange Rum Punch
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, special occasion–worthy
Take your mom on a vacation in a glass this Mother’s Day with a tangy-sweet rum punch that looks really impressive (but is surprisingly simple to make). The cocktail is made in the glass, so you don’t even need a shaker.
26. Meyer Lemon and Thyme Bees Knees
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, <15 minutes, <10 ingredients
The combination of thyme and lemon is sweet, tart and savory all at once. Your guests might not be convinced by the herbal flavor at first, but one sip and they’ll be asking for more.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, <10 ingredients, <15 minutes
This twist on a French 75 is rumored to be Taylor Swift’s favorite drink. It’ll be your mom’s, too, if you serve it up on her special day. Elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice, gin and Lillet Blanc are the culprits for its citrusy, floral flavor.
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
Think cherry-lime soda, with a boozy twist. This drink is ultra-bubbly and refreshing, but if you don’t like gin, I’d try vodka in its place. (Just don’t shortcut with bottled lime juice, please!)
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy, <30 minutes
Take a break from the typical orange juice and serve a trifecta of mimosa flavors at your Mother’s Day brunch. Mom has options: tropical (mango and pineapple), paloma (grapefruit and lime) and strawberry-basil. I’d suggest a one-to-one ratio of bubbly to base.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
This simple spritzer is loaded with lemons for tart flavor, but you can (and should) add any seasonal fruit you have on hand, like cherries, strawberries or raspberries. Any white wine will work, but something light and dry (like a sauvignon blanc) is best.
