Brunch like on vacation: 6 drinks for a late breakfast — from Mimosa to Bloody Mary
Material 18+. Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to your health.
Updated
Brunch is the best invention of the weekend: a late breakfast that smoothly transitions into lunch, without an alarm clock and without a rush. It has its own gastronomy — eggs benedict, syrniki, croissants — and its own, separate drink culture: light, sunny drinks that make the day continue rather than end. The brunch menu at bars always features the same characters, and they all translate perfectly to the home kitchen.
The rules of the genre are dictated by the time of day. First: the alcohol content should be minimal; a brunch cocktail should refresh, not put you back to sleep. Second: everything is built on juices and coffee — that is, on what you already have for breakfast. Third: always have a non-alcoholic option — there are always drivers, athletes, and those who simply don’t want to drink at the table, and they should enjoy something just as tasty.
Six drinks from the catalog 24cocktails.com — four with alcohol, two without. I’m giving the proportions and steps exactly as they are written in the recipes on the site.
1. Mimosa (Mimosa)
The queen of brunch by all accounts: it’s said to have been mixed at the Ritz in Paris in the twenties and named for its color — reminiscent of the spring blooms of mimosa. Fresh orange juice and icy sparkling wine — that’s it. Lighter than champagne itself, more festive than any juice: that rare case where a drink makes the table feel celebratory just by being there. With eggs benedict and croissants — no alternatives.
Ingredients
- Champagne — 6 oz (about 180 ml), chilled
- Orange juice — 2 oz (60 ml)
How to prepare
- Make sure the champagne and orange juice are well chilled.
- Pour the orange juice into a champagne flute.
- Carefully add the chilled champagne.
- Serve cold.
Tip: Juice it in the morning and strain out the pulp — store-bought juice at brunch is especially noticeable, it has nothing to hide behind. Keep the ratio in favor of the sparkling. And don’t batch it in a pitcher: a Mimosa is made by the glass, the bubbles in a pitcher don’t last.
2. Bloody Mary
A cocktail-snack and the main 'savior' of brunch culture: it’s said that mixing vodka with tomato juice started at Paris's Harry's Bar in the twenties, and the spices and celery were added later in America. Our version is modern bar-style, with precise measurements: hot sauce, Worcestershire, black pepper, and celery salt turn tomato juice into a cold spicy soup with character. Perfect with omelets and bacon.
Ingredients
- Ketel One Vodka — 60 ml
- Tomato juice — 120 ml
- Lemon juice — 15 ml
- Hot pepper sauce (red) — 8 dashes
- Worcestershire sauce — 4 dashes
- Black pepper — 2 turns of the mill
- Celery salt — a pinch
How to prepare
- Mix all the ingredients in a shaker with ice.
- Strain into a glass with ice.
- Garnish with a celery stalk (optional — salt and pepper on the rim of the glass).
Tip: shake briefly, about five seconds: if you shake too long, the tomato juice froths up and thins out, and a Mary should be thick. Build the heat gradually — eight dashes is just the start, not the limit. The celery stalk isn’t just for decoration: it should crunch between sips.
3. Irish Coffee
For brunch in the cold season, when it's raining outside and you still had to get up: hot sweet coffee with Irish whiskey under a cap of cold cream. According to the classic version, it was born at an Irish airport in the forties — a bartender warmed up shivering transatlantic passengers. You’re supposed to drink it through the layer of cream, without stirring: hot through cold, bitter through creamy — the best alarm clock there is.
Ingredients
- Irish whiskey — 45 ml (1 1/2 oz)
- Coffee — 240 ml
- Sugar — 1 tsp.
- Whipped cream — 1 tbsp.
How to make
- Heat the coffee, whiskey, and sugar in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil.
- Pour the mixture into an Irish coffee glass.
- Top with whipped cream.
- Serve hot.
Advice: Whip the cream just a bit — to the state of 'thick but pourable': that way it will lay down in a nice layer and not sink. Sugar is a must even for those who go 'sugar-free': it binds the coffee with the whiskey and holds the cream. Preheat the mug with boiling water.
4. Paloma
If brunch smoothly transitions into lunch and the sun is already high — it's Paloma time: tequila with grapefruit soda on a mountain of ice, Mexico's favorite daytime drink. The bitter grapefruit makes it grown-up, the soda makes it light, and it comes together faster than you can brew tea. Of all the 'daytime' cocktails, this one is the most refreshing: after it, you want to be on the terrace, not on the couch.
Ingredients
- Grapefruit soda — 90 ml
- Tequila — 45 ml
How to make
- Fill the Collins glass with ice.
- Pour in the tequila.
- Pour in the grapefruit soda.
- Gently stir.
- Garnish with a slice of lemon.
Tip: squeeze a wedge of fresh lime into the glass and add a tiny pinch of salt — that's how they drink Paloma back home, and the salt surprisingly brings out the flavor. Tequila — with the words '100% agave' on the label, its honesty is especially important for a daytime cocktail.
5. Shirley Temple
A non-alcoholic classic with Hollywood pedigree: the drink is named after the most famous child movie star of the thirties — legend has it, it was created so the young actress would have something to raise at adult parties. Ginger ale, a splash of grenadine, and lemon: pink, fizzy, utterly charming. At brunch, it saves everyone — the kids at the table, the drivers, and those who already celebrated yesterday.
Ingredients
- Giffard grenadine syrup — 7.5 ml
- Lemon juice — 7.5 ml
- Thomas Henry Ginger Ale — top it up
How to prepare
- Pour the ingredients into a glass with ice.
- Gently stir and serve with straws.
Tip: Grenadine — exactly a spoonful: it's there for a blush and a light berry note, if you pour too much — you'll end up with syrupy fizz. A cocktail cherry on a skewer is a must by the book, and you can swap the ginger ale for some fierce ginger beer — it’ll come out more grown-up.
6. Lemouroudji
Final revelation: West African ginger-lemon lemonade with cayenne pepper, made in a pitcher and sipped all day. Fresh ginger and pepper are tied up in a cheesecloth pouch and steeped in water, then lemon and sugar are added — it results in a spicy, fiery, incredibly refreshing drink with not a drop of alcohol. At brunch, it plays the role of an 'adult alternative': it has more flavor and character than half the cocktails.
Ingredients
- Ginger — 2 pieces
- Water — 1 gallon (about 3.8 liters)
- Lemon juice — from 1 pound of lemons (~450 g)
- Sugar — 1 cup
- Cayenne pepper — ground
How to make
- Juice the lemons.
- Peel and grate the ginger.
- Place the grated ginger and a generous pinch of cayenne pepper in a cheesecloth and tie it up.
- Soak the bundle in water for 15 minutes.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice.
- Chill and serve — with a slice of lemon or ginger.
Tip: This recipe is for a crowd — almost four liters, so prepare it the night before: overnight in the fridge, the ginger and pepper will really infuse the water. Adjust the spiciness by how long you steep the knot, and definitely serve it ice-cold — warmth makes the pepper meaner.
Six drinks — and brunch is ready: Mimosa welcomes guests, Bloody Mary gets cozy with the hot stuff, Irish Coffee warms you up in the rain, Paloma sends you off into the day, while Shirley Temple and Lemuradji make sure everyone at the table is having a good time. The main rule of the Sunday bar is the same as Sunday itself: don’t rush and don’t overdo it. Enjoy your brunch!
All cocktails are in the catalog →
Mark the bottles on your shelf — the site will show you what you can mix right now →