Ten new cocktail menus to try this spring
With so many new cocktail menus ‘springing’ up all over the world this season, we’ve taken a closer look at 10 that we think you should keep on your radar if you want to give your tastebuds a treat this spring.
From cat-themed serves in Japan and spy-inspired cocktails in London to a true celebration of the season in Athens, the globe’s most exciting bars have been living up to their reputations and brought all the creativity to their newest drinks lists this spring.
Equal Parts, London
East London’s beloved neighbourhood cocktail bar, Equal Parts, has welcomed the arrival of spring with a newly crafted cocktail offering that celebrates the best of the season.
The new menu focuses on fresh, floral, and mineral flavour profiles to capture the season’s essence, continuing the Equal Parts ethos of blending classic mixology techniques with a focus on seasonal ingredients, bringing together lesser-known flavours with a familiar twist.
Spring-inspired cocktails include the Cucumber & Elderflower Vesper, a clean, fresh, and elegant Martini-style cocktail that epitomises spring’s crisp and refreshing qualities, as well as the Ethereal Fizz, a vibrant mix of rhubarb and hibiscus balanced with mezcal for a bright yet layered profile. Meanwhile the Emerald Highball is a complex whisky-based long drink featuring fig leaf soda and bay leaf cordial, delivering savoury, saline notes reminiscent of a freshly cut spring garden.
Avra at The Four Seasons, Athens
Now that we’ve sprung forward into summer hours, Avra at the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel in Athens has unveiled the third edition of its cocktail menu, Seasonal-Original-Sustainable – an ever-evolving menu that continues the bar’s commitment to championing Greece’s diverse landscape.
Four carefully selected local ingredients are featured each year, and this year its the turn of orange, pine, pear, and dairy to be explored and celebrated in their various seasonal states.
Jac’s on Bond, New York
Jac’s on Bond, the beloved NoHo conversation house from Authentic Hospitality, is gearing up to debut its latest collection of cocktails by its new head bartender, Lauren Rojas.
In a nutshell, New Yorkers can expect this menu to be a bold yet inviting fusion of global flavours, drawing inspiration from Rojas’ South American and Asian heritage, with influence predominantly from Asian ingredients like matcha, sesame, and soju. All serves have been designed to be accessible while offering surprising, layered profiles that pair seamlessly with the cocktail bar’s food programme.
Standouts from the list include Lipstick on the Rim, made with Su Casa Mezcal, yellow chartreuse, strawberry-infused Luxardo Maraschino, grapefruit juice, lime and Peychaud Bitters, and The World’s Fair, a blend of Codigo blanco, cucumber juice, ginger-infused Zab’s hot honey, lime, salt and pepper, and sesame oil.
Rayo Cocktail Bar, Mexico City
Looking for a rooftop gem to hang out on this spring? Rayo Cocktail Bar in Mexico City is the place to hit, as it prepares to celebrate its third anniversary with a new cocktail menu called Hecho en México.
The new drinks offering is said to bring the country’s rich cultural heritage to life through innovative techniques, local ingredients, and a modern approach to Mexican hospitality, and offers an immersive experience that starts with a fragrance box created in collaboration with a local perfumer, allowing guests to choose their cocktail based purely on scent. It’s a bold step in sensory-driven mixology, designed to spark curiosity and deepen appreciation for Mexican spirits.
While the Puntas y Colas (pictured) reinvents the Margarita with sotol, pickled carrot, and hoja santa, the Tequilana Pet Nat blends Tequila, Mexican sake, and green grape cordial, with an agave-shaped jelly garnish in a showcase of the bar’s artistry.
After x Mr Lyan, Chicago
After, which describes itself as a ‘come-as-you-are neighbourhood bar’, has teamed up with London’s Mr Lyan Studio to launch a long-term cocktail partnership inspired by seasonal ingredients and innovative culinary techniques, that is to feature a rotating beverage menu curated by Ryan Chetiyawardana, better known as Mr Lyan himself.
Starting the first week of this month, the Spring 2025 menu showcases 12 cocktails, including four spirit-free selections, carefully crafted to evoke creativity, imagination, and a sense of rebellion.
Menu highlights include the Green Daisy – a snappy, bright, fluffy cocktail with fresh ‘pea cordial’, which is elevated with lemongrass to bring complex citrus notes, while pandan leaf adds a touch of ‘coconutty depth’.
The Spy Bar at Raffles London at The OWO
Inspired by the legacy of the former Old War Office (OWO) and the upcoming 80th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) in 2025, the new cocktails launching in spring at The Spy Bar on Wednesday 9 April are a tribute to the remarkable achievements of British spies and the art of espionage, with every creation also showcasing the skills of The Spy Bar’s expert mixologists.
The menu, called Chapter 2, remains true to The Spy Bar’s mantra of classic cocktails with an unexpected twist – ensuring guests are able to experience the full menu without feeling intimidated. Menu standouts include The Spy Who Loved, which represents the remarkable achievements and bittersweet life of Christine Granville – one of the British Allied forces’ most trusted and successful spies – made with Belvedere Vodka, Siete Misterios, Campari, passion fruit spirit, artichoke and Cocchi di Torino, as well as an update on the bar’s Signature Vesper, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and has been elevated with a London honey distillate that adds richer, floral notes with no sweetness, alongside the bar’s own vermouth blend that replicates the now extinct Kina Lillet.
The Mothership, Milwaukee
To go along with a slick renovation of its bar, The Mothership in Milwaukee has unveiled new cocktail menu just before its sixth anniversary.
The space’s remodel, led by owner-bartender Ricky Ramirez, adds a third cocktail station and a streamlined draft system designed to improve speed and service without compromising on quality.
And speaking of quality, while The Mothership is known for its humour and satire, beneath that lies a serious commitment to hospitality, inclusion, sustainability, and top-notch cocktails, which the new menu reflects at every level, with housemade syrups, hand-squeezed juices, rare and exotic-to-some spirits from far corners of the world, and playful pop culture references.
The menu is divided into four parts (OG Drinks, Remixed OG & House Drinks, Mothership in Paradise, and Draft Cocktails) with technique-driven, layered, and complex cocktails, such as the Gringo Destroyer, crafted with Abasolo Mexican whiskey, Vago Elote mezcal, ancho-spiced cacao butter, raisin, Sherry blend, Meletti 1870 bitter and Bitter Truth chocolate bitters, and the draft Clover Club Spritz, made with London Dry gin, Dolin genepy, raspberry, Sicilian limonata and a rhubarb rose foam.
Danico, Paris
Award-winning Parisian bar Danico has launched the latest menu in its conceptual ‘Xplorer’ series, called Peru. Drawing inspiration from the South American country’s rich culture and heritage, this menu is the fifth edition in the series, which launched in 2023.
Evolving every six months, the menus reflect specific regions of the world, inspired by the global travels of internationally acclaimed bartender and owner Nico de Soto.
Tokyo Confidential, Tokyo
What’s new, pussycat? Just the new drinks list from Tokyo Confidential: Neko No Densetsu – a love letter to cats and their impact on culture globally.
The new offering comes to life in the Japanese capital via vibrant comic book illustrations that draw inspiration from the legend of Tokyo’s Gotokuji Temple, said to be the birthplace of the maneki-neko, or lucky cat.
Menu highlights include the C.R.E.A.M – Cats Rule Everything Around Me, said to be created by an ex-member of the Mew Tang Clan who set out to write his own rap about “wake me up fuck me up energising elixirs” made with Bourbon, mugi shochu, raspberry, coffee and cream, as well as the Sore Wa Subarashi (pictured) – a Tony the Tiger-approved nostalgic throwback made with Frosties Cognac, cacao nib, coconut and milk wash in a retro cereal bowl. We have it on good authority that this particular serve is grrrrreat!
Lucky Cat Bar at 22 Bishopsgate, London
Found within the tallest building in the City of London, the whole operation at Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate, which comprises four ‘must-visit destinations’, comes under the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants banner, but of course it is the stylish, laid-back setting of the Lucky Cat Bar that has our attention.
Helmed by Julian Cox, the group’s global vice-president of beverage, this new sky-high space comes complete with a new standout menu, featuring clean, elegant creations like the Okinawa Margarita offered alongside bold options such as the Polynesian Punch. Or for something truly unique, try the Gohan Old Fashioned – a house blend of Suntory Toki, Maker’s Mark, Rabbit Hole Heigold, and Laphroaig 10-year-old whiskies, washed in sushi rice and finished with sugar and bitters.
Of course, those who are willing to let the role of a dice decide their cocktail fate can opt for the bar’s ‘iconic’ Lucky Negroni, which comprises 216 combinations of gin, vermouth and bitters, or for fans of a Martini, there are three bold options to choose from.
Still looking for more new menus to add to your ‘to try’ list? We’ve also covered the launch of menus from London bars Dram, Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London, K-Bar, and Punch Room at The London Edition, as well as the new noughties-inspired menu from Paris’ Le Syndicat, and the second edition of the Journal of Future Foods menu from Singapore bar Fura.
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