Entertaining

8 Cocktails That Red Wine Drinkers Will Love

The New York Sour is a trickster of a cocktail in two ways. Not only is it simply a Whiskey Sour dressed up with a little red wine, but it’s not even from New York. The Chicago-born cocktail is topped with a red wine float, which slowly seeps into the rest of the drink and adds a deeper, fruity touch to balance the bright citrus notes.

Somewhere between a Moscow Mule and Sangria, this red wine Buck combines the jammy red of your choosing with two berry liqueurs—rich cherry maraschino and deep, dark blackberry crème de mûre—and zippy ginger beer to perk the whole thing up.

This cocktail takes the New York Sour up a notch on the ABV spectrum by replacing red wine with ruby port, which is young and approachable by port standards. Cynar adds a bitter edge to the sour citrus and brings a vegetal depth to the whole equation, like a savory Cabernet on overdrive.

The combination of red wine, red velvet and hot chocolate sounds overly decadent, but this dessert-tail is surprisingly well balanced. A really fruit-forward red wine (like Shiraz) and quality dark chocolate ground the sweeter ingredients and keep it away from fake sugary territory.

Red wine and Coca-Cola are an unexpected match made in boozy heaven. The bubbly soda adds hints of spice and cola, while a dry red pairs well with the heavier sweetness of the Coke. We can only describe this so much—you’ve simply got to try it.

Derived not from the uber-popular Manhattan but rather its edgier cousin, the Black Manhattan—which swaps sweet vermouth for amaro—this wine-tail incorporates the soft spices of Cynar and pimento bitters. Equal parts wine and bourbon make it an excellent crossover cocktail for even the most stubborn wine loyalist.

The blackcurrant liqueur crème de cassis is the star of this tequila cocktail. While it might seem a stretch from your typical wine-tail, the rich liqueur provides the tannic notes and thick fruit flavors of bold reds, while smooth reposado gives the cocktail some bite when combined with bright lime juice and spicy ginger beer.

Cherry cola isn’t an uncommon tasting note in wine, so it makes sense that a light cocktail based on the flavor should appeal to wine drinkers. This easy two-ingredient sipper is light on ABV, but heavy on fruity cherry flavor and the pleasing bittersweet spices of Ramazzotti liqueur.