Spring Cocktails

Pleasantly bitter, herb-infused Campari is a bracing aperitif, especially when it's blended with a little sparkling wine as it is here. Neal Bodenheimer loves how the vivid-red Italian spirit tastes with fennel. "This is a perfect way to use up any leftover fennel fronds from the kitchen," he says.

Master bartender Wayne Collins's eye-catching Gin Genie won Drinks International's 2001 Cocktail Challenge. Its name comes from the David Bowie song "The Jean Genie."

Top Chef winner Mei Lin makes her Asian-style gimlet in a large pitcher for easy entertaining.

Like the flagship Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, the newer Vegas outpost uses nonalcoholic Gewurztraminer grape juice from Navarro Vineyards in Mendocino County, California, for this cooling fizz.

This subtle variation on a Vodka Collins—lemon juice, sugar, vodka and soda—pairs well with the clean, light flavors in star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Asian-inflected cooking.

Combine mango and elderflower liquor for a vibrant and refreshing drink on a hot, summer day.

This cocktail reminds Mike Ryan of the strawberry-rhubarb pies his mother made every spring. He roasts the rhubarb for the drink's syrup to caramelize the edges of the stalks and to accentuate their subtle, earthy bitterness. The syrup can be mixed with club soda for a pretty, nonalcoholic drink.

The Paloma is a classic Mexican cocktail made with lime juice, tequila and grapefruit soda. Scott Baird, the mixologist who created this drink for Comal in Berkeley, makes his version with smoky mezcal, fresh grapefruit juice and Cocchi Americano, the sweet Italian aperitif wine.

Edna's is a legendary bar in Oklahoma City with dollar bills stapled to the walls. Its signature drink is an unlikely mix of three ingredients: fresh orange juice, amaretto and light beer. Key to the surprisingly tasty cocktail: a frosty mug.