Strawberry Vanilla Love Potion Cocktail

Looking for a love potion this Valentine's Day? Just add strawberry vanilla simple syrup, vodka, and lime juice for this Strawberry Vanilla Love Potion Cocktail! Top it with conversation hearts for February 14 or enjoy it with a loved one any day of the year.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🍓 How to make strawberry vanilla simple syrup
• 🍹 How to make strawberry vanilla cocktail
• 🥤 How to make as a mocktail
• 💘 More Valentine's Day cocktails
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

One of the reasons I'm sad the holiday season is over is because I miss the cocktails. With ingredients like cranberries, eggnog, gingerbread, and peppermint, Christmas cocktails are such a thing. And an amazing thing at that.

But can someone please tell me why there aren't any classic Valentine's Day cocktails? Of course, you can do strawberries and champagne, but that's kind of cheesy and not very fun.

Give me the strawberries. But also give me vanilla. And vodka. OK fine, just make me this strawberry vanilla cocktail... Which I'm calling a love potion cocktail. Because is this cocktail doesn't make you fall in love, I don't think anything will.

Be sure to top the strawberry vanilla cocktail with conversation hearts. Because even if you don't care for them, you know conversation hearts make everything a little bit more fun during the Valentine's Day season.

Plus, you can send your crush or loved ones subliminal messages with them.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day cocktail to serve your loved ones or to enjoy on Galentine's Day, this love potion cocktail is it!

Not only it its appearance very fitting for the holiday of love, but it's packed with sweet flavors.

It's easy to make and can even be made into a mocktail if you prefer!

🗒 Ingredients

This is a pretty simple cocktail made with simple ingredients. I use a homemade strawberry vanilla simple syrup to make mine, but you can easily use a store-bought version of strawberry syrup with a vanilla bean added.

Here's everything you need (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Vodka
• Strawberry vanilla simple syrup: using the recipe below or a store-bought strawberry syrup with a vanilla bean infused into it (or you can mix strawberry syrup and vanilla syrup together).
• Lime juice
• Soda water
• Conversation hearts: for topping if you want!

I also recommend getting some fun heart straws for serving the cocktail.

And here's what you need if you're making your own strawberry vanilla simple syrup:

• Water
• Granulated sugar
• Fresh strawberries
• Vanilla bean

🍓 How to make strawberry vanilla simple syrup

The simple syrup is a take on my Strawberry Simple Syrup recipe, so check out my full post if you want to see super detailed instructions. The only difference here is that I added a vanilla bean at the end and let it infuse into the syrup.

You will want to make the simple syrup a little bit ahead of time so it has time to cool to room temperature and sit with the vanilla bean, but if you make a whole batch of it (or a double batch!), it should last in your fridge for about a month.

To make the simple syrup, Combine water and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Lower to a simmer and add strawberries to saucepan. Stir to combine. Let simmer until sugar is dissolved and syrup begins to thicken, about 10-12 minutes.

Remove from heat and strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids, into a heatproof container like a bowl or a mason jar.

Add one vanilla bean to container and place in fridge to cool for at least three hours before using.

🍹 How to make strawberry vanilla cocktail

Now for the rest of the "love potion" cocktail. All you have to do is shake it up!

The following is for two cocktails. Add to an ice-filled cocktail shaker:

• 5 oz. vodka
• 3 oz. strawberry vanilla simple syrup
• 1 oz. lime juice

And shake away!

Pour into ice-filled glasses. And top off with a little bit of soda water.

Oh, and also top the cocktails off with some sliced strawberries and conversation hearts! If you're making this drink for a loved one, you can strategically place the ideal conversation hearts in their drink for them.

As you know, I'll take any opportunity to utilize conversation hearts that I can. And heart straws!

I couldn't find traditional conversation hearts this year and I think they've changed them to being more Sweet-Tart style. Which I honestly kind of like. But I miss the look of the old hearts.

One of the things I love about this strawberry vanilla cocktail is that it's easy to control the level of sweetness of it by adjusting the amount of simple syrup you use. Or simply adding more soda water into the glass to top it off... Or vodka.

But I think Valentine's Day deserves a little extra sweetness. Plus, don't you imagine love potions being super sweet and really delicious? This love potion cocktail needs to fit the bill!

And I think this strawberry vanilla cocktail should now be known as the classic Valentine's Day cocktail.

🥤 How to make as a mocktail

If you love the idea of this love potion cocktail, but don't want any alcohol, that's a simple fix!

To turn this drink into a mocktail, I recommend simply replacing the vodka with more soda water. You can taste it and add more syrup if you want, but you don't want the drink to be too sweet! Or maybe you do 😘

💘 More Valentine's Day cocktails

If strawberries and vanilla aren't quite your thing (but who are you?!), I have some more cocktail recipes that may be more up your alley for celebrating Valentine's Day. Here are some of my favorites:

• Sweet Tart Shot
• Pink Peppercorn Strawberry Sipper
• Spicy Raspberry Whiskey Sour
• Bubblegum Cocktail
• Manhattan Dirty Bloody Mary Martini
• Berry Mint Gin Smash
• Strawberry Coconut Daiquiri
• Red Velvet Latte (non-alcoholic)
• Strawberry Acai Refresher (non-alcoholic)
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Frappuccino (non-alcoholic)
• Homemade Pink Drink (non-alcoholic)
• Cherry Pie Cocktail (from Simply Whisked)
• Red Russian (from Become Betty)

It may not be love potion #9, but perhaps this strawberry vanilla love potion cocktail can help you find your way to true love!

What's your ideal Valentine's Day cocktail?

📖 Recipe