[2] Beet juice is an under-used cocktail mixer. It’s also delicious as a straight juice drink (photo courtesy R.W. Knudsen).

For Valentine’s Day, treat yourself to a beet-red cocktail.

A Bloody Mary or Cosmo may be the obvious red drink choice, but we were looking for something new. We like this drink because, on a day loaded with chocolate and other sweets, it’s savory—although not as much as a Bloody Mary, because beet juice has naturally sweetness.

We developed the recipe using gin, but you can use whatever spirit you like. Mezcal gives it a nice smokiness.
 
 
RECIPE: RED BEET COCKTAIL

If you aren’t a juicer, simply buy the beet juice. If your supermarket doesn’t have it, head to the nearest natural foods store. Our favorite brands are Biotta, Love Beets and R.W. Knudsen (photo #2).

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the rim. Combine equal parts of salt and lemon zest. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the rim of the glass, and twist the rim in the salt-zest mixture to coat.

2. COMBINE the ingredients with ice and shake. Strain into a glass.

3. GARNISH as desired.
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*Beet juice is so sweet, that the drink doesn’t need any sweetener. However, the brown sugar adds a note of molasses. Taste the drink first before adding the sugar. To enable the sugar to dissolve, pulse it in the food processor until very fine. Alternatively, mix it with a bit of the juice, heat for 15 seconds in the microwave and stir to dissolve.