Our favourite cacao-infused drinks to enjoy on World Cocktail Day

Let cacao lift your alcoholic beverages to a new, rather luxurious level this World Cocktail Day

World Cocktail Day — a global celebration of cocktails — is on Saturday the 13th May this year. And in our opinion, this is one of the most exciting events of the year. We’re all about savouring and thoroughly enjoying exquisite drinks, not guzzling them down in one go. This is a chance to give cocktails, even the weird and wonderful ones, the attention and respect that they deserve.

To get in the spirit of World Cocktail Day, these are some of our favourite cocktail-infused drinks to enjoy on the big day. Make them for yourself and a loved one or host a cocktail party to impress your friends with these dazzling creations.

Our favourite cacao-infused cocktails

We’ve poured our hearts and souls into creating our own range of tipples here at Hotel Chocolat. Of course, we couldn’t let that effort go to waste, so we use them in our cocktails wherever we can. Look out for our lovingly crafted spirits in these ingredient lists.

Vegan Dark Chocolate & Salted Caramel Soother

We’ve got to share this Vegan Dark Chocolate & Salted Caramel Soother we first discussed in our Velvetiser Chocolate Cocktail Recipes article.

We adore the rich cacao notes from the dark chocolate mixed with citrus fresh orange and sweet salted caramel. It’s got a lot going on, but it somehow just works.

To make this tipple, you’ll need:

• 50ml 100% Dark Chocolate Flakes
• 37.5ml Salted Caramel Vodka
• 37.5ml coconut milk
• 12.5ml orange-flavoured triple sec liqueur
• 3 drops of chocolate bitters
• Cacao nibs for garnishing
• Ice – optional

Add your dark chocolate flakes, salted caramel vodka, coconut milk, orange triple sec liqueur, and chocolate bitters together in your Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser. Press the button and wait for your silky smooth beverage.

Enjoy this drink warm or add ice to your glass for a cooler drink. If you feel inclined to add a little something extra, a cacao nib garnish never goes amiss.

Speckled Egg Martini

This fun and spring-themed recipe is from our 5 Creative Easter Cocktail and Mocktail Ideas article. We adore that it includes our Elizapeck’s Speckled Eggs — adorable chocolate eggs made with our smooth milk chocolate praline and cased in a crunchy shell. As World Cocktail Day is after Easter, you might even have some leftover nibbles you can use.

Here’s is what you need to make two of these spring martinis this World Cocktail Day:

• 75ml of milk
• 50g of chocolate (we recommend our 70% Dark Chocolate Batons for nuanced cacao depth)
• 30ml of vodka
• 60ml of Velvetised Chocolate Cream
• 50g of Elizapeck’s Speckled Eggs
• Ice
• A cocktail shaker
• Two cocktail glasses (martini glasses work well)

Gently heat your milk until hot, then pour over 50g of Dark Chocolate. Set aside. Break up your Speckled Eggs in a food processor, then spread them out on a plate and dip the rims of both your glasses into the mixture.

Then, fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Use it to combine your vodka, Velvetised Chocolate Cream and the milk and chocolate mixture you just set aside. Shake it up thoroughly, then strain the tipple into your glasses. To add a twist to this cocktail, use our Salted Caramel Cacao Vodka Liqueur in place of plain vodka.

Summer Daisy Cocktail

If it’s sunny and warm on World Cocktail Day (and given it’s on the 13th of May, we’d say you have a 50/50 chance), you might be more interested in a fragrant and fruity cocktail. This Summer Daisy Cocktail stars our Cherry & Raspberry Gin, which combines the naturally punchy and zingy flavours of these fruits with a subtle undertone of infused cacao nibs.

For this summer-ready cocktail, you’ll need:

• 5-7 fresh raspberries
• 1 fresh lime
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) lime juice
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) sugar syrup
• Crushed ice
• 50ml Cherry & Raspberry Gin

To make a Summer Daisy Cocktail, add most of your raspberries (save one or two) to a tumbler glass. Crush them up with two slices of lime, your lime juice, and the sugar syrup. Top up the mixture with crushed ice, ensuring ¾ of the tumbler is fun. Add 50ml of our Cherry & Raspberry Gin. Stir and garnish with an extra fresh raspberry and a slice of lime.

Sip and enjoy with friends in the sunshine.

Cacao tipples from Hotel Chocolat

If a few of our tipples have caught your eye, now is your chance to learn a little more about them.

Browse our luxurious alcoholic beverages to find some new additions for your drinks cabinet. From our silky Velvetised Creams to our Cacao Gin, you’ll find plenty of sublime textures and flavours to make this year’s World Cocktail Day extra special. Just take a peek at some of our most coveted creations.

Velvetised Chocolate Cream

Our Velvetised Chocolate Cream is a smooth and decadent blend of vodka, chocolate, and cream — velvetised to give it the most heavenly, silky smooth texture. Fall head over heels for deep cacao notes, warming undertones, and a creamy finish. Sip, savour, and explore all the possibilities with this one. Enjoy on its own with a cube of ice or use as a thick, luxurious component in your cocktail creations — you can even add a dash to your hot chocolate.

Cacao Gin

It would be a waste to throw away our cacao nibs and shells from the chocolate-making process. Luckily, we decided to do something with them. The result — our exquisite Cacao Gin. Using London gin as a fine base, we added botanicals like macadamia, juniper, orange, coriander, and grapefruit with cacao to create a rather superb tipple. We adore this blend of uplifting, fragrant notes with a malty, toasted edge. All that’s needed is a simple tonic — this gin brings enough flavour to the table.

Mango & Passion Fruit Gin

If you’re searching for a new gin liqueur, embrace the Caribbean with our Mango & Passion Fruit Gin. Experience bold citrus flavours — fresh mango and refreshingly tart passion fruit — with a unique cacao edge. Pour a splash over ice for a powerful dose of Saint Lucia sun. Alternatively, use a splash here and there to add a tropical spin to any cocktail.

Cherry & Raspberry Gin

More into tart berries than sweet citrus? Our Cherry & Raspberry Gin Liqueur, made with natural ingredients, could be right up your street. While cherry brings a tart yet sweet flavour to this tipple, raspberry introduces some vibrant, zingy tones. Add some frozen raspberries to the mix and perhaps a cherry garnish for a fancy twist.

Premium spirits and cocktail ingredients from Hotel Chocolat

We have plenty more exciting beverages on our website, so see our full collection for more Velvetised Creams, gin, vodka liqueurs, Prosecco, and more. Just don’t forget to enjoy yourself responsibly (and preferably with some great company!)