Easy Cocktail Recipes For All Your Virtual Happy Hours

Technology makes it possible to plan a virtual party or happy hour while you sip on something sumptuous at home.

Beautiful Afro American girl in smart casual clothes and glasses is smiling while working with a laptop in cafe

By Kimberly Wilson · Updated November 4, 2020

Now more than ever, most of us probably need a drink to get us through these hard times. While we can’t head to a local bar for our favorite cocktail due to stay-at-home orders related to COVID-19, technology makes it possible to plan a virtual party or happy hour while we sip on something sumptuous at home.

Wine Insiders, Martha Stewart Wine Co and Sterling Vineyards all deliver delicious & affordable wine right to your doorstep, making it easy to stock up and be well prepared for all the virtual happy hours to come, but cocktail lovers also need a bit of variety to spice up their home bar carts.

Here are a few cocktail recipes that you can show off during your next virtual happy hour — cheers!

Spicy Cucumber Margarita

2 Parts Avión Silver 1 Fresh Lime Juice 1 Part Agave Nectar Slices of Cucumber & Jalapeño Instructions: Muddle 1-2 thin slices of jalapeño pepper in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with the lime and agave nectar juices. Add the tequila and a handful of ice. Shake and strain into a glass over ice. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumbers and jalapeños.

Ginger Sage Cocktail

1 bottle of Santa Margherita Prosecco Superiore DOCG Simple Syrup 1 cup honey 3 cups water 2 whole pears, peeled, cored and diced 1 large piece of ginger, peeled and diced 20 fresh sage leaves (plus more for garnish) Instructions: In a saucepan combine the honey and water over medium heat and bring to a light boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has dissolved completely. Add the pears, ginger and sage leaves. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced by 1/3 (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for an additional 10 minutes. Strain the syrup into a large canning jar or thick glass bowl. Discard the ginger and sage leaves. Place a few pieces of the cooked pear into each stemless wine glass followed by 2 tbsps of the simple syrup. Add Santa Margherita Prosecco Superiore and serve.

Sparking Rosarita

1 ½ oz Avion ¾ oz Prickly Pear Syrup ¾ oz Lime Juice ¼ oz Triple Sec 2 oz GH Mumm Rose’- topper at end Instructions: Building ingredients in tin. Shake and strain over stemless wine glass. Top with Champagne Garnish with lime wheel, edible flower and rose water mist.

Belvedere Classic Martini

2 oz / 60ml Belvedere Vodka .25 oz / 7ml French Fortified Wine Pink Grapefruit Twist Garnish Instructions: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and stir over ice until very cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a pink grapefruit twist.

The Bootlegger

2 oz Bourbon 1 oz 1924 Bourbon Barrel Cabernet 1/2 oz Benedictine  1/4 Maple Syrup 2 dash angostura bitters  2 dash orange bitters  Instructions: Stir and serve in a rocks glass over ice . Garnish with orange oils and orange twist.

Blueberry Mexican Mule

5 muddled blackberries 1.5 oz Tequila 0.25 oz lemon 0.25 oz lime 3-4 oz Reed’s Strongest Ginger Beer Top with Mint Garnish Instructions: Add tequila, ginger beer, lemon & lime juice, and ice into a shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled copper mule cup and garnish with blackberries and mint.

Cincoro Old Fashioned

Cincoro Old Fashioned 2 ½ oz Cincoro Anejo Tequila ½ oz Light Agave Nectar 3 dashes of Angostura® Bitters Instructions: Pour ingredients into a mixing glass, stir and strain directly in a Rocks glass over ice. Serve over ice. A modern twist of a classic cocktail with Cincoro Anejo with agave nectar and bitters. Garnish with orange rind and Maraschino cherry.

TOPICS: Cocktail Recipes Cocktails virtual happy hour

Home • ESSENCE Hollywood House

Let’s Talk About LA: Preserving Our City presented by AT&T Dream in Black

At ESSENCE Hollywood Hosue, D Smoke, DJ HED, and Olympia Auset discuss strategies for safeguarding LA's rich Black culture.

By Jennifer Ford · Updated March 12, 2025

If you’ve ever been to ESSENCE Hollywood House, you know it’s more than just a series of panels—it’s a gathering of visionaries. A space where Black creatives and leaders come together to share stories, strategies, and solutions. This year’s conversation, Let’s Talk About LA: Preserving Our City, presented by AT&T, was no different.

The discussion brought together three voices, each deeply invested in shaping LA’s future: D. Smoke, the Grammy-nominated rapper and educator; Olympia Auset, founder of SÜPRMRKT, a grocery service tackling food apartheid in LA; and DJ HED, a radio personality and advocate for independent artists. Though their paths differed, their mission was the same—creating opportunities, protecting culture, and ensuring Black spaces in LA don’t just survive but thrive.

For Olympia Ausset, the work she’s doing with SÜPRMRKT goes far beyond providing fresh groceries—it’s about laying the foundation for a stronger, healthier community. “The LA we love, the cultural beacon it’s known as today, was built by people who worked hard to create their own spaces,” she shared. “The reason I do what I do is because it’s essential. We can’t achieve any of the changes I want for my community without being in good health and having access to affordable, organic food. Without places where we can gather, heal, and support each other, none of the other goals will be possible. It starts with taking care of ourselves and building those spaces together.”

From Olympia’s focus on wellness and accessibility to DJ HED’s belief in the power of self-worth, the discussion explored what it means to dream beyond individual success and invest in collective progress. “I see a lot of people who aren’t proud of where they come from, what they look like, or where they’re at in life,” he said. “I had to learn to give myself grace, to grow. I grew up in Inglewood, raised by a single mom. We lived in a car, we were on welfare, but I knew I wanted to be bigger than my circumstances. That’s what dreaming in Black is—believing in something greater and nurturing it until it grows.”

DJ Smoke also touched on this, emphasizing the importance of intention and fulfillment. “You don’t want to climb that ladder and realize you went real high in the wrong direction,” he warned. “A lot of people in LA are ambitious, but if you don’t understand your ‘why,’ you can get to the top and still feel empty. The goal isn’t just to make it—it’s to make it mean something.

Sometimes, as Black creatives, we only dream as far as the next gig or the next check, but dreaming in Black means going beyond that. “It means thinking bigger than what’s right in front of you,” said host Donye Taylor.

This conversation was a call to action – a reminder that preserving LA’s Black culture means investing in community, honoring our history, and building a legacy that lasts.