Spice Things Up – Aphrodisiac Drink Recipes
Thanks for visiting Never a Dull Date. If you subscribe to our RSS feed, you'll get creative date ideas sent to you weekly!
Looking to add a little flavour to your date nights? Stir up one of these aphrodisiac drink recipes from the Museum of Sex for you and your partner and spice things up!
When we were in New York a few years ago we stumbled upon the Museum of Sex and daringly visited their OralFix cafe. Using select ingredients, their menu boasts of drinks and food that promise everything from passion and seduction to excitement and productivity. Despite the cafe being located in the museum’s basement, the experience was unique and memorable and served as the inspiration for this date night.
Epicurious.com offers videos and recipes for a few of OralFix’s aphrodisiac cocktails, and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, what could be a better date night than trying a few love potions?
For our date night we tried:
The Shanghai Rose – recipe
Made with roses and rosemary this cocktail promises the effects of seduction and devotion.
Roses are a prominent symbol of love and seduction – just think of how many women will receive roses this Valentine’s Day alone! But did you know that using roses dates back to ancient Rome when women used to anoint themselves with rose water oil? Rosemary is also a symbol of love and union. In the middle ages, rosemary branches were included in wedding ceremonies.
This cocktail was one of the more difficult to make, but definitely worth the effort! The smell was intoxicating, with a sweet, yet tart flavour. It was my favourite 
The recipe says to rim your glass with a mix of sugar and rosemary – while the rosemary adds a delightful scent, it doesn’t taste great raw. I would either grind it up (much finer than I did) or try to only rim part of your glass.
The Azteca – recipe
The Azteca combines chocolate, vanilla and chilli peppers to create stimulation and euphoria.
Again, chocolate has been used as a symbol of love and an aphrodisiac for thousands of years. Vanilla, despite the plain and boring references in today’s society, has quite the torrid love history. Vanilla was first discovered by the Totonac people in Mexico. According to Totonac mythology, the vanilla orchid was born when the goddess Princess Xanat, who was forbidden to marry her mortal lover, fled from her family. The couple was captured and beheaded and the vanilla orchid bloomed where the blood from the couple touched the forest floor. The warm and sensual aroma of vanilla is both capitulating and euphoric. Finally, chilli was commonly used as an aphrodisiac in the Aztec and Inca cultures for thousands of years.
This cocktail was another favourite. It had a strong chocolate taste with a spicy kick at the end. It was quite thick, so make sure you strain it before serving. Also, it says to rim the glass with sea salt and coconut– I would skip the salt altogether and just stick with the coconut.
Persephone – recipe
With pomegranate, mango and lavender, this cocktail creates an effect of productivity and passion.
Pomegranates were scared to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. From Chinese culture to Judism, the fruit symbolizes fertility, and some consider it to be the original forbidden fruit. Mangos are also a symbol of love, wealth and fertility, making this cocktail a fertility double-whammy.
The sweet flavour of mango combined with the tart flavour of pomegranate makes a delightful, fruity cocktail. This concoction was by far the easiest to make and the light fruity flavour would make it perfect for sipping on a hot summer’s day.
Lucky Devil – recipe
Combining cinnamon and cardamom this drink offers excitement and joy.
The warm and spicy flavour of cinnamon is known for its sensual appeal in almost every continent while cardamom is used as an aphrodisiac in Arabic cultures. OralFix recommends cinnamon and cardamom for stimulation and excitement respectively.
This cocktail was my least favourite. While the spicy cinnamon smell was strong and promising, the drink failed to deliver. It was a little flat and lacking compared to the other drinks and the club soda was the dominant flavour.
Over all, we had a so much fun combining elixirs and trying the different aphrodisiac drink recipes. However, this date requires quite a bit of preparation ahead of time. I found most of the ingredients at my local grocery store and the spices at a bulk food store. Preparing the elixirs was not difficult, but a bit time consuming. Most of them must be boiled for about 15 minutes. Elixirs can be made and stored up to two weeks ahead of time, so you can definitely get some of the work done in advance. Looking back, I would choose one or two cocktails to sample instead of having to prepare elixirs for four separate ones.
For your next date night, mix together a romance-inducing love potion and make a toast with your partner. Cheers!
Protips:
- This date requires planning and preparation. Make the elixirs ahead of time so you can spend the night enjoying the cocktail, and not waiting for pots to boil.
- While the drinks are tasty and the history can create conversation, you may want to add something else to the night. Keep in the theme of aphrodisiacs and prepare some oysters for dinner, or make a chocolate fondue.
- Some of these flavours are very unique. With that in mind they may not appeal to all tastes.
Ratings:
| Cost: | |
| Overall: | |
| Romance: | |
| Adventure: | |
| Uniqueness: | |
| Bang for your buck: |
From Adam:
This date worked really well. It was nice to have a really unique date night that was also quite low-key.
My favourite drink was definitely The Shanghai Rose but as Ashley mentioned the recipe was quite involved. The others were interesting, but that one definitely stood out.
Unless you're in NYC at the Museum of Sex you'll probably be having these at home and with that in mind (as with all stay at home dates) its important to remember to turn off the TV and cell phones so you can enjoy yourself.
Share this date idea with the Web:
Related Posts:
|
|
Stopping by from SITS and I LOVE. THIS. POST. (In all Caps so you know I mean it!) We are trying to find a cool cocktail to serve at our wedding in April and we might just have to try a few of these out!
I’m so happy your found us! I would definitely recommend Persephone – it’s delicious and it’s a really nice bright colour! You could even add vodka to it if you wanted an alcoholic cocktail. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and thanks for stopping by
I just found our drink from Valentines Day – the Azteca. It’s making my mouth water and that means I will most likely enjoy it too. I seriously love your site…it’s such a great idea!
Thanks Bellaisa,
The Azteca was quite something, just remember to strain it well. Whatever we did, it came out a lot thicker than expected.
Definitely let us know how it works out for you!
Holy toledo…calm my fluttering heart! All of these are fab!
Sounds awesome. In from SITS.
What a fun date! I visited the Museum of Sex years ago and still wear the Wonder Woman t-shirt I bought there. Next time my roses are in bloom (I always have rosemary) I’m going to try your fave!
We never got a chance to actually visit the museum, just the cafe downstairs…next time we are in New York we will have to check it out! Enjoy the Shanghai Rose!
Fun ideas. I love the food history. So you never told us if you thought these really might be legendary foods might actually be aphrodisiacs….
I definitely think they worked
This date was so much fun! Plus, I”m a little bit nerdy, and I loved researching the food history!
Happy SITS Day!! =)
Such great drink ideas!
I love that Adam puts in his say!
Getting a males point of view without having to figure him out on your own- genius!!
Great recipes! I can’t wait to try some!
Yum. Yum. Yum…and then some. Thanks for sharing! Stopping by from SITS!
I love the history. If only I liked liquor! Well, my husband does, so there’s that. Fun post. Happy SITS Day!
Awesome post! And happy SITS day!!!!
Hi! Oooh! I will have to try some of these cocktails. Love the them of your blog and I am a repeat visitor. Happy SITS Day!
I can’t wait to try these – especially the Azteca! Stopping by from SITS. Very fun blog!
Stopping by from SITS today. I want to try that Azteca one! I’ll have to catch up on some of these great ideas.
Beautiful pictures and clear directions. Visiting from SITS. have a great day.
I walk by that museum all the time and I never go in… what’s worse is I’ve never thought of it as a date idea. I so have to take my husband one of these days!
Happy SITS day.
Hey! Happy SITS Day! We will def be heading there next time we’re in NYC
Ummm so glad I found you! Adding you to my feed! Happy SITS Day!
The Persephone sounds great, especially as I sit here on a hot LA day. Happy SITS Day!
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Happy SITS Day! I really needed those recipes… sounds like fun mixing em up
I LOVE this idea! I’ll have to add the Museum of Sex to my NYC to-do list next time I’m in town. Can’t wait to try some of these at home.
Love it!