It's summer and we're craving some refreshing cocktails under the sun so we’ve put together a selection of classic cocktails to help you make them and choose the perfect spirits, mixers and other ingredients. Enjoy!
VODKA BASED
Bloody Mary
The origin of the Bloody Mary is contented, but possibly links back to 20th Century Hollywood star George Jessel, who also may have named the drink.
The idea of a perfect Bloody Mary can be as personal as the Martini. Number one, experiment with spices! Hot, sweet, tangy, Christmas, amalgamating – all of these different groups of spices add character to your cocktail.
Use savoury products with low water content such as beetroots to bring more flavour to the drink and using citrus such as orange instead of lemon can create a lighter, more refreshing style of Bloody Mary. Most importantly, start with a good base – your vodka should have character, mouthfeel and be sip-able on its own.
Glass: Hi-ball/ Collins
Ingredients:
- 50ml Vodka
- 80ml fresh-pressed savoury juice blend (tomato, carrot, beetroot)
- 10ml lemon juice
- ‘Mortar-and-pestled’ spice mix (white pepper, anise, cloves, sea salt)
- Garnished ornately with aromatic and edible herbs
Method:
- Pour all liquid ingredients into your glass
- Place your spices in mortar (or on a chopping board) and smash into tiny pieces with pestle (or rolling pin)
- Add the spice mix to the glass with liquid ingredients
- Stir thoroughly, add ice, garnish
Vodka Martini (Classic)
The ultimate classic cocktail, the martini is a very personal drink and means something different to everyone. Shaken or stirred, wet or dry, garnished with an olive or twist, the possibilities are seemingly endless. But despite all these choices (and many more!), everyone can agree that a good martini should be cold!
Glass: Martini
Ingredients:
- 60ml Vodka
- 10ml Lillet Blanc
Method:
- Stir over ice
- Strain into a chilled martini glass
- Garnish with a pink grapefruit twist
RUM BASED
Daiquiri
The daiquiri is one of the most important classic cocktails as it really demonstrates the perfect balance between sweet and sour, strong and weak – the trick to a good cocktail!
Part of their charm is that they’re so easy to make – you just need some rum, some sugar, a fresh lime and some ice and you’re set.
The 80s blended strawberry daiquiri may put a few people off and often they are just sweet, pink slushies, but a real daiquiri should be shaken, really tart and zingy – the rum should shine through. It’s the perfect drink to really wake you up in the early evening.
Glass: Martini
Ingredients:
- 50ml good quality white rum
- 20-25ml of freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 spoons of icing sugar (or 10-15ml sugar syrup)
- Garnish: Wedge of lime
Method:
- Shake hard with ice cubes
- Strain into a pre-chilled martini glass
Once you understand the daiquiri and what each component does, it opens the door to the vast majority of other cocktails, such as:
- The Mojito - a daiquiri on crushed ice with mint,
- The Sour - use lemon instead of lime and add some bitters and an egg white,
- or even the Margarita - tequila instead of rum with orange liqueur instead of sugar.
Mojito
The Mojito is one of the archetypal iconic cocktails. It’s history lays in Havana which is the Godfather of Spanish Style rum and the birthplace of many great cocktails. It’s fresh, it’s fun and it’s simple.
The key to a a great Mojito is a well distilled yet flavoursome white rum and fresh ingredients. Make sure you slap the mint before you throw it in the glass to release all those amazing aromas, and leave aside a mint sprig to garnish right next to the straws so when the drinker drinks they smell the goodness too!
Glass: Collins
Ingredients:
- 60ml White Rum
- 12 Fresh mint leaves
- 22ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
- 15ml Sugar Syrup
- Top up with Soda Water
- Garnish: Sprig of Mint
Method:
- Lightly muddle mint in the base of the glass
- Add the rum, lime juice and sugar
- Half fill glass with crushed ice and stir with a bar spoon
- Fill the glass with more crushed ice and stir some more
- Top with soda, stir, and serve with straws
Piña Colada
A Hilton Hotel employee in 1950′s Puerto Rico is one amongst three who lay claim to inventing their national drink. With its exotic ingredients, indulgent nature together with tropical heat refreshment, it is no wonder it’s become a holiday makers staple. Our top tip for making a great one: don’t get caught in the rain.
Glass: Pineapple shell (frozen)
Ingredients:
- 50ml White Rum
- 100ml Fresh pressed pineapple juice
- 25ml Coconut milk
- 25ml Double (heavy) cream
- Pinch Salt
- Garnish: Pineapple wedge & maraschino cherry
Method:
- Blend all ingredients
- Add one 12oz scoop crushed ice
- Serve with straws
GIN BASED
French ‘75
Although The Bellini might be the best-known Champagne cocktail, the French ’75 is an all-time classic – and some would argue more delicious – sophisticated, elegant and refreshing, with plenty of poke worthy of its name. Named after the French “Canon de 75 modèle 1897”, a ruthless and efficient weapon from the First World War, this stunning aperitif is likely to have been created by Harry MacElhone at Harry’s American Bar in Paris in 1925.
Simplicity is something that many classic cocktails have in common, and the combination of a good Dry Gin, a beautiful Champagne, some freshly squeezed lemon juice and a hint of sugar is the definition of simplicity. The subtle complexity of the ingredients complement each other without being overpowered.
Glass: Flute
Ingredients:
- 45ml Dry Gin
- 10ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5ml sugar syrup (or a small teaspoon of superfine sugar)
- Top up with Champagne
Method:
- Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup with cubed ice
- Strain into a Champagne flute
- Top up with Champagne
- Garnish with a twist of lemon
Tom Collins
In England, this drink is traditionally credited to John Collins, a bartender who worked at Limmer’s Hotel, Conduit Street, London. Both delicious and refreshing, they are so tasty because they are the perfect balance of sweet, sour and strong when made to the right recipe. To really nail this drink, use big cubes of ice to keep dilution to a minimum and keep the flavours at their best!
Glass: Collins
Ingredients:
- 50ml Gin
- 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 10ml homemade grapefruit sherbet
- Top up with Soda water
- Garnish: Orange slice and cherry on a stick
Method:
- To make the sherbet take 200g caster sugar and the zest from 1 pink grapefruit
- Muddle together until the sugar absorbs the oils from the zest
- Once this has taken place remove zest and add 100ml boiling water to make a syrup
- Shake the first 3 ingredients quickly with cubed ice.
- Strain into a large hi ball glass with fresh large ice cubes
- Top with soda water
TEQUILA BASED
Margarita
Delicious on the rocks or frozen or even shaken up with fig puree, egg white and lime (the Autumnal Traditional Sour) there is always one to suit everyone.
Use orange liqueur for a classic margarita, good ice, and a cocktail shaker. Salt if you like, and depending on your selection, if you like it on the rocks or straight up! Fresh lime juice – the fresher, the better – people tend to keep lime juice, but after a day the taste just isn’t the same as limes oxidises super quickly. The kind of ice used can also affect a margarita as if it has any pores this will dilute the drink and make it tasteless, so the time of shaking matters!
Glass: Margarita
Ingredients:
- 35ml Tequila
- 1/2 lime juice (about 15/20ml)
- 15/20ml orange liqueur depending how sweet you like it
Method:
- Add all the ingredients to the shaker, then prepare the glass you are serving it in (salt and/or ice)
- Then fill the shaker with ice to the top and shake hard for about 7/10 seconds
- Pour into your glass
PISCO BASED
The Pisco Punch – a forgotten classic
Pisco is a fabulously aromatic spirit distilled from grapes and has been shipped from Peru to San Francisco since the 1800s. The Pisco Punch was the signature drink at the famous Bank Exchange in San Francisco which opened in the late 19th century. Sadly, the bar closed in 1919 but the drink continues to be widely enjoyed in San Francisco’s bars to this day and there’s a lobby for the drink to become the city’s official drink.
Glass: Collins
Ingredients:
- 2 dried Cloves
- 60 ml Peruvian Italia pisco
- 30 ml Pressed pineapple juice
- 15ml shot Freshly squeezed orange juice
- 15ml shot Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 15ml Sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)
- Top up with Champagne
- Garnish: Pineapple wedge & mint sprig
Method:
- Muddle the cloves in the base of a shaker
- Add all the other ingredients except the Champagne
- Shake over ice and strain into an ice-filled glass
- Top up with Champagne and add the garnish
WHISKY BASED
Sweet Manhattan
There are a number of origins suggested for this drink, most dating back to the 19th Century, but no one doubts it’s a classic.
Use a premium bourbon and get creative with the bitters you use – the original Manhattan calls for Angostura bitters but there are many to choose from. Try a cherry, chocolate or orange bitter for subtle flavour differences in your Sweet Manhattan.
Glass: Martini
Ingredients:
- 75ml Bourbon
- 4ml Maraschino syrup (from cherry jar)
- 30ml Vermouth Rosso
- 3 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
- Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Method:
- Stir all ingredients with ice
- Strain into chilled glass
