Calling all cocktail connoisseurs, Spring is a time for family gatherings, and if you’re planning to whip up some cocktails for friends and family, from the fashionable Cosmopolitan to the ultra-boozy Long Island Iced Tea, here are a few tipples to try.
Cosmopolitan
While Carrie Bradshaw loved a Cosmo, and it’s had a resurgence of late, it is thought to have been first served up in 1985 by Miami bartender Cheryl Cook, whilst she was working at the Strand, a bar on South Beach. Wanting to invent a new cocktail for the Martini glass, she put a twist on Kamikaze, adding a citrus-flavored vodka and a splash of cranberry juice.
Ingredients
Method
- A simple recipe, just add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Strain into a cocktail glass, rind a small section of orange, bend to release the oils, and add to the glass.
Long Island Iced Tea
Dating back to the 1920s, Charles Bishop aka “Old Man Bishop” is thought to have made the first Long Island iced tea whilst living on Long Island, Kingsport, Tennessee. It’s a boozy one with 5 different liquors.
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the vodka, gin, tequila, rum, triple sec, and lime juice into a jug that’s half filled with ice.
- Add the cola and stir.
- Fill 4 tall glasses with ice cubes, pour in the iced tea, and add a lime wedge.
New York Sour
An evolution of the sour, The New York Sour is thought to have been first made in the 1880s in Chicago, and then was made popular in New York with its dash of red wine.
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup, and bitters into a cocktail shaker.
- Stir the egg white and add it to the shaker.
- Shake well until the egg white has frothed.
- Add ice and shake.
- Once the shaker is cold, double-strain the liquid into a glass filled with ice.
- Add a dash of red wine on the top.
Pornstar Martini
The Pornstar Martini was created by Douglas Ankrah at his bar, Townhouse in London in the early noughties—either top up a Martini glass with fizz, or add it to a shot glass to serve.
Ingredients
Method
- Scoop the inside of one of the passion fruits, and add it to the cocktail shaker.
- Add the vodka, Passoa, lime juice, and sugar syrup.
- Add ice and shake.
- Strain into 2 Martini glasses and top up with the brut.
- To garnish, add half a passion fruit to each.
Mojito
Havana is the home of the mojito and is thought to have first been created as a remedy for tropical illnesses, but now it’s known as a party tipple.
Ingredients
- 60ml white rum
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1tsp brown sugar
- Soda water
- Mint leaves
Method
- Muddle the lime juice, sugar, and mint leaves, and add to a jug.
- Pour into a tall glass and add a handful of ice.
- Add the rum and stir.
- Top with soda water, and garnish with mint leaves.
Ready Made Cocktails
For those who want to get straight to the pouring with no messin’, shakin’, or strainin’ look to a premade cocktail in a can–they’re easy and all the rage. And so, cue Mixtons, the next generation of ready-to-drink cocktails with their twists on classic recipes, from the Guilty Passion to Drago Mojo, offer fun and fruity tipples that are ideal for festivals and picnics.
