alcoholic drinks

Here are all the great cocktail recipes and alcoholic drinks you should know how to make, from the margarita to the whiskey sour. Cheers!

Easy Whiskey Sour

(4 tablespoons) whiskey

(2 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice

Orange

Ice,

Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Fill with a handful of ice and shake until very cold.

Strain the drink into a glass. Serve with ice, an orange peel and a cocktail cherry. 

An elegant vodka-based drink that'll wow your guests - it's made with creamy advocaat liqueur and homemade fruit syrup

Rhubarb & custard cocktail

caster sugar

rhubarb

vodka

milliliters rhubarbsyrup (see above)

milliliters advocaat

lemonade

To make the rhubarb syrup, put the caster sugar in a saucepan with 75ml water. Heat very gently, so the sugar disappears but the water doesn&rsquo;t bubble. Tip in the chopped rhubarb, cover with a tight-fitting lid and increase the heat a little so it begins to boil. Simmer, covered, for about 5 mins until the rhubarb is very tender but not disintegrating.

Turn off the heat, and tip the pan&rsquo;s contents into a fine sieve over a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to gently squeeze the rhubarb so that you get all the juices, but no pulp. Tip back into the pan and boil rapidly for a few mins until just syrupy. Pour into a jug &ndash; you should have about 125ml. Leave to cool completely. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Chill 4 cocktail glasses with ice or in your freezer. Shake the vodka and 100ml of the rhubarb syrup together with ice until mixed and chilled down. Make small shreds of rhubarb using a vegetable peeler and place into iced water &ndash; this will make them curl up.

In a separate jug, whisk together the advocaat and lemonade with more ice to lighten. Divide the vodka and rhubarb mixture between the glasses, straining through a small sieve to catch the ice.

Carefully pour 25ml of your advocaat mixture into each glass over an upsidedown spoon (the mixture should float on the surface of the vodka syrup mixture). Drain the rhubarb shreds well and use to garnish your cocktails.

Take your summer cocktail to the next level by blending up spiked hard seltzers with fresh fruit for a refreshing slushie drink.

White Claw Alcoholic Slushie

Black Cherry White Claw

raspberries

blackberries

mint leaves (optional garnish)

Mango White Claw

strawberries

Course sugar & 1 strawberry (optional garnish)

Lime White Claw

tbsp coconut cream

Shredded coconut & lime wedge (optional garnish)

Yuzu Tom Collins is a refreshing and exotic twist on the classic drink. Using the fragrant Asian citrus fruit yuzu instead of lemon makes this Tom Collins unique and perfect for summer.

Yuzu Tom Collins

yuzu juice

simple syrup

club soda or seltzer water

Add the gin, yuzu juice, and simple syrup...

Add the gin, yuzu juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes, about 3 to 5. Shake well until chilled.

Strain the mixture evenly into two ice-filled tom...

Strain the mixture evenly into two ice-filled tom collins glass, and top off the glass with club soda.

Make your own delicious elderflower wine with our fabulous summery recipe. This delectable alcoholic drink is perfect for using our favourite seasonal ingredient

Elderflower wine

elderflower

sultanas

lemon

1kg sugar

citric acid

milliliters black tea

sachet wine yeast

campden tablet

Read our guides on how to clean brewing equipment and home brewing safety tips before you get started. Trim the elderflower florets off the stems with scissors or a wide-toothed comb into a clean bucket.

Add the sultanas, lemon zest and juice to the bucket. Dissolve the sugar and citric acid in 2l boiling water and pour into the bucket. Cover and leave for 8 hours or overnight to steep.

Add the tea and 2.5l cold water, stir, then sprinkle the yeast over. Cover and leave in a moderate (15-20C) spot, out of the sunlight, to ferment until the foam has died down – this usually takes five days, but could be up to 14.

Transfer into a clean bucket or demijohn, leaving the sediment behind. Top up to 4.5l with cooled boiled water if desired. Cover tightly (a lid with an airlock is recommended). Leave to ferment, this usually takes six weeks (little trails of bubbles are a visual indicator).

When the liquid stops bubbling and clears a little, transfer to a clean bucket, leaving the sediment behind and adding the campden tablet. Leave to clear, which may take a few months, then decant into sterilised bottles. Store in a cool, dark place. The wine will improve for up to 18 months.

Pomegranate and citrus turn a classic cocktail into a Christmas Cosmo. Follow this quick and easy recipe for a festive holiday drink.

How to Make a Festive Pomegranate Cosmo for Your Christmas Party

c. vodka

c. pomegranate-cranberry juice blend

c. orange liqueur

lime juice

Lime twists

Put the vodka, pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher.

Add ice and stir 30 seconds or until cold; strain into chilled martini glasses.

A splash of cranberry juice is all you need for a pretty pink twist on a classic margarita. Pink margarita is the perfect poolside or taco night upgrade!

Pink Margaritas

(plus

Blanco or Silver tequila

sweet and sour mix

triple sec

cranberry juice cocktail

lime

mint (plus

margarita salt

In a 2-quart pitcher, combine the ice (1 cup), tequila (1 ½ cup), sweet and sour mix (1 ½ cup), triple sec (½ cup), cranberry juice (2 cups), lime juice (1), and mint (3 sprigs). Stir to combine.

When ready to serve prepare the glasses. Place coarse salt in a shallow dish. Rub rims of cocktail glasses with lime wedges, then dip in coarse salt, coating well. Fill the glass with ice.

Pour into prepared glasses and serve with a lime wedge and fresh mint. Serve immediately.

Our Planters Punch is the perfect combination of sparkling and sweet, a refreshing summer drink for every gathering! Make it by the glass or pitcher.

Planters Punch

pineapple juice

orange juice

dark rum

heavy splash sparkling water

splash grenadine

pineapple wedge

orange

Maraschino cherry

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add pineapple juice (2 ounces), orange juice (2 ounces), lime juice (2 ounces), and rum (2 ounces). Shake vigorously.

Strain into a 12-ounce glass filled with ice. Stir in a splash of sparkling water and top with a splash of grenadine.&nbsp;

Garnish if desired with a skewer of pineapple wedge, thin orange slice, and a maraschino cherry.

Try this lovely low alcohol rhubarb spritz. A spritz would normally contain gin, but the sharp lemon and aromatic star anise mean you won’t miss it

Rhubarb spritz

star anise

lemon juice

milliliters rosé wine

water

Put the caster sugar, rhubarb, orange and star anise in a pan with the water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5-6 mins, or until the rhubarb is soft and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, leave to cool and strain into a jug. (See tip below.)

Pour 100ml of the syrup into a mixing glass or a jug with the lemon juice, rosé and ice. Stir well until the mixture has chilled, then strain into two wine glasses over ice. Top up with soda water, taste and add a dash more syrup, if you like. Garnish each with a peeled rhubarb ribbon.

While most martinis are stirred, here we shake it up to open up the flavours. We've used a Bordeaux-blend vermouth, with aromas of fruit, honey and pines

Vesper martini

Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Distilled Gin

vodka (we used Black Cow)

milliliters white vermouth (we used Lillet Blanc)

lemon zest

Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add cubed ice and shake for 10-15 seconds.

Double strain by using the regular strainer in your cocktail shaker and holding a fine mesh strainer over your glass. Pour through both strainers into a martini glass.

Release the oils from the lemon by pinching the skin and spraying over the glass. Place within the glass.

Strawberry Daiquiri

white rum

lime, juice and zest

Splenda® Stevia Liquid Sweetener

In a blender, combine all ingredients and puree until smooth.

Enjoy a refreshing caipirinha at a summer barbecue or party. This classic cocktail is made with cachaça, lime and sugar. Serve with fresh wedges of lime

Caipirinha

limes

tbsp golden caster sugar

cachaça

Put the lime wedges in a large jug with the sugar, then use a muddler or the end of a rolling pin to break them down. Release as much juice from the wedges as possible, and let it mix with the sugar to create a syrup – you can also do this with a large pestle and mortar. Discard the lime peel.

Divide the syrup and cachaça between four glasses, then top with the crushed ice. Serve garnished with lime wedges, if you like.

The spiced winter blizzard is an easy drinks recipe made with Jack Daniels Whiskey Honey, apple cider, freshly squeezed tangerine juice and homemade spiced simple syrup.

Spiced Winter Blizzard u0026#8211; a holiday whiskey drinks recipe / 2 glasses

120 ml Jack Daniels Honey

apple cider

tangerine juice

ml spiced simple syrup

ice cubes

white sugar

tbsp pumpkin spice seasoning

apple

tangerine zest

star anis

Whisk all ingredients together in a small pot.

Bring to a boil for 3-5 min.

take the pot from the oven and let it cool completely.

Store in a screwed bottle for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Homemade spiced simple syrup

Put all ingredients for the drink into a shaker or a jar with a screw lid and shake for 1 minute.

Pour into 2 champagne coupe.

Garnish with the apple slices, the tangerine zest , 1 star anis each glass

Spiced Winter blizzard

Make a stunning bottle of seasonal elderflower champagne with our step-by-step recipe. This delicate, floral, alcoholic drink is perfect for sipping on summer nights

Elderflower champagne

1.8kg sugar

lemons

sachet dry champagne yeast

x 12-litre fermenting bucket (ideally with airlock lid)

muslin sterilised

Read our guides on how to clean brewing equipment and home brewing safety tips before you get started. Fully dissolve the sugar in 4l just-boiled water in a fermenting bucket. Add 6l cold water.

Shake any bugs loose from the elderflower, then strip the florets from the heads with a fork. Let the sugar water cool to 20C and stir in the lemon zest, juice, flowers and yeast. Cover, and leave to ferment out of direct sunlight for six days. If your bucket doesn't have an airlock lid, gently rest the lid on top of the bucket.

Strain through boiled or sanitised muslin into the second sanitised bucket, leaving the sediment behind. Leave it to sit for a couple of hours for any last pollen or sediment to settle.

Siphon into sanitised wine or fizzy drink bottles and seal. Leave for five days in a cool dark place. Check the carbonation by lightly opening the lids to vent excess CO2. Keep in fridge if notably vigorous. If you drop the sugar to 1.6kg, it shouldn’t finish above 8% abv, at 2kg, 10%. Champagne yeast is tolerant up to at least 15%.

Top 14 alcoholic drinks recipes from across the web

The most viewed alcoholic drinks recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy Whiskey Sour

Rhubarb & custard cocktail

White Claw Alcoholic Slushie

Yuzu Tom Collins

Elderflower wine

How to Make a Festive Pomegranate C...

Pink Margaritas

Planters Punch

Rhubarb spritz

Vesper martini

Strawberry Daiquiri

Caipirinha

Spiced Winter Blizzard u0026#8211; ...

Elderflower champagne

Top 14 alcoholic drinks recipes from across the web

The most viewed alcoholic drinks recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Whiskey Sour

Rhubarb & custard cocktail

White Claw Alcoholic Slushie

Yuzu Tom Collins

Elderflower wine

How to Make a Festive Pomegranate C...

Pink Margaritas

Planters Punch

Rhubarb spritz

Vesper martini

Strawberry Daiquiri

Caipirinha

Spiced Winter Blizzard u0026#8211; ...

Elderflower champagne

The most viewed alcoholic drinks recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine