The secret to making the perfect cocktail comes down to your ingredients. Always choose the best quality you can afford, try to avoid the budget mixers where possible and pay close attention to your spirits. An Old-fashioned for example should blend effortlessly without the spirit overwhelming the citrus. Above all, buy yourself a shot measure (or jigger), the more accurate your recipes, the smoother the cocktail.
Here are our top cocktail recipes for all occasions. From unwinding after a long day, enjoying a refreshing aperitif or adding to your home bar with a grown-up digestif.
The Old Fashioned
Ask any barmen what their first choice for making the perfect Old-Fashioned cocktail and you will no doubt receive the same recommendation: Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon. No recipe would be complete without using this bold and versatile spirit. There should be an explosion of vanilla and caramel flavours that progress to bitter orange and leave you with the smokiness that reveals its 8-year charring process. Perfect for after dinner, impressing your mates or just indulging yourself.
Ingredients:
2 oz. (50ml) Wild Turkey® 101 Bourbon
Up to 1 oz. (25ml) simple syrup
3 dashes of bitters
Orange zest
Ice
Method:
- Put the ice into a lowball glass filled with a large ice cube.
- Measure out the Bourbon and pour in a mixing glass with the syrup and bitters.
- Strain into the lowball glass over the ice
- Garnish with an orange peel.
The Moonwalk
Guaranteed to impress, this beautiful aperitif comes with its own slice of history and your guests will be charmed in its re-telling. Invented in 1969 by Joe Gilmore, head bartender of The American Bar at The Savoy London, to celebrate the Apollo 11 mission. Unable to serve the astronauts himself, he sent a flask over to Houston and it was the first cocktail Neil Armstrong tasted on his return.
Ingredients:
35 ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge®
3 dashes Grapefruit Bitters
3 dashes Orange Blossom water
1 Sugar Cube
Champagne Brut
Optional orange twist for garnish.
Method:
- Stir Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge® in a mixing glass with Orange Blossom and Grapefruit Bitters
- Place the sugar cube at the bottom of a chilled Champagne Flute.
- Pour mixing glass mixture over the sugar and top-up with Champagne
The Negroni
Hands down an Italian favourite since 1860, this classic aperitif is designed to stimulate the appetite with its bittersweet, bold flavours. It couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Try it with O’ndina Gin, full of Mediterranean flavours, including the sweet Grande Verde de Genova basil from Liguria, Sicilian lemons and notes of notes of juniper, marjoram, fennel, sage, orris, and liquorice. Bringing the Riviera to your doorstep.
Ingredients:
25ml O’ndina
25ml Campari
25ml Cinzano 1757 Vermouth Rosso
Fresh basil leaves and orange peel to garnish
Method:
- Mix O’ndina with Campari and Vermouth Rosso in a tumbler glass over cubed ice or a single large ice ball.
- Stir until cold
Sgroppino
This delicate looking cocktail is so easy to make. The addition of fresh basil
compliments the sweet basil infused O’ndina Gin and the lemon sorbet makes it
ideal for a palette cleanser or chilled dessert.
Ingredients:
25ml O’ndina Gin
Lemon sorbet
Champagne or Prosecco)
Basil leaf (pictured with sage)
Method:
- Add a scoop of lemon sorbet to a glass, add O’ndina Gin and stir vigorously to melt the sorbet.
- If you have a blender add a basil leaf to blend the herb with the liquid.
- Transfer to a small martini glass or tall champagne flute and top with fizz.
- Stir a couple of times and garnish with a basil leaf.
Supersonic Gin and Tonic
Is anything more refreshing than a G&T at the end of a day? Try it with BULLDOG Gin, a clean refreshingly crisp gin. Blended with 12 carefully selected botanicals including white poppy, dragon eye, lotus leaf and warming liquorice; adding a complex layer to its crisp citrus base. Created with 250 years of distilling experience, yet inspired by a cold and modern vision, BULLDOG Gin has re-defined perceptions of what gin can be, by creating a modern and sociable drink to enjoy at any occasion.
Ingredients:
25 ml BULLDOG Gin
100 ml Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic
10 ml Cassis
Method:
- Pour 25ml BULLDOG Gin,
- 100ml Fever Tress Aromatic Tonic and 10ml cassis into a high ball glass over ice.
- Garnish with a lavender spring or pomegranate, blackberry & mint spring.