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Nothing is better than enjoying a few Summery cocktails in your garden. While Fall might be on its way, there is plenty of time to enjoy these classic drinks whilst sitting on a wooden bench in your garden.
1) Minty Magic – Making Mojitos for the Masses!
This citrusy cocktail is refreshing and tasty.
Ingredients (all to taste):
- Rum
- Lime
- Sugar
- Fresh Mint
Steps:
Start by juicing your fresh limes – stay away from the fake stuff – and add it to a cocktail shaker. Add sugar to taste, as well as quite a few mint leaves. Using a muddler (or another blunt kitchen utensil), bash the sugar, lime juice and mint together. Add your preferred measure of rum, and then give it a good shake. Using a strainer, pour over ice into a short cocktail class.
Want to watch the process from start to finish? Check out this video: Classic Rum Mojito Cocktail Recipe – How to Make Mojitos from Scratch
2) A Salty, Sweet, Sour Blast – Lime Margaritas
The classic Mexican cocktail pairs perfectly with spicy food and hot nights.
Ingredients:
- 50 mL Tequila
- Rock salt
- 20 mL Lime
- 20 mL Orange Liqueur
- ¾ cup ice
Steps:
Start by running a wedge of lime around your margarita glass, and then dunking it into the rock salt two or three times to achieve even coverage. Next, add your lime juice and orange liqueur into a cocktail shaker, along with the ice, and give it a good shake. Pour it into your salted glass and you are ready to go!
Check out this video to watch the step by step process: Margarita Cocktail | Jamie Oliver
3) A Coco-pineapple blender dream – Perfect Piña Coladas
Sweet, creamy and decadent – virgin versions are great for kids!
Ingredients:
- 60 mL White Rum
- 30 mL Coconut Cream
- 30 mL Heavy Cream
- 180 mL Pineapple Juice
- ½ cup ice
Steps:
This is one of the few classic cocktails that requires a blender, so make sure you have yours ready to go. Add all the ingredients listed above, and blend on high until the drink is smooth and frothy. Pour into a hurricane glass and garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry – paper umbrella optional!
Watch the video: How to make a piña colada
4) A short Italian drink packed with boozy flavour – The Negroni
…because sometimes you just don’t want any juice or garnish getting in the way of a great drink. A Negroni is a perfect aperitif to stimulate your appetite before a meal.
Ingredients:
- 45 mL Gin
- 30 mL Sweet Vermouth
- 30 mL Campari
- Ice Cubes
- 1 large ice cube
Steps
Mix the different spirits together and add the ice, then stir well (no need to shake). Strain into a chilled rocks glass, and add a large square or spherical ice cube and a twist of orange zest.
Want to see the process in action? Watch: How to Make a Negroni | Cocktail Recipes
5) Vodka Woo Woo
Deceptively strong; don’t let the Woo Woo’s fruity nature fool you!
Ingredients:
- 60 mL Vodka
- 30 mL Peach Schnapps
- Cranberry Juice to fill the glass
- Ice
Steps:
Fill a tall highball glass halfway with ice, and add the vodka and peach schnapps. Fill the rest of the glass with cranberry juice, and you have a Woo Woo! For more information, watch the method here: Vodka Drinks – How to Make a Woo Woo
6) Step back in time to the 1860s – Sip a Manhattan
Any good bartender needs to know how to make a Manhattan, one of the most classic American cocktails.
Ingredients:
- 75 mL Rye Whiskey (you can substitute for Bourbon if you prefer)
- mL Vermouth
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Steps:
Add all of the above ingredients into a glass, and gently stir together. Fill a glass with ice, and stir again for 30 seconds. Strain the drink into a chilled glass, and garnish with a maraschino cherry. To see it all in action, watch How to Make a Manhattan | Cocktail Recipes.
7) The Classic Cocktail – The Whiskey Sour
Ingredients:
- mL Rye Whiskey (you can use Bourbon if you prefer)
- mL Simple Syrup
- mL Lemon Juice
- A small amount of frothed egg whites (optional)
- Ice
Steps:
Add large ice cubes into a glass to chill. Next, start by shaking your egg whites in the shaker on their own, and then add ice and all other ingredients to the shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into the chilled glass – you can either serve this on the rocks or straight up. Watch the method here: How to Make a Whiskey Sour | Cocktail Recipes.
8) Starting a Wild Night Out? Whip up some Porn Star Martinis
Colourful, fruity and packed full of flavour
Ingredients:
- mL Vodka
- mL Passion Fruit Liqueur
- mL Passion Fruit Puree
- mL Apple Juice
- ½ tsp. Vanilla Sugar
- 25 mL Champagne
Steps:
Start by chilling your glass by filling it with ice. Add all ingredients listed above to your shaker, and add a hefty amount of ice. Give it a good shake, and then strain into your chilled glass. Add the champagne, and garnish with fresh passion fruit. Want to see the expert do it? Check out this video: Porn Star Martini Cocktail | Joel Fraser
9) Shaken, not Stirred? The Classic Dry Martini
While this cocktail seems simple, some argue it can take years to perfect.
Ingredients:
- 120 mL Gin
- Vermouth
- Twist of Lemon
- Ice
Steps:
Start by chilling your martini glass by filling it with ice. Next, cut a square of lemon zest, keeping a small amount of white pith, twist and set aside. Add ice to your shaker, and add some vermouth. Give everything a good shake, and then drain the vermouth – you are only doing this to coat the ice. Add your gin, and shake until frost forms on the outside of the shaker. Pour into your glass and garnish with a twist of lemon. Watch How To: Make The Classic Dry Martini before you get started.
10) Tropical Fruity Fun – Learn to Make a Daiquiri
You don’t have to go on a Cuban holiday to experience the flavours of the tropics!
Ingredients:
- 60 mL White Rum
- 25 mL Simple Syrup
- 25 mL Fresh Lime Juice
Steps:
Start by chilling a coupe glass by filling it with ice or placing in the freezer. Add all ingredients and a lot of ice into a shaker, and give it a vigorous shake. Pour the drink through a strainer and garnish with a thin wheel of lime. Here’s how you do it: How to Make a Daiquiri | Cocktail Recipes
11) When on Holiday, Do as the Holiday Makers Do – Sex on the Beach
While this cocktail may be the favourite of holiday makers, hen do revellers and Uni students, don’t let its salacious name keep you from enjoying what is a delicious drink.
Ingredients:
- 45 mL Vodka
- 15 mL Peach Liqueur
- 45 mL Orange Juice (fresh is best)
- 45 mL Cranberry Juice
- Ice
Steps:
Fill a hurricane glass with ice to start it chilling, and then add your vodka, peach liqueur and orange juice to the icy cup. Stir vigorously in the glass, and slowly pour the cranberry juice over the top to create a layered effect. Garnish with an orange peel twist. Watch this easy to follow video to see it come together: Sex on the Beach Cocktail Recipe
12) Nostrovia, Comrade! The Moscow Mule
Popularised during the Prohibition era in America, the Moscow Mule should always be served in a chilled copper cup.
Ingredients:
- 60 mL Vodka
- Ginger Beer
- Lime Juice (1/2 a lime)
- Lime for garnish
Steps:
Juice half of a lime directly into your copper cup. Add the vodka into the cup, and then fill with ice. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a lime peel twist. See it done by the expert here: How to Make a Moscow Mule Cocktail – Liquor.com.
No matter which cocktail (or cocktails!) you choose to make for your friends and family, you can be assured that they will taste even better out in the sunshine in your garden. Bottoms Up!
Anna is the marketing and office manager for Garden Benches – a premium supplier of high-quality wooden benches and other outdoor furniture.
