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Whether you’re working in a bar, drinking cocktails yourself or making them for girl’s night, there are a few cocktails that every jane of all trades should know how to make. At the very least, you should know what a good one tastes like. Impress your friends when they come over to watch Sex and the City with your very own Cosmopolitans!
Cosmopolitan
The ultimate girly drink popularized by none other than Carrie Bradshaw, the Cosmo is a good introduction to martini style drinks. Note: just because it’s in a martini glass does not make it a martini!
What You’ll Need: a good vodka (I prefer Absolut), cranberry juice, triple sec or Cointreau (depending on how much you want to spend), lime, martini glasses, a good shaker, garnish tool. First, put ice and cold water in your martini glass to chill. Take your shaker and pour in 1.5 ounces of vodka. Use a shot glass or jigger if you need to. Then pour in about ¾ ounces of triple sec. Pour ¾ ounces of cranberry juice and squeeze the juice of half a lime. Shake well with ice and pour out water mixture and replace with strained Cosmo. Make a lemon twist as a garnish if you wish, or a simple slice of lime.
Margarita
It’s not just for Cinco de Mayo anymore. A good margarita should not be bright green, but more on the clear side. This recipe is for on the rocks, but you can adapt for frozen by using a blender and ice.
What You’ll Need: Margarita glass, shaker, ice, salt or sugar, depending on preference, limes, triple sec, tequila (I prefer Jose Cuervo), lime juice, simple syrup. Use the same trick to chill your glass as we used for the Cosmo recipe. When you’re ready, pour kosher salt on a plate. Rim your glass with lime juice before running through salt. Pour 1.5 ounces of tequila into your shaker with ice. I prefer my margaritas tart, so I use fresh lime juice with a touch of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) instead of sweetened lime juice. Add a splash of triple sec. Taste to see if it’s sweet or tart enough for your liking. Shake well. Pour mixture with ice into your salted glass and enjoy.
Long Island Iced Tea
The Long Island Iced Tea is known for containing massive amounts of alcohol, so this isn’t your everyday cocktail. It may look like iced tea, but doesn’t taste like it!
What You’ll Need: pint or highball glass, ice, vodka, rum, gin, tequila, triple sec, sour mix and Coca Cola.
Pack your glass with ice. Pour 1 part each of rum, tequila, gin, vodka and triple sec. It should fill to a little less than half of the glass. From there, top up with sour mix. Top up with Coke and garnish with a lemon. If you don’t like your drinks as sweet, add a touch of soda. Drink with caution!
Sangria
Between the potlucks, book clubs, holiday parties and girls’ nights, one thing has remained constant in my life and that is the presence of sangria. This cocktail has mass appeal because it is relatively cheap to make and you can make big batches to put in a beverage dispenser.
What You’ll Need: 1 bottle of red wine, 1 lemon, 1 orange and 1 lime, all cut into wedges, sugar, gin or triple sec, 1 cup of raspberries or strawberries, diced pineapples in juice and ginger ale.
Mix together wine, fruit wedges, 2 tablespoons of sugar, fruit juices and gin. Chill overnight. The next day, add ginger ale, berries and ice. Add to beverage dispenser and serve.
Mojito
For a taste of Cuba, sip a mojito poolside. There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot day than a mojito.
What You’ll Need: A highball glass, a bar spoon, mint, limes, light rum, sugar or simple syrup and soda.
Instead of muddling the mint, which grinds up pieces of the mint, smack it in the palm of your hand and place at the bottom of the glass. Fill with ice. Pour 1.25 ounces of your favorite rum. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar or a splash of simple syrup. Squeeze juice of one half of a lime. Top with soda water, or Sprite if you like them sweet, and garnish with a sprig of mint.
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