Get your cocktail shakers, muddlers and swizzle sticks ready! We’ve stocked the bar cart and have 12 easy-to-make cocktail recipes you can easily make at home. Prepare to impress your friends with delicious concoctions and claim the title of cocktail Queen – a crown we’re all too happy to wear, in moderation of course!
Cocktails can really hurt the hip pocket when you’re headed out with the girls, so why not invite them around to yours instead and mix up a good time at home? Check out our handy cocktail hints and epic cocktail recipes below.
5 tips for improving your at-home cocktail game
- Alcohol is the most important ingredient in a cocktail. But bear in mind that spirits are also expensive, so if you’re planning a cocktail-drinking event, choose drinks that use the same alcohol bases so you’re not having to spend a fortune on six bottles of spirits at the bottle shop. Keep it simple!
- Don’t be stingy on the ice. Start building on your ice collection well before you think you’re going to need it so that you have plenty. You can make standard ice cubes, giant ice cubes, and ice balls. Also, make some pretty ice cubes with flowers or fruit frozen into them for fancy freezables.
- Have the right tools on hand. You don’t have to go out and spend a fortune on cocktail tools but it’s important to have a cocktail shaker, a muddler, a mini sieve, long-handled spoons, swizzle sticks, straws and different-shaped glasses, depending on what drinks you’re making.
- Make it look nice! A lot of the lure with cocktails is that not only do they taste great, but they also look pretty epic too. Use fresh fruit, fresh herbs (a sprig of rosemary, thyme, mint or basil leaves), florals or a salt rim to make your cocktail look flashy. Just don’t go too over the top.
- Make your own simple syrup and SAVE. Many cocktails will call for a ‘simple syrup’ in the recipe. Sure, you can buy it at your local bottle shop but you can also easily (and cheaply) make it at home. Just boil equal amounts of white sugar and water, stirring until dissolved and when cool, pour into a sterilised bottle. Too easy!
5 easy to sip cocktail recipes for summer
1. Mojito
If you have mint running wild through your garden this time of year, the mojito should be your go-to cocktail recipe of the season! Refreshing, light and perfectly balanced, mojitos are always a crowd-pleaser.
WHAT YOU NEED: 50ml Bacardi, half a large lime, 12 mint leaves, 2tsp caster sugar, 25ml soda water, crushed ice, and a sprig of fresh mint to garnish.
HOW TO MAKE IT: Cut the half lime into wedges and squeeze the juice into a tall glass, followed by adding the squeezed wedges in also. Add the sugar, gently pressing it into the wedges. Add the mint to the glass and press with a spoon to release the oil. Half-fill the glass with crushed ice, add the rum and stir. Top up with ice, and soda and add a sprig of mint to garnish.
2. Aperol Spritz
An excellent sipper because of its herby orange flavours and slight bitterness. It also gets full marks for looking fancy with minimal effort. Which frankly, is what we all want, right? Give us all the pretty drinks!
WHAT YOU NEED: 60ml Aperol, 60ml prosecco, soda water and fresh orange.
HOW TO MAKE IT: Simply fill a wine glass with ice, add Aperol, and prosecco and then spritz it by adding a splash of soda water. Finish it off by adding a couple of fresh lemon slices and a straw to give it a swizzle. YUM.
3. Frozé rosé
The perfect pink slushie cocktail for lovers of rosé, this one needs a little prep work. And by prep work, I mean pouring the rosé into a pan and freezing it for 6 hours (or an ice cube tray if your blender makes light work of crushing ice). Do not under any circumstances put the bottle in the freezer.
WHAT YOU NEED: 1 bottle of full-bodied rosé (frozen, see above), sugar syrup, crushed ice, and a squeeze of fresh lemon (optional).
HOW TO MAKE IT: Scrape the frozen rosé into the blender and add a cup of crushed ice and 100ml sugar syrup and a dash of fresh lemon juice and serve. For a thicker consistency, freeze for 30 minutes, blend again and serve.
4. Cosmopolitan
A classic choice, you can add a little extra zing to a cosmopolitan cocktail recipe by using a berry-infused vodka, SO yum! Garnish with fresh fruit slices, mint or even a sprinkling of dried flower petals.
WHAT YOU NEED: 60ml vodka, 30ml Cointreau, 1 tsp lime juice, ½ cup cranberry juice and crushed ice.
HOW TO MAKE IT: Place the ice in a glass. Add vodka, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker and shake! Strain into the prepared glass and serve immediately!
5. Espresso Martini
An excellent after-dinner cocktail, and consisting of only three ingredients, the smooth coffee hit always hits the spot nicely. Don’t drink this espresso martini cocktail recipe too late at night or you could be wide awake, well past your bedtime!
WHAT YOU NEED: 40ml vodka, 20ml Kahlua, 20ml cooled espresso coffee and ice.
HOW TO MAKE IT: Place the vodka, Kahlua, and cooled espresso coffee into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake it vigorously (make sure the cap is on tight) at least 10 times, to get a nice foam, and pour it into a glass, holding the ice back. Scrape the foam out if you need to and place it on top. YUM.
Cocktail recipes we prepared earlier…
We’re not afraid to admit that we love a sneaky cocktail every now and then here at Mum Central – in moderation, of course. Naturally, we do already have some pretty spectacular and sip-worthy cocktail recipes we prepared earlier. Check them out below!
6. Cadbury’s Caramilk choc martini
This Caramilk martini recipe includes ALL of the old favourites. We’re talking Baileys Irish Cream, vodka and of course, the main star – Caramilk.
7. Guava Margarita
Did somebody say tequila? This fruity guava margarita cocktail recipe uses easy-to-find guava nectar, so you need not worry about finding fresh fruit. Don’t forget a spicy garnish!
8. Gin Fizz cocktail
The Gin Fizz is a tasty twist on a classic Gin Sour and just as popular Tom Collins drink and in truth, at the end of the day, is just a downright delicious drink – and a super easy one to prepare.
9. Prosecco slushie
A zingy blend of sweet lemon sorbet and prosecco in slushie form, what is there not to love about a prosecco slushie cocktail recipe?
10. Baileys and Biscoff cocktail
It’s a marriage made in cocktail heaven where Baileys meets Biscoff and it’s the greatest coffee and biscuit pairing ever. We made the Baileys and Biscoff cocktail recipe last Christmas and you can bet your swizzle stick they’ll be back this festive season!
11. Gin iced tea cocktail
Want to add some punch to your iced pea tea? The addition of gin takes a glass of peach iced tea to a whole new level, this gin-iced tea cocktail is perfect for cooling off during a long and hot summer.
12. Coffee and almond delight
A tasty and creamy twist on an espresso martini, the coffee and almond delight is a must-try sip for coffee lovers!
There you have it folks, more cocktail recipes than you can poke a swizzle stick at! Do you have a favourite cocktail? Tell us what it is and why you love it in the comments below, we’d love to hear!
