Here is cocktail recipes to make classic cocktails:

1. Dark and stormy

Serve in tall glass.
50ml Gosling’s Black Seal rum
25ml lime juice
Ginger beer
Ice cubes

Add rum and lime juice to the glass. Rub lime around the rim. Fill with ice cubes. Top up with ginger beer. Simple and tasty!

2. Martini

Serve in cocktail glass.
50ml good-quality gin (or vodka, depending on martini preference)
25ml dry vermouth
Crushed ice
Ice cubes

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and leave to one side. Fill a large glass with crushed ice and water/soda water. This is to help make the glass as cold as possible. Once the glass is very cold to the touch, discard the ice and water. Pour the gin (or vodka) and vermouth into the glass and fill with ice cubes. Slowly stir until the ice dilutes the drink to your taste. Discard the ice from the cocktail glass and strain in the drink, adding your choice of garnish: fruit zest, cherry, caper berry, olive … Martinis taste best when cold, so should be polished off within 7-10 minutes.

3. Mint julep

Serve in tall glass or tumbler.
50ml rum (or whisky, depending on preference)
2 teaspoons of caster sugar (other sugar or gomme syrup is also fine)
4 mint sprigs
Crushed ice
Soda water (optional)

Add the mint sprigs, caster sugar and a couple of tablespoons of crushed ice. Begin ‘massaging’ the mix together with a spoon. The caster sugar helps to bring out the flavour of the mint. Breaking or crushing the mint makes the taste sour, hence the need to gently fold and stir. Add 25ml of rum, more crushed ice and continue ‘massaging’. Fill with ice, pour in the second 25ml shot of rum and add a dash of soda, if desired.

4. Margarita

Serve in a tumbler with ice or in cocktail glass, straight up with a salt rim.

* Simple (Tommy’s) margarita
50ml tequila
25ml lime juice
2 tsp agave syrup
Ice cubes

* Classic margarita

37.5ml tequila
25ml cointreau or triple sec
12.5ml lime juice
Ice cubes

Salt (optional)

Fill a glass with ice and leave to one side. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously for 45 seconds to a minute. If using a tumbler, leave the ice in the glass. If using a cocktail glass, discard the ice. If you intend to salt the rim, pour either table salt or sea salt onto a small plate, rub the rim with lime and roll into the salt. Strain the drink into the glass.

*Most aficionados would use the ratio 3:2:1, as above, but you should vary it to your own taste. 3:1:1 and 2:1:1 both make a nice drink, and you can always add agave syrup to sweeten if it’s too sour.

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