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What are Cocktails

As per the Oxford Dictionary, a cocktail is "An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice or cream". Cocktails have gained immense popularity among the alcohol lovers in the last few years as they are not just a plain alcoholic drink but a fine and refreshing mix of alcoholic beverages, flavoured syrup, fruit juices, soda, and herbs. One more reason that cocktail is so popular is that there are so many different versions that people can choose from as per the strength or mildness based on their preference. You can select a cocktail that can give you an instant kick in a bash or one which can be slowly sipped and enjoyed at a formal party.

Make Your Cocktail Party a Success: Tips to Remember!

There are certain etiquettes and rules which are useful to know before hosting a cocktail party. Preparation of the party beforehand will give an impression of being a mannered and well-informed host.

Keep the ingredients required for different cocktails in batches so that you can quickly mix and serve during the party. Have quality ingredients as cheaper ones may be able to save you some money, but can spoil the taste of the drink. Have few good starters along with the cocktail, veg, as well as non-veg, but keep them light as you wouldn't like to turn a cocktail party into a dinner. Have some exciting and interactive games in hand to avoid it turning into an 'all drunk' party.

Clean your house a day before the party and make sure you have enough stock of alcohol and other required items. Keep the raw starters ready in the afternoon so that you can grill, bake, or fry them before the party starts and serve fresh. Be aware of someone who is a non-drinker and make refreshing mocktails or fruit juices for them as an alternate.

Cocktails to Make at Home: 11 Delicious Recipes

Daiquiri

An easy to make rum cocktail, Daiquiri is a drink with three simple ingredients. A well balanced sweet and sour taste which can be adjusted as per your preference defines Daiquiri. To prepare this island-inspired drink, you need 45 ml white rum, 22 ml fresh lime juice, and 15 ml simple syrup.

How to Make
Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and add few ice cubes. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a lime wedge and serve chilled.

Cosmopolitan Cocktail

This vodka cocktail is also sweet and sour with a tinge of lemon and cranberry juice. It is perfect for a casual evening party with close friends.

Ingredients

  • 45 ml lemon vodka
  • 30 ml cranberry juice
  • 15 ml triple sec
  • 10 ml lime juice

How to Make

  • To make the cocktail, pour all the items in a cocktail shaker along with few cubes of ice and strain into a glass.
  • For garnishing, take a 3 cm round piece of orange zest and hold it about 10 cms above the glass.
  • Now slowly wave it over a lighter flame or a lit matchstick; this will release the orange oils. Drop this zest into the drink and enjoy your Cosmopolitan Cocktail!

Black Russian

Source thespruceeats.com

This satiating cocktail is a combination of vodka and coffee liqueur, which creates this wonderful drink. This simple to make mocktail requires 45 ml vodka, 22 ml coffee liqueur, and maraschino cherries for garnishing.

How to Make
Take a few ice-cubes in a flat bottomed cocktail glass and pour the ingredients over them. Now stir well and garnish with cherries before serving to your guests.

Pink Lady Cocktail

A charming valentine special for the special lady in your life, this Pink Lady cocktail is more of a soft drink. For extra marks, you can make the grenadine syrup at home.

Ingredients

  • 100 ml of London dry gin
  • 4 tsp grenadine
  • 1 large egg white
  • Ice
  • For garnishsing, you need strips of pared lemon zest and maraschino cherries (2 each)

How to Make

  • Keep two cocktail glasses in the fridge to chill and in the meanwhile pour the gin and grenadine into cocktail shaker along with few ice cubes and shake well until the mixture is ice cold.
  • Now strain the mixture into a jug.
  • Take the egg white into the shaker and pour back the mixture, shake well until the egg white and mixture get froths (you can also use a food processor or hand blender).
  • Pour the cocktail into the chilled glasses and garnish with cherries and pared lemon zests using a skewer and finally, serve the chilled Pink Lady Cocktail to your guests.

Whiskey Highball

Source thespruceeats.com

This classic, simple, and popular cocktail is a stylish way to enjoy your favorite whiskey, be it the Canadian, blended, rye, or the bourbon, this cocktail works well with all of them. When you use Irish whiskey, it gives you the Irish Buck. To prepare Whiskey Highball, you need 60 ml whiskey and 120 ml ginger ale.

How to Make
Take a highball glass filled with ice cubes, first pour the whiskey slowly into the glass so that it flows through the ice and gets chilled. Now top with the ginger ale and stir properly before serving.

Irish Whiskey Old-Fashioned

A sophisticated cocktail that can be added to a dinner party, the Iris whiskey is an old fashioned way to enjoy your whiskey. You need 40 ml Irish whiskey, 10 ml sauternes, 10 ml elderflower cordial and pared lemon zest to Garnish.

How to Make
Pour all the ingredients except the lemon zest in a jug, add few ice cubes, and give a quick stir to the jug. Now transfer the drink into cocktail glasses, garnish with lemon zest, and serve fresh during dinner.

Gin Rickey

Source thespruceeats.com

A refreshing and classic highball cocktail that dates back to the early twentieth century is an easy-to-make drink with just three easy ingredients, which are:

Ingredients

  • 60 ml gin
  • 15 ml fresh lime juice
  • 60 ml club soda
  • 1 lime wedge to garnish

How to Make

  • To prepare Gin Rickey, fill a highball glass with ice cubes and pour the gin and lime juice over the glass. Then gently top with club soda, garnish with the lime wedge and serve chilled.

Vodka Martini

James Bond likes it shaken, not stirred, but you may have it as per your choice, and when it comes to Vodka Martini, less is more so this drink should be handled carefully. You require 60 ml Vodka, 1 tbsp dry vermouth, and lemon peel for garnishing.

How to Make
Stir the vodka and dry vermouth along with some ice in a cocktail shaker and strain the drink in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel and an olive on a cocktail stick.

Kir Royale

An amazing cocktail for the berry lovers, Kir Royale is a wine mix drink excellent for a casual cocktail party, open house, or serving at a business reception. Made with two simple ingredients, dry white wine (90 ml, of your choice) and 22 ml crème de cassis (a sweet, red-coloured liqueur made from French blackcurrants). To prepare Kir Royale, pour the crème de cassis in a wine glass, then slowly add the white wine and garnish with few strawberries before serving.

Caipirinha

A refreshing Caipirinha is a delight for a summer barbeque as it's a light mocktail made from cachaça and lime with little sugar to give the sweet tinge.

Ingredients

  • 2 limes (chopped into wedges)
  • 200 ml cachaça
  • 6 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • Some crushed ice

How to Make

  • Keep the lime wedges in a mortar along with the sugar and start muddling them with a pestle to release the juice from the wedges and mix it with the sugar to make syrup
  • Now throw away the lime peel and pour the syrup and cachaça equally into four glasses.
  • Top with crushed ice and garnish with lime wedges before serving to your guests.

The Classic Mojito

A simple cocktail from Cuba made from rum, mint, and lime; Classic Mojito is one of the world's most popular cocktails. It's quite easy to make, and you would discover most of the ingredients right in your kitchen. The items required to make The Classic Mojito are:

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 7 - 8 mint leaves
  • 60 ml light rum
  • 90 ml club soda
  • 1 lime (sliced into 4 wedges)
  • Mint sprig to garnish

How to Make

  • To start the preparation, add sugar, mint leaves and 30 ml club soda to a highball glass and muddle well to let the mint release its flavour and the sugar completely dissolved.
  • Now squeeze out the juice of all the lime wedges into the glass and drop two wedges inside the glass.
  • Next step is to add rum and stir well before filling the glass with ice cubes.
  • Finally, top with little club soda and garnish with the mint sprig before serving it chilled.

Bonus: Top Cocktail Accessories for Your Home Bar

MensXP Bar Essentials Kit

Source shop.mensxp.com

A unique and useful kit for a cocktail party at home, which will help you to make a cocktail like a pro, the MensXP Bar Essentials Kit is packed with eight premium multi-purpose bar accessories that will leave a good impression in front of your guests apart from the help to make cocktails quickly. The eight unique items include a cocktail shaker, a mini hip flask, peg measurer (30 ml / 60 ml), multi-purpose corkscrew, a whiskey pourer, bar blade (to open any kind of bottle), two shot glasses and a matt finish wine pourer. The entire kit is made from standard quality material and can be ordered from shop.mensxp.com for Rs. 1,799.

Portable Leatherette Briefcase Bar Set

Source amazon.in

Don't have a separate bar area at your place? No problem, as this Portable Leatherette Briefcase Bar Set can be used at home and can also be carried to an outing, picnic, or to a friend's place to enjoy drinks. The beautiful wooden case which comes with a number lock has one hip flask, one tong, three glasses, and a peg measurer inside the case. It also has a place to fit in a big bottle of wine or rum etc., and all accessories and glass items remain well protected and in place, with the straps, while you are travelling with the Briefcase Bar Set. It’s available on amazon.in for Rs. 1,999.

Wall Mounted Wine Dispenser

Source order2india.com

This unique product will add the style and cool quotient to your cocktail party as you or the guests can easily pour the required amount of drinks from the dispenser. This dispenser can be used for dispensing beer, cocktail, juice, soda, and other drinks during the party. This wall mounted wine dispenser is made from food-grade ABS, AS, and food-grade silica gel and is available in sizes 25 ml, 30 ml, and 45 ml. This useful bar accessory is listed on order2india.com for Rs. 1,761.

Cocktail Decorative Umbrella

Source flipkart.com

You can garnish your cocktail drinks with olives, maraschino cherries, or strawberries using these Wooden Cocktail Umberalla Sticks and add an attractive look to the cocktail glasses while serving. Though it's a small item, it would leave your guests in awe about your eye for finer details. The wooden decorative umbrella sticks are 3 inches long, and a pack of 100 can be ordered for Rs. 249 from Flipkart.

Writer
Rahul Banerji
Rahul began his stint as a freelance writer after working in the corporate world for ten years. He enjoys writing on various topics and is an avid blogger. His interest in science, technology, politics, current affairs and the latest trends helps him to back his writing with well researched facts. Rahul finds solace in gadgets, nature and spirituality.

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Get The Right Kind of Glasses if You're Having a Cocktail Party!

Different kinds of drinks require different kinds of glasses for you to enjoy these drinks to their full flavour. Get yourself familiar with various types of cocktail glasses you need for each drink, and you can readily order them online from any popular online store!