Did someone say beveragino?
Sometimes, occasion calls for more than just the usual cheap bottle of wine for pres. With only a few ingredients, the following cheap and easy cocktail recipes are perfect for changing up the start of your night. Cocktail connoisseur or complete disaster, making these with friends is guaranteed fun. Even if the real fun comes after the drinks. Cheers!
Bucks Fizz
A Christmas classic, and probably the simplest recipe on this list, bucks fizz is perfect for adding a last-minute sophistication to any, or no, event. Just mix orange juice into any sparkling wine, such as prosecco or (if you are really celebrating) champagne.
Woo Woo
Transport yourself to a faraway sunny seaside destination with this familiar fruity favourite. Adding orange juice also turns a Woo Woo into a Sex on the Beach cocktail, so why not try both?
Ingredients:
- 25ml of peach schnapps
- 25ml of vodka
- 50ml of cranberry juice
Mix the vodka and peach schnapps first before adding the cranberry juice, giving the Woo Woo its signature colour.
Bees Knees
This recipe makes three drinks to give your trio a bit of a buzz.
Ingredients:
- 6 shots of gin
- 6 tsp of runny honey
- 3 shots of fresh lemon juice
- 3 shots of fresh orange juice
- Ice
Combine the gin and honey first, mixing until the honey dissolves. Then add the juices and ice. If you can, strain before drinking.
Cucumber and Mint Fizz
I’m no expert, but having cucumber in a cocktail surely makes it healthy? Part of your five a day is accompanied by gin to make a truly refreshing drink.
Ingredients:
- 5cm of cucumber, diced
- 6 mint leaves
- 2 shots of gin
- Ice
- Tonic water
Put the cucumber, gin, mint, and ice into a shaker (or similar container) and shake for a minute or two. Then strain the mixture into a glass with fresh ice and top up with tonic water.
Strawberry Vodka Lemonade
Simple, fruity, summery, this one tastes like a summer barbecue in a cup.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium sized strawberries, sliced.
- 1.5 ounces of vodka
- 3 ounces of lemonade
Start by crushing the strawberries in the bottom of a glass. Next, add the ice, then vodka, and finally top with the lemonade.
Mojito
A classic drink with a rum-based kick to it, no cocktail list would be complete without a Mojito. The secret to getting this spot on is tasting the final mixture and adjusting the ingredients just before serving.
Ingredients:
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1tsp sugar
- Small handful of mint leaves
- 60ml white rum
- Tonic water
- Ice
Crush the lime juice, sugar and mint in a jug. Pour this into a glass and add ice. Stir in the rum with a spoon before filling the rest of the glass with tonic water.
Tequila Sunrise
To all the tequila lovers, this one is for you. If done just right, this cocktail will look just like a sunrise, but that does not mean it is too pretty to drink.
Ingredients:
- 50ml of tequila
- 25ml of grenadine
- 175 ml of orange juice
- Ice
Mix the orange juice and orange tequila together and pour over an ice-filled glass. Slowly pour in the grenadine, which will go to the bottom of the drink. Easy peasy!
Lemon Drop
Add some zest to your pre drinks by making this quick drink – you might even have the ingredients already. What are you waiting for?
Ingredients:
- 50ml of vodka
- 50ml of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- Lemonade
Take your glass and wet the rim, then roll it in the sugar until it sticks. Following this, mix the vodka and lemonade in the glass. Top up with lemonade and you are done.
While these recipes are delicious, please drink responsibly. Your liver (and sober self the next morning) will thank you! It’s not the end of the world if you end up with your head in the loo and your friend holding your hair back (yep, we’ve all been there) but let’s be honest, it is best avoided.
