Quick and Easy Classic Summer Cocktails

Prepare for those summer braai?s and pool-side parties to ensure you're ?the hostess with the mostest?

By House&Garden | December 5, 2018 | Category

What better way to cool off on hot summer days than with a refreshing cocktail? Especially if you’re planning on spending the holidays at home and having friends and family over for a celebration.

Here are a few quick and easy classics to try out at home:

Pink Gin

Ingredients

2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters

60ml Gin

Garnish: lemon twist

Method

Splash a generous few drops of Angostura aromatic bitters into a glass. Thereafter you roll them around until the inside is coated, pour out the excess and pour in the gin.

Moscow Mule

Ingredients

1 dash Angostura aromatic bitters

74ml Vodka

148ml ginger beer

Garnish: lime wedges

Method

Add ingredients to an ice filled mixing glass. Stir gently. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass.

Tequila Old Fashioned

Ingredients

2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters

7ml demerara syrup

60ml Tequila

Garnish: grapefruit ribbon

Method

Add ingredients to an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir well. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Express a grapefruit ribbon over glass and insert into drink.

Daiquiri

Ingredients

3 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters

22ml fresh lime juice

45ml simple syrup

60ml White Rum

Garnish: lime wedges

Method

Shake all ingredients together in an ice-filled shaker and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

And here’s how to make a batch of your own simple syrups at home:

Demerara / Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup demerara or white sugar

1 cup water

Method

Take equal parts demerara sugar and water, combine them in a saucepan, bring the liquid to a boil, and cook for two minutes. Allow to cool.

There you have it – four DIY recipes that can be whipped up in minutes, perfect for entertaining at home; and one for almost any light and refreshing spirit you may have in your arsenal. Enjoy.

Images: Andrew Barrow

Feature Image: Unsplash