Fancy a drink? It’s World Cocktail Day!

World Cocktail Day is the perfect occasion to treat yourself to your favourite cocktail – or mocktail! The celebration falls every year on the 13th of May. It was in fact on this day that the first definition of the word cocktail was published more than 200 years ago!

Here at Caroline Gardner, we will celebrate this day by recreating some of our team members’ favourite cocktails and enjoying them together.

And because we wouldn’t want you to miss out on this day, here are the recipes we will be following for our favourite drinks! If you are planning on having a Cocktail Home party, we hope our suggestions might inspire you to create beautiful and great tasting cocktails!

Mojito

You can never go wrong with a mojito, the perfect combination of rum, mint and lime. No one will stop you from simply mashing all the ingredients up with a spoon or muddler and then adding rum and soda, but if you want to spice up your mojitos, here is the recipe you need:

• 2 teaspoons of fine sugar
• 7 fresh mint leaves
• 60ml of soda
• Juice from 1 lime
• 60ml of your rum of choice
• Ice

 Crush the mint and sugar with the rum in a mortar. Once the ingredients have turned into a paste, add the rest of the rum. Let it infuse for a few minutes and then add a splash of soda. If you don’t have a mortar, you can blend the ingredients in a blender! This way you will get more flavourful mojitos!

Old fashioned

 As one of the classics, the Old Fashioned is also one of the easiest cocktails to make. You will in fact only need four ingredients:

•  1 teaspoon of sugar
• A splash of water
• 60ml whisky or bourbon of your choice
• Orange wedge
• Ice

 To create the perfect Old Fashioned, you only need to add the sugar to a glass and fill it with ice. You then pour your favourite whisky or bourbon and stir for approximately 30 seconds. You can then garnish with a slice of orange. The trick to a great Old fashioned is choosing your favourite whisky… you can’t go wrong with that!

Dirty Martini

 A variation of the classic Martini, the Dirty Martini originated in 1901 in New York when a bartender added olive oil to a Dry Martini. This drink is an all-time favourite for the salt-craving drinkers, including some of our team members!

• 75ml of gin or vodka of your choice
• 15ml of dry vermouth
• 15ml of olive brine
• Olives to garnish
• Ice

Fill a glass with ice and add the gin or vodka, vermouth and olive brine. Stir ell and then pour the mixture into your favourite cocktail glass. Garnish with olives and ta-dah! Your dirty martini is ready!

Cosmopolitan

If you are a pink lover, we are sure you’ve tried the Cosmopolitan. Tangy and refreshing, the Cosmopolitan is the perfect drink for a summer gathering, and let’s be honest, it tastes just as good as it looks! 

• 45ml of vodka of your choice
• 10ml of fresh lime juice
• 10ml of triple sec
• 10ml of cranberry juice
• Lemon wedge
• Ice

Shake the vodka, lime juice, triple sec, and cranberry juice in a shaker for approximately 30 seconds. Then add the ice and keep shaking until well chilled. Pour the mixture into a beautiful martini glass and garnish with a lemon wedge. If you’d like extra flavour, peel the lemon wedge over the cocktail glass so the lemon oils spray into the glass!

Tequila Sunrise

With Summer just behind the corner, we couldn’t possibly forget about the Tequila Sunrise. With its vibrant colours and refreshing flavours, the Tequila Sunrise is one of the favourites of our team.

• 60ml of tequila
• 120ml of fresh orange juice
• 10ml of grenadine syrup
• Orange slices to garnish
• Ice

Add the tequila and then the orange juice into a glass filled with ice. Then top with the grenadine syrup and garnish with orange slices. Tip to achieve the signature sunrise effect (red at the bottom and orange on top): drizzle the grenadine syrup down the side of the glass with the back of a teaspoon.

Lemon Drop Mocktail

If you are not a fan of cocktails or you can’t have alcoholic drinks, don’t worry! Mocktails are just as juicy and good as cocktails can be! Here is the recipe for an absolute mouth-watering lemon drop mocktail!

You will need:

• 40ml of lemon juice
• 20ml of sweetened syrup
• 75ml of cold soda
• Sugar
• Ice

To create the perfect lemon drop mocktail, add ice, sweetened syrup and lemon juice to a shaker. Then shake for 15 seconds. Pour the mixture into your favourite cocktail glass and add the soda! For your finishing touch, you can decorate with a piece of fresh lemon, some lemon peel or some sugar on the rim of the glass!

Other favourite drinks from the team include...

Now we’ll go and enjoy our drinks… We hope you do too! Happy World Cocktail Day!