5 cocktails to die for – Yummy alfresco drinks

You’re holding an outdoor cocktail party. How cool. Can we come along? So what cocktails will you be serving? Do you have a list of cocktail recipes as long as you arm, or are you going to limit your creativity to a few super-cool mixed drinks you know everyone will love?

Five seems like a reasonable number. Here are 5 cocktails to warm the cockles of your heart, chill you out, loosen your tongue, and get your party head in great shape.

The mojito – try it classic or with a twist

A refreshing mojito cocktail seals the summertime, bringing that gorgeous hot weather vibe to your life. All you do is blend lots of chilled white rum, lime juice, mint and soda water for an instant hit. Make a pitcher to keep everyone going or create exciting variations: strawberry mojito with a dash of black pepper from drama. Blueberry mojito with lemon instead of traditional lime. Maybe even a ginger and lemon glass version, which just happens to go spectacularly well with Asian food.

The Woo Woo

The Woo Woo was made famous by Wetherspoons, a cool and classy cocktail with an awesomely unusual flavour. Mix equal amounts of schnapps and vodka. Add double the amount of cranberry juice. And that’s it, a taste combination you’ll adore on hot summer days and well into balmy blue evenings.

The Whisky sour – Or whiskey sour!

The whiskey sour, called a bourbon sour over the Atlantic, is a proper classic cocktail with an official definition. Grab 50ml of whiskey or whisky – either will do fine. You’ll also need 35ml of lemon juice and 12ml of sugar syrup, plus a couple of dashes of Angostura Bitters and half an egg white. Shake all the ingredients up with a load of ice cubes. Strain the liquid into a glass full of ice. Squeeze lemon zest over the top and garnish with a slice of orange and a glace cherry on a stick. Voila… delicious! All the egg does, by the way, is cleverly calm the acidity of the drink and help bind the ingredients. It doesn’t add anything to the flavour.

The Apple Martini, AKA Appletini

Keep things uber-fresh with a vat of apple Martini. Also called the Appletini, you simply replace the usual gin with vodka, then add apple schnapps for an unusual sweet-sour twist. Mix some vodka, half the amount of apple Schnapps and a dash of Cointreau. Add a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice then garnish it with a thin slice of crisp apple. Yum!

The Fluffy Duck

Love your cocktails creamy? Into advocaat? This one’s for you, a tasty and satisfying cocktail with more than fruity flavours at its heart. You’ll need equal amounts of advocaat, fresh cream and white rum, plus double the amount of lemonade, either bottled for a fab fizz or home made for a more grown-up alternative. If you don’t fancy fresh cream you can always push the boat out even further with ice cream.

So that’s our own best-loved 5 cocktails for the summer. What about yours?