Six DIY Cocktail Recipes To Make At Home, From Bellinis To Tom Collins

Six DIY Cocktail Recipes To Make At Home And Save Yourself A Bomb
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london cocktail week
Try your own Tom Collins with our recipe

It's London Cocktail Week (7 -13 October) and what better way to celebrate than pour yourself a drink or two?

So, for all the budding mixologists out there, here are six DIY cockatil recipes from Difford's Guide to get you started.

From a traditional Tom Collins - which was named after bartender John Collins who invented the drink at Limmer's Hotel, Conduit Street - to the exotic Mai Tai - named after the first reaction to the drink: "mai tai-roa aé", Tahitian for "out of this world, the best!" - we've got a great selection to tickle your taste buds.

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Bellini

Glass: Flute

Garnish: Peach slice

Ingredients:

2 shots of peach purée

½ shot of crème de pêche de vigne liqueur

¼ shot of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Top up with prosecco sparkling wine

Method:

Shake first three ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass. Add prosecco and gently stir.

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Tom Collins

Glass: Collins

Garnish: Orange slice and cherry on a stick

Ingredients:

2 shots of gin

1 shot of freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ shot of sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)

Top up with soda water

Method:

Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. Top up with soda, lightly stir and serve with straws.

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Mai Tai

Glass: Old Fashioned

Garnish: Lime, mint sprig, pineapple cube and maraschino cherry

Ingredients:

2 shots of aged rum

½ shot of orange curaçao liqueur

¾ shot of freshly squeezed lime juice

¼ shot of orgeat (almond) syrup

¼ shot of sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into glass filled with crushed ice.

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Sidecar

Glass: Martini

Garnish: Lemon zest twist

Ingredients:

1½ shot of Courvoisier Exclusif VSOP cognac

1 shot of Cointreau triple sec

1 shot of Freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ shot of Chilled mineral water

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

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Pisco Punch

Glass: Collins

Garnish: Pineapple Wedge

Ingredients:

4 dried cloves

2¼ shots of macchu pisco

1¾ shots of fresh pressed pineapple juice

¼ shot of freshly squeezed orange juice

½ shot freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ shot of sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)

Top up with Champagne

Method:

Muddle cloves in base of shaker. Add other ingredients except for Champagne. Shake with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. Top with Champagne.

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Sweet Manhattan

Glass: Martini

Garnish: Maraschino cherry

Ingredients:

2½ shots of Maker's Mark bourbon

⅛ shot of maraschino syrup (from cherry jar)

1 shot of Martini Rosso sweet vermouth

3 dashes of Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Method:

Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

London Cocktail Week is an annual festival held on Monday 7 - Sunday 13October in Covent Garden and Shoreditch.