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The secret to making the perfect cocktail at home comes down to your ingredients. Always choose the best quality you can afford, try to avoid the budget mixers where possible and pay close attention to your spirits.  An Old Fashioned, for example, should blend effortlessly without the spirit overwhelming the citrus. Above all, buy yourself a shot measure (or jigger), the more accurate your recipes, the smoother the cocktail.

Here are our top cocktail choices for all occasions; from unwinding after a long day, enjoying a refreshing aperitif or adding to your home bar with a grown-up digestif.

Perfect Your Home Bar Skills: Old Fashioned 

What: Old Fashioned

Key Ingredient: Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

The Lowdown: Ask any barmen what their first choice for making the perfect Old Fashioned cocktail and you will no doubt receive the same recommendation: Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon. No recipe would be complete without using this bold and versatile spirit.  There should be an explosion of vanilla and caramel flavours that progress to bitter orange and leave you with the smokiness that reveals its 8-year charring process. A fantastic choice for a real unwind.

Ingredients:

– 2 oz. (50ml) Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

– Up to 1 oz. (25ml) simple syrup

– 3 dashes of bitters

– Orange zest

– Large ice cube

Method:

1. Put the ice into a lowball glass filled with a large ice cube.

2. Measure out the Bourbon and pour in a mixing glass with the syrup and bitters.

3. Strain into the lowball glass over the ice

4. Garnish with an orange peel.

Perfect Your Home Bar Skills: The Moonwalk

What: The Moonwalk

Key Ingredient: Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

The Lowdown: Guaranteed to impress, this beautiful aperitif comes with its own slice of history and your guests will be charmed in its re-telling. Invented in 1969 by Joe Gilmore, head bartender of The American Bar at The Savoy London to celebrate the Apollo 11 mission. Unable to serve the astronauts himself, Gilmore sent a flask over to Houston and it was the first cocktail Neil Armstrong tasted on his return. 

Ingredients:

– 35 ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

– 3 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

– 3 dashes Orange Blossom water

– 1 Sugar Cube

– Champagne Brut

– Optional orange twist for garnish

Method:

1. Stir Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge with Orange Blossom and Grapefruit Bitters in a mixing glass.

2. Place the sugar cube at the bottom of a chilled Champagne Flute.

3. Pour mixing glass mixture over the sugar and top-up with Champagne

Perfect Your Home Bar Skills: The Grand Collins

What: The Grand Collins

Key Ingredient: Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

The Lowdown: This simple cocktail is super refreshing and makes the perfect aperitif for any occasion. If the fresh lemon juice is too sharp, add a little sugar syrup to soften the bite.

Ingredients:

– 50ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

– 25 ml fresh Lemon juice

– Grapefruit and Rosemary Tonic

Method:

1. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour over the Grand Marnier.

2. Add fresh lemon juice and garnish with an orange or pink grapefruit wedge. 

3. Add a sprig of thyme or rosemary.

Perfect Your Home Bar Skills: O’ndina Gin and Tonic

What: O’ndina Gin and Tonic

Key Ingredient: O’ndina Gin

The Lowdown: Is anything more refreshing than a simple G&T at the end of a day? Try it with O’ndina Gin, full of Mediterranean flavours, including the sweet Grande Verde de Genova basil from Liguria, Sicilian lemons and notes of notes of juniper, marjoram, fennel, sage, orris, and liquorice. Bringing the Riviera to your doorstep. 

Ingredients:

– 50ml O’ndina Gin

– 85ml premium Mediterranean tonic water

– Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Pour O’ndina into a copa glass over cubed ice.

2. Add premium Mediterranean tonic water.

3. Garnish with a few basil leaves (gently tap to release their flavour).

Perfect Your Home Bar Skills: All Italian Negroni

What: All Italian Negroni

Key Ingredients: O’ndina Gin and Campari.

The Lowdown: Hands down an Italian favourite since 1860, this classic aperitif is designed to stimulate the appetite with its bittersweet, bold flavours. It couldn’t be simpler to prepare.

Ingredients:

– 25ml O’ndina

– 25ml Campari

– 25ml Cinzano 1757 Vermouth Rosso

– Fresh basil leaves and orange peel to garnish

Method:

1. Mix O’ndina with Campari and Vermouth Rosso in a tumbler glass over cubed ice or a single large ice ball.

2. Stir until cold.

3. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and orange peel.