5 Quick & Easy Home Cocktail Recipes
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 0 mins | Makes: 1 serving
Ingredients
Royal Tea Cocktail:
- 45ml London dry gin
- 60ml freshly brewed Earl Grey tea, chilled
- Lemons, for garnish or taste
- 1 tsp sugar, to taste
The Classic Daiquiri:
- 45ml light rum
- 20ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 10–20ml syrup, to taste
Gin Rickey:
- 60ml gin
- 15ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 120ml club soda (or to taste)
- Lime wedge, for garnish
Strawberry Lemonade:
- 4 medium strawberries, sliced
- 45ml vodka (optional)
- 90ml lemonade
Whisky Highball:
- 60ml whisky
- 120–180ml ginger ale or club soda, to taste
Spending too many days at home? If you're after something iced and refreshing, but also simple and quick, you can get back to basics with these easy cocktail recipes!
Learning how to make a cocktail doesn't have to be intimidating. In fact, here you'll find ingredients (and tools) that are surprisingly cheap, while still producing the best results reliably, and making your time at home feel just a little bit fancy.
It'll take no more than 4 ingredients and can be all completed within 5-10 minutes each! Ready to shake and mix? Jump to the recipes below:
5 Quick & Easy Home Cocktail Recipes
About The Recipes
1. The Royal Tea Cocktail
It doesn't get any more classy than gin and tea! This 'royal tea cocktail' is a gin-spiked ice tea, a recipe created by Beefeater Gin to celebrate The Queen's 2007 oscar win (fun fact for moviegoers.) An old fashioned glass will look perfect for this drink, a perfect combination of happy hour and tea time! Click here to view the recipe.
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2. The Classic Daiquiri
You can't go wrong with an original daiquiri, which only uses three common ingredients. When it comes to this essential rum cocktail, we recommend using premium rum, fresh lime juice, and simple homemade syrup. A good daiquiri should have a nice balance of sweet and sour, or adjusted to your personal taste. Give it a try if you're ready to say goodbye to sugary bottled versions, and hello to a homey mix of good quality! View the recipe.
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3. The Gin Rickey
This refreshing and classic highball drink goes all the way back to the 20th century. It's well-loved for featuring zero sugar, and a super easy three-ingredient mix. It's simple! You just need gin, a dose of lime, and fill the glass with soda water. It's like gin and tonic with an added flare. Click here to try the recipe!
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4. Strawberry Lemonade
Here's an exciting new way to use those fresh strawberries! This delightful and refreshing cocktail is perfect for spring or summer time, with extracts from sweet strawberry juice topped with vodka and lemonade. You can also even skip the vodka to make this drink family-friendly! As long as you have some bar tools handy, you can make fancy drinks like these with no worry. Find the recipe right here.
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5. Whisky Highball
If you or your partner is a fan of whisky, try this classic whisky highball to mix things up! Quite simply, it's whisky and ginger ale — which you don't even need to mix too much, as the carbonation of the soda meeting the alcohol will naturally mix. Serve in a tall highball glass and there you go, a brilliant, fresh way to enjoy any style of whisky. Find how you can make one below!
Images by Geraud Pfeiffer & Olenka Sergienko
Recipes & images via The Spruce Eats
Method
Royal Tea Cocktail
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Fill an old fashioned glass with ice, and pour the gin and chilled tea.
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Add a splash of lemon juice and a teaspoon of sugar, to taste. Stir well.
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Place a twisted lemon peel* (optional) for garnish, and enjoy!
*Use a swivel peeler to create the perfect lemon peel!
Tip: You can sweeten with some extra honey or syrup to taste. You can also give the drink some sparkle by topping it with tonic water or citrus-flavored sparkling water.
The Classic Daiquiri
Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
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Shake well
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Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. That's it!
Tip: If your drink is a bit too tart, add more syrup. If it is too sweet, add more lime. You can also garnish this drink with a twisted lime peel.
The Gin Rickey
Fill a highball glass with ice.
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Pour the gin and lime juice over the ice.
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Top with the club soda.
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Garnish with a lime wedge. Serve and enjoy!
Tip: Freshly squeezed, natural-flavoured lime juice highly recommended!
Strawberry Lemonade
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Muddle the strawberries in the bottom of a tumbler or old-fashioned glass.
Tip: Choose the freshest strawberries — rinse and remove the stems, and then cut each berry into 4-5 slices to make muddling easier.
Frozen strawberries can also do as they're often already mashed, but let them warm up a bit before using. Muddling can break up any remaining ice and release the juice. It won't look as neat as fresh berries, but will be similar in taste!
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Add ice, followed by vodka if it's an alcoholic drink.
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Top with lemonade
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Garnish with strawberry slices laid out in a fan. One pretty drink ready to enjoy!
Tip: You can also build on the berry flavor by adding other fresh fruits as they come into season! Try raspberries, blackberries, or even other fruits like apricot and mango.
Whisky Highball
Fill a highball glass with ice.
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Pour the whisky into the glass.
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Top the rest of the glass with ginger ale, and enjoy!
FAQs
Can I make these into non-alcoholic drinks?
You can definitely create a mocktail from most of these recipes. For substitutes in fruity/citrusy drinks, most would normally go for punch or sparkling juice. To replace bourbon whisky, for example, simply mix 3 parts peach nectar and 1 part cider vinegar!
What do I need for mixing and stirring?
Check out our wide collection of barware tools and cocktail sets to help get you mixing!
