Cooking for Men

Cocktails from Trevor Hopkins (email)
Margaritas Strawberry Margaritas Pomegranate Cooler Pomegranate Fizz
Champagne Sunset Gin and Tonic Lady Macbeth Pisco Sours
White Wine Spritzer Pimms Cooler Cosmopolitan Crocodile
Kryptonite Harvey Wallbanger  
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Here are some of my favorite cocktail recipes from Trevor's Bar. Share and enjoy...

You can see I have acquired quite a decent collection of bottles in the bar. I'm usually able to rustle up any cocktail a guest requires. You can just see the squeezer for citrus fruit - great for the Margarita recipes below. (I hate that "Margarita Mix" goop!)

Try some of the bar nibbles with them...

Trevor's cocktail bar Trevor's home bar

Margaritas [ top ]

I believe this style is known as "top shelf, on-the-rocks, no salt". Certainly, I do not like the taste of salt around the rim of a glass.

Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full of ice. Add a large measure of the best Tequila you can find and a similar large measure of Cointreau. (I'll leave it up to you to define "large" in this context!)

Squeeze and the juice of two limes, one lemon and half an orange (or a whole small orange). Shake well, then pour the whole contents of the shaker, including ice, into a large glass. Add a long straw. If drinking in the hot tub (definitely the best place!), use a plastic glass.

All that fruit juice - must be good for you! As an alternative to the orange, you could try using the juice of half a grapefruit (the ruby kind works well), or even two or three small fruits such as tangerines or satsumas.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml Gold Tequila

50ml Cointreau

One Lemon

Two Limes

Half an Orange

Strawberry Margaritas [ top ]

Fill a pint glass with ice, and chuck it in the blender. Add two measures of Tequila - I prefer the 'gold' kind - and two measures of orange-flavoured liqueur - I like Cointreau, but it's a bit pricey! Blend until all the ice is smashed into little tiny pieces - cover your ears while doing this! (Adding the alcohol at this stage means that the ice smashes more easily.)

Chuck in 6 or 8 strawberries, a level tablespoon of castor sugar, and the juice of 2 limes and 1 lemon. Blend until smooth and slushy. Pour (slurp, slurp,...) into a large glass (or two smaller ones, if you insist on sharing with a friend!), stick a wedge of lime on the edge of the glass, dunk in two straws, and serve. Feel free to alter the proportions to taste; you might need to experiment many times.....

Ingredients

50ml Gold Tequila

50ml Cointreau

One Lemon

Two Limes

6-8 Strawberries

Pomegranate Cooler [ top ]

Pomegranate juice is very popular at the moment, and can now be bought in bottles and cartons in supermarkets. Much better than trying to separate the juice from the zillions of pips in the real fruit! Undiluted, the taste is very strong, so here's a way of overcoming that problem.

For this drink to work properly, use 100% pomegranate juice. The "Pomegranate juice drink" products you can get in supermarkets are usually less than 30% juice, and topped up with sweetened water. Avoid.

Put a handful of ice into a large glass. Add a measure (not too large!) of vodka, and the juice of half a lime. Add four measures of pomegranate juice, and then top up with lemonade or tonic water (diet lemonade works well). Stir gently for a few moments, add a straw and decorate with a slice of lime.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml Vodka

Half a Lime

200ml 100% Pomegranate juice (not diluted)

200ml (approx) Lemonade (or tonic water)

Pomegranate Fizz [ top ]

Another pomegranate drink. Fill a champagne glass about one-third full with pomegranate juice, and gently top up with champagne or sparkling wine. This drink works quite well with cheap (and often quite sweet) fizz, since the pomegranate cuts the sweetness.

For this drink to work properly, use 100% pomegranate juice. The "Pomegranate juice drink" products you can get in supermarkets are usually less than 30% juice, and topped up with sweetened water. Avoid.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml 100% Pomegranate juice (not diluted)

125ml (approx) cheap Champagne (or other sparking white wine)

Champagne Sunset [ top ]

This is another champagne cocktail I invented for Tracey on New Year's Eve, 2006. This is a separated cocktail, orange at the bottom and golden at the top - hence the sunset name.

You need the tallest, narrowest champagne flute you can find for this drink.

Chuck half-a-dozen ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, and add a small measure of vodka. Then add half a mesaure each of cherry brandy and cassis. Shake briefly, and drain into the champagne flute - this should fill to just less than half way.

Now for the tricky bit. Get a cocktail swizzer - a flat disk on the end of a rod - and hold so that the plate is just on the surface of the mixture in the glass. Very very carefully and gently, pour the champagne so that it runs down the rod of the swizzer. Keep pouring - slowly - until the flute is full. Present with a flourish!

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

25ml Vodka

15ml Cherry Brandy

15ml Cassis

100ml (approx) cheap Champagne (or other sparking white wine)

Gin and Tonic [ top ]

Bottle of Gordon's gin Sounds simple, doesn't it? Just Gin, and tonic water. How could it go wrong? The devil, of course, is in the details. Here's my preferred details...

Use a short, chunky tumbler - a lo-ball glass - with a heavy base. Put in four or five ice cubes and let them chill the glass for a moment. Then, add a double measure of London Gin - I like Gordon's.

You should always add spirits to ice, and not the other way around, since this cools the spriits much more quickly. Add half a slice of lemon - no more, otherwise the taste of the gin will be obscured.

How much tonic water to add is a question of taste. But use a good-quality tonic - the cheap stuff from the supermarket should stay there. Personally, I like a long drink, so I usually fill the glass to near the brim. Sip, and savour...

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml London Gin

half a slice of lemon

200ml (approx) good quality tonic water

Lady Macbeth [ top ]

Yet another champagne cocktail - one day I must organise a separate web page for these! This was one I found in an old book, and wasn't sure whether Tracey would like it. She did - it's really delicious, and ever so simple.

Fill a champagne flute three-quarters full of champagne. Top up (carefully) with a good quality Ruby Port.

To finish off, take half a thin slice of lemon, twist some of the juice into the champage, and drop the slice into the drink. Serve. Easy, huh?

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

25ml Ruby Port

75 ml (approx) cheap Champagne (or other sparking white wine)

Half a slice of lemon

Pisco Sours [ top ]

Pisco Sour in a Champagne flute Pisco is an alcoholic drink - a kind of colourless brandy - from Peru. Tracey brought back a bottle when she and Seb visited a few years ago. Here's an easy recipe for this classic cocktail.

Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice. Add a large measure of Pisco and a large measure of sugar syrup (a tablespoon of caster sugar will do at a pinch). Squeeze the juice from a lime and half a lemon, and add the juices to the shaker.

Add a couple of dashes of Angostura Bitters to a champagne flute. Shake the cocktail hard for a minute or so, then drain into the flute, making the bitters swirl around. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml Pisco

50ml sugar syrup, or one tablespoon caster sugar

Juice of one limes

Juice of half a lemon

Two dashes of Angostura Bitters

White Wine Spritzer [ top ]

A simple classic for a hot summers day. The trick is to use tonic water, rather than lemonade, which I find to be too sweet for adult tastes.

In a tall glass, put three or four ice cubes and pour over a large measure (150ml) of white wine. A crisp Chardonnay works well. Top up with tonic water - use a good-quality kind. Relax and enjoy in the sunshine!

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

150ml White Wine

150ml (or more) Tonic Water

Pimms Cooler [ top ]

Another simple and refreshing summer classic. This is best made up in a large jug. Make lots, since your guests will want more.

Slice a lemon into rounds and place in a large jug. Add a quarter of a cucumber similarly sliced and a couple of sprigs of garden mint. (The mint and cucumber are optional, but very traditional!) Add a fifteen or so ice cubes. Splash 250ml of Pimms No.1 over the ice, and slowly top up the jug with good-quality lemonade.

To serve, pour without ice into tall glasses, adding slices of the lemon and cucumber to garnish.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

One lemon

Quarter of a cucumber (optional)

Two sprigs of fresh mint (optional)

250ml Pimm's No.1 Cup

750ml (or more) good-quality lemonade

Cosmopolitan [ top ]

This is an old favourite of Tracey's - and also one where she's been served some very poor examples in the past. So, here's my version, which certainly does have her seal of approval!

Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice. Add a large measure of vodka, and a large measure of Cointreau. Slice a round from the centre of a lime, and squeeze the juice from the remainder into the shaker. Shake hard for a few moments.

Add four large measures of cranberry juice to the shaker, shake again briefly and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the round of lime cut earlier and serve.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml Vodka

50ml Cointreau

One lime

200ml Cranberry juice

Crocodile [ top ]

"Crocodile" is a name used for several cocktails which are coloured green and are quite sharp. (Crocodile coktail, please, and make it snappy!") So, this is my version.

Fill a cocktail shaker half-full of ice. Add a measure of Vodka, a measure of Cointreau, and a measure of Pisang Ambon (this is what gives the green colour). Add half a measure of sugar syrup (optional) and the juice of a lemon.

Shake very well for a minute of so, then strain into a cocktail glass. It's very green!

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

25ml Vodka

25ml Cointreau

25ml Pisang Ambon

One lemon

15ml sugar syrup (optional)

Kryptonite [ top ]

Another green cocktail based on Pisang Ambon.

Fill a cocktail shaker half-full of ice. Add a measure of Vodka and a measure of Pisang Ambon. Add half a measure of Mandarin Napoleon and three measures of Pineapple juice.

Shake very well for a minute of so, then strain into a cocktail glass. Not quite as dangerous as a Crocodile...

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

25ml Vodka

25ml Pisang Ambon

15ml Mandarin Napoleon

75ml Pineapple juice

Harvey Wallbanger [ top ]

Bottle of Galliano Another classic, one which definitely benefits from being made properly - that is, with freshly-squeezed fruit.

In a tall narrow glass (a collins glass) put half a dozen ice cubes. Pour over a large measure of vodka. Squeeze the juice from two large oranges or three smaller ones, and pour over the vodka. Stir briefly.

Slowly and carefully pour half a measure of Galliano on the top of the drink. Garnish with a slice of orange and a cocktail cherry held together on a cocktail stick. Add a straw and serve.

The straw is important - you should drink from the bottom of the glass to savour the vanilla taste of the Galliano through the ornage juice.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

50ml Vodka

25ml Galliano

Juice of two large oranges

Cocktail cherry (to garnish)


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