Being able to whip up a cocktail, even a simple one, is a great party trick and an easy way to impress your guests when you host a dinner party. Here are five super simple drinks you can make at home with five ingredients or less.
Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned is by far my go-to drink, it's timeless, and when made with a good Bourbon, like Four Roses Small Batch, it is always a winner. This is a super simple recipe just using, water, angostura bitters, a sugar cube, orange, and ice.
Ingredients:
- 1 sugar cube
- 3 dashes (or 3/8th a teaspoon) of Angostura Bitters
- Splash of water
- 2 oz bourbon
- Orange peel for garnish
Drop the sugar cube in the bottom of your glass, add bitters, ice cube, bourbon, and stir. Finish off with a thin slice of orange or orange peel for garnish. If you want to mix it up, use a flavored bitter to add a new element to an old classic. You can also get creative with your garnish, in this one we used cranberry and rosemary to give the drink a more festive look.
Gibson
The Gibson goes back to 1908 and is one of the simplest cocktails to make, it's really just a martini with a cocktail onion in place of the olive. I like using Whitley Neill Original Gin, but for something, a little different try their Lemongrass & Ginger or Protea & Hibiscus flavored gins. If you happen to be out of gin you can always use vodka.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 oz gin
- 0.5 oz vermouth
- Cocktail onion for garnish
Add gin, vermouth, and ice to the shaker and mix well. Strain into a martini glass and add the cocktail onion.
Vodka Tonic
With just three ingredients the Vodka Tonic is about as easy as it gets. Starting with a good Vodka, I recently discovered Neft Vodka which is a great choice for a clean Vodka Tonic.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz vodka
- .25 oz fresh lime juice
- 4-6 oz tonic water
- Lime for slices and a wedge to garnish
In a highball glass filled with ice and lime slices add vodka and lime juice. Fill glass with tonic and stir, garnish with a lime wedge.
Manhattan
Originating from the Manhattan Club in New York from the late 1800s, the Manhattan is easy to make at home with just a few ingredients, I like mine with a Clyde Mays Straight Rye Whiskey.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- 5 drops Angostura Bitters
- Maraschino Cherry to garnish
Add whiskey, vermouth, and bitters to mixing glass, add ice, stir, and strain into glass.
Negroni
Brought back with returning soldiers after WWII, this classic Italian cocktail is another simple drink made with gin. Again I like the Whitley Neill Original Gin, but you can always have fun with a flavored gin for a twist.
Ingredients:
- 2oz Campari
- 2oz Gin
- 2 oz Sweet Vermouth
- Orange peel for garnish
Add ice to a lowball glass, our ingredients into the glass, stir, and garnish with orange peel.
_websize.jpg)
