Made with cheap sparkling wine and boxed juice, Buck's Fizz is ghastly. But with good champagne and juice of half an orange, there are few finer celebratory drinks. The original Buck's Club recipe has a couple of secret ingredients.
According to rumour it is:
gin 30ml
cherry brandy 5ml
fresh orange juice 45ml
fresh tangerine juice 15ml
champagne 90ml Photograph: Romas Foord
The Negroni – equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth served on the rocks – isn't everyone's cup of tea. But it does seem to be this season's smart drink. A sparkling version was created in the 50s in a Milan bar when a bartender allegedly mistook a bottle of prosecco for gin. Voilà, the Negroni Sbagliato (spah-LEE-otto). Last winter, Nick Strangeway of Hix restaurants went to mix a round of Sbagliatos and made a mistake of his own, adding both gin and prosecco. This most festive and balanced of all Negronis, the Sbagliato Due ("second mistake"), contains:
gin 30ml
sweet vermouth 30ml
Campari 30ml
prosecco 30ml
Build in an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice Photograph: Romas Foord
Hot Buttered Rum is better made with your own house-made spiced rum instead of store-bought
spiced rum 60ml, see below
boiling hot water 120ml
butter a knob
brown sugar to taste
Garnish with a sprinkling of nutmeg and a cinnamon stick
To make your spiced rum: in a 1 litre glass bottle place
Havana Club Añejo 3-Year 750ml
vanilla bean 1 split lengthwise
whole cloves 3
cinnamon sticks 2
ginger 1 fingertip-sized piece
black peppercorns 5
whole nutmeg ⅛ piece
Steep for 3 to 4 weeks, gently shaking the bottle once every few days. Strain through a coffee filter, sweeten with sugar to taste and bottle. It can be stored indefinitely, and the flavour improves with age Photograph: Romas Foord
The Whisky Mac has been around since the 1860s, about 20 years longer than the Martini. Sadly, most people's first encounter with it involves whatever whisky your local has on the optic with whatever ginger wine they stocked a few years previous, served warm. Try it with
King's Ginger Liqueur 10ml
Speyside whisky 40ml (nothing too heavy)
Built in a rocks glass over a few ice cubes, it is a perfect winter warmer. Garnish with a fresh slice of ginger Photograph: Romas Foord
In the days before central heating, the Hunting Flask was far more common, and it wasn't necessarily filled with a straight spirit. People took pride in the contents of their flasks and created bespoke concoctions to offer friends on chilly autumn and winter strolls. The basic structure of these classic formulas is simple. Start by steeping liquor (we've used Irish whiskey and gin to great effect) on berries for a week or two. A punnet per bottle is enough. Then, in a saucepan, combine
ginger fresh and sliced, a few thumbs
a whole orange the peel of
sugar 250g
water 300ml
Strain the spirit and add the fruit to the saucepan as well. Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Then cool the mixture before straining the syrup into the spirit. Clip-top stopper bottles are great for storing your flask for years, if it lasts that long Photograph: Romas Foord
Cacao nibs are increasingly easy to find. But what to do with these crumbles of pure cacao? We toast 75-100g of them in a dry skillet (just for a minute or two – they lose the dull grey finish and take on the sheen of a Louis Vuitton handbag). Allow them to cool and then pour them into a bottle of good quality vodka. Set this aside for three to six days. Strain out the nibs and place the vodka into the freezer. Your chocolate vodka can be served neat and chilled, or used in a Golden Kiss, combining 30ml cold chocolate vodka and 120ml chilled champagne in a flute Photograph: Romas Foord
Atholl Brose became one of Queen Victoria's favourite drinks after she first encountered it in 1842, in Dunkeld, near Perth. Not the thick Hogmanay dessert, this streamlined variation is an update on the centuries-old original
thick-cut porridge oats 500g
whisky 700ml
heather honey 225g
boiling hot water 100ml
single cream 300ml
Place the porridge oats and whisky in a large jar to soak overnight. In a second jar, combine the heather honey and boiling hot water. Stir until the honey is completely dissolved. Add the single cream and stir. Wring the oatmeal and whisky mixture through muslin or press through a fine strainer into the cream mixture. Stir to combine. Refrigerate to chill. You can pour the mixture into clean, sterile stopper bottles for service, if you prefer. Shake before serving. Photograph: Romas Foord
espresso 250ml
Irish whiskey 700mlvanilla pod 1 split lengthwise
sugar to taste
Our espresso machine at Sipsmith died last year. We haven't had it repaired but we're still serving the espresso we made on it, and it is delicious. We brewed the espresso and combined it with the whiskey, vanilla pod (which we removed after a week and used in a pudding), and sugar. We dubbed the drink Irish Ristretto. Unlike Irish coffee, it doesn't need to be heated or topped with cream. Simply pour this dark elixir into liqueur glasses Photograph: Romas Foord
Mint 5 sprigs
Simple syrup 2 barspoons
Havana Club Añejo 3-Year Rum 60ml
Lemon juice fresh-squeezed 20ml
Champagne 200ml
These days, your average bartender makes at least a dozen mojitos every working night. People love mojitos because – simply put – they are delicious. However, for a romantic evening you can make a Mojito Royale for Two, which you're not likely to find in any bar. Muddle 4 sprigs of mint with the simple syrup in a mixing glass. Add the rum and lemon juice. Shake over ice and strain into two chilled flutes. Slowly pour 100ml champagne into each glass. Garnish each with an extra sprig of mint Photograph: Romas Foord
cream of coconut 2 x 425g cans
fresh whole milk 360ml
Unrefined sugar 250g
butter 90g
vanilla extract 2tsp
Havana Club Añejo 3-Year Rum 180ml
ground cinnamon ¼ tsp
ground cloves ¼ tsp
ground nutmeg ⅛ tsp
vanilla extract 1 tsp
Egg Nog, Tom & Jerry, Rum Flip or Advocaat, there has always been some rich holiday drink that combines spirit and a whole egg. This year, go eggless with a Caribbean classic, the Coquito. Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Blend and transfer to clean stopper bottles. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Makes about 1 litre Photograph: Romas Foord
London dry gin 30ml
fresh-squeezed lemon juice 30ml
hot water 30ml
sugar to taste
Skimming newspapers from 1823, it seems London's most popular holiday drink was Gin Twist. This simple concoction inspired poetry, but disappeared when Wellington's Sale of Beer Act (1830) made ale cheaper than gin and converted Britain to a nation of beer drinkers. Combine the gin, lemon juice, and hot water in a punch cup. Add sugar to taste and garnish with a lemon twist to prove the juice was fresh not bottled (or barrelled as it often was back then) Photograph: Romas Foord
London dry gin 40ml
Triple sec 10ml
King's Ginger Liqueur 10ml
Angostura Bitters 2 dashes
It's true. The word "cock-tail" first appeared in a 1798 London newspaper where it was "vulgarly called ginger". What better way to see Twelfth Night in style than with the Original Cocktail! Build the ingredients in a rocks glass. (If you don't have King's Ginger Liqueur, muddle 3 slices of fresh ginger and 5ml simple syrup into the glass. Add ice. Stir. And garnish with an orange twist Photograph: Romas Foord
