Credit: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Want to make a drink but don’t feel like putting in a ton of effort? These recipes are here for you. Most of them are ready in just 5 minutes — or […]
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Want to make a drink but don't feel like putting in a ton of effort? These recipes are here for you. Most of them are ready in just 5 minutes — or 10, at the most — and almost all of them come together in one step. Cocktails like the Dirty Shirley are as easy as it gets, combining three ingredients with ice in a highball glass and adding a maraschino cherry for flair; classics like the Gin & Tonic are equally low-lift. We've also included recipes here that use Campari, rum, tequila, vermouth, and more so you can work with whatever you have in your bar cart. Read on for all 12 options.
Remember drinking Shirley Temples when you were a kid? The cocktail for children has made a comeback, albeit one suitable for adults only. A shot of vodka added to the mixture of ginger ale and grenadine gives it a slight edge, but the maraschino cherry on top keeps things whimsical. Feel free to cut the ginger ale with sparkling water to cut the sweetness, or to swap in lemon-lime soda for the ginger ale if you prefer.
Campari is the slightly bitter cousin of Aperol, an Italian aperitif known as the star ingredient of the popular Aperol Spritz. Here, we swap out the slightly sweeter Aperol with Campari, and mix in a little blood orange juice, Prosecco, and grapefruit flavored sparkling water for an altogether refreshing cocktail. Make on a hot summer day, sit back, and dream of sitting in a café on the Italian Riviera.
"I love the floral accent and the frilly pink tinge it gives mixed drinks," television host and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi says about rose syrup. Here, she mixes the syrup with sugar, microwaves it, and then combines it with vodka, torn mint leaves, chilled club soda, and ice for a refreshing punch. A garnish of whole mint leaves and rose petals makes an elegant finishing touch.
Amaro Montenegro, an Italian digestif, brings strong flavors of orange to this pleasantly bitter cocktail. The drink starts out warm, with light, molasses-y sweetness coming through the first sip, but packs a pleasantly bitter bite. It's a touch smoky and delightfully strong. Finish it with a dash of grapefruit bitters, and garnish with a grapefruit peel twist.
The Gin & Tonic is one of Tiki TNT owner Todd Thrasher's favorite cocktails, but with two conditions: The ice must be large enough to melt slowly and the tonic should be high-quality. As for the gin? Plymouth is preferable here, but feel free to use your favorite.
Negronis are bracing and delightfully bitter, made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. Feel free to switch up the vermouth here, from sweet ones like Martini & Rossi and Carpano Antica Formula to bittersweet ones like Punt e Mes.
This martini's easy-to-remember ratio makes it the perfect after-work cocktail to throw together when you're too exhausted to think. Executive Wine Editor Ray Isle recommends Boodles gin and Dolin vermouth.
At first glance, combining red wine and cola sounds like sacrilege, but don't knock it until you try a Kalimotxo (sometimes written as it is pronounced, Calimocho). This easy-drinking combination originated in the 1920s, in the Old Port area of Algorta, a coastal town in the Basque region of Spain. The story is that organizers of a festival added cola to red wine in order to save several cases of wine that had gone bad and make them drinkable. The drink was a success, and has been enjoyed around the world since then. Kalimotxo is especially popular during the cocktail hour, paired with olives, cheese, and other snacks. You don't have to wait until you have a bottle of wine that has gone bad to make this at home; use an inexpensive red wine, something you would use for cooking.
All you need to make this simple cocktail is vodka, ice, Rose's lime juice, and a lime wedge for garnish. Then just shake, strain, and you're good to go.
The Manhattan is one of the most popular whiskey cocktails, and has been enjoyed for over a century. The earliest known printed recipe for the Manhattan was published in O. H. Byron's 1884 Modern Bartenders' Guide. The book cites two versions: one made with French vermouth, the other with Italian. The drink is traditionally made with rye whiskey, but some bartenders prefer to use bourbon. You can add a splash of juice from the jar of maraschino cherries if you'd like to add fruity sweetness to the drink, or alternatively, garnish with a lemon peel.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson loves a good margarita, especially when it's made with his Teremana tequila. This sweet-and-sour version has a tart kick from the pomegranate juice and a vibrant red color.
Want a simple drink with the spirit of a Negroni but the ease of a beer? Try a Spaghett, a hybrid of the two. This refreshing spiked beer is a popular shift drink in restaurants and bars, and an easy choice on a hot afternoon. You can add a squeeze of lemon if you like, but the light beer and bitter aperitif complement each other nicely on their own.
