4 Simple Recipes for Home-Made Cocktails or How to Turn Your Kitchen Into a Bar

The quarantine will end someday, and we will forget about it as it was a nightmare. But the skills and knowledge that you will gain through online courses and self-education will remain with you forever.

We do not urge you to drink to evade sadness because you miss your party life. We suggest experimenting a bit. Especially for you, we have prepared 4 simple cocktail recipes that can overshadow everything you have ever tasted in bars.

The Internet Protocol Team warns that people under 21 and pregnant women are not allowed to drink hard liquor.

Stay Home Sour

In the 18th century, lemon juice was introduced into the practice of preparing mixed drinks. This wonderful occasion gave us the formula that is relevant and dearly loved to this day: strong (whiskey) + sour (lemon juice) + sweet (sugar syrup) = a pleasure elixir known in the world as a whiskey sour. We will share a simple recipe for the fantastic Stay Home Sour.

Ingredients:

• Whiskey – 50ml
• Honey, sugar, or jam – 30ml
• Lemon, lime, or cranberry – 15ml
• Eggs (one chicken or 2-3 quail) – 15ml of egg white
• Ice (to taste)

Life hack: Let’s start with a small life hack of how to make ice for cocktails without molds. We will need a five-liter container of drinking water. Take the bottle and pour out a liter of water (because we studied physics at school and learned something), and then put it in the freezer for the night. By the morning, the water will turn into ice, and the plastic will freeze, too, so it will be easy to cut off one part of the bottle and get some kilos of ice. Make sure you store the ice in the right compartment: it perfectly absorbs aromas, so it should not be stored next to meat and fish.

How to make the cocktail at home:

1. Pour a portion of whiskey into an improvised shaker (a jar with a lid).
2. Squeeze some lemon, any other citrus, or even cranberries there.
3. Next, add syrup or, if there is no syrup, take a few tablespoons of honey or jam. If you feel like experimenting, though, carefully read this article, we will tell you how to cook syrup below.
4. Next, add the egg white that we carefully separated from the egg yolk.
5. Close the jar with a lid and shake the mixture intensively for 5 minutes. This is a great exercise, by the way.
6. Open the shaker, add ice, and shake it again.
7. Pour the ready cocktail into a cup or a glass and enjoy the #stayhome lifestyle.

Raspberry Gin and Tonic

The classic gin and tonic cocktail recipe was invented by British soldiers in India in the 18th century. Our modern variation will bring fresh notes to the classic cocktail that everyone loves. You can serve it in a wine glass with a piece of ice and garnish the cocktail with raspberries on a skewer (fresh one or a jelly raspberry, whatever you may find).

Ingredients:

• Gin – 45ml
• Tonic – 50ml
• Raspberry syrup – 20ml
• Lemon juice – 10ml

How to make it at home:

1. Take a container with a lid (it may be a jar or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid), or otherwise, you risk staining the entire kitchen and yourself.
2. Pour 20 ml of raspberry syrup into the container (you can use jam).
3. Add 10ml of lemon juice there (10ml approximately equals squeezing three lemon slices).
4. Add gin to the mixture.
5. Add a couple of ice cubes there, close the lid, and intensively shake the container just as bartenders do with their cocktail shakers.
6. After this unplanned lower triceps workout, pour the contents of the container in any glass or mug (this is a home bar anyway).
7. Top up with tonic, mix the whole thing with a spoon, and decorate with raspberries on top.

Tips: it is better to keep gin and tonic in the fridge – this will make your cocktail colder and will help save some ice.

Jamaican Punch for remote workers

There is a legend among the inhabitants of Jamaica that a refreshing fruit punch was invented by a caring planter to increase labor productivity under the scorching sun. The first written record of this Planter’s Punch was found in The New York Times in 1908. Our “domesticated” recipe can also increase productivity and encourage you to think creatively. Just make sure this does not end with a YouTube video.

Ingredients:

• Rum – 50ml
• Pineapple juice – 40ml
• Lemon juice – 20ml
• Sugar syrup – 10ml
• Pomegranate syrup – 10ml

How to make syrups at home:

Sugar syrup: add 200 grams of sugar to 200ml of water. Bring it to the boiling point over medium heat until sugar completely dissolves. Cool the syrup.

Pomegranate syrup: peel 3 or 4 pomegranates. Mix pomegranate berries with 400 grams of sugar. Add 300ml of water. Bring it to the boiling point over medium heat and remove from heat after 10-15 minutes. Cool the syrup.

How to make the cocktail at home:

1. Fill a tall glass or mug with ice and set it aside for now. Instead of a shaker, you can classically use a 0.5-liter jar or a sports water bottle.
2. In an improvised shaker, mix rum, juice, pomegranate, and sugar syrup.
3. Pour the melt water from the mug that was filled with ice and pour the cocktail there through a strainer.
4. You can decorate the cocktail with any fruit that you have at home.

Margarita in self-isolation

The famous Margarita cocktail has many legends and stories about its origin. In fact, there are so many of them that you could have made a 10-episode series about its origin! (Netflix, call us if you want to buy this idea). However, first and foremost, this cocktail is famous for its ability to cheer people up.

Ingredients:

• Tequila – 50ml
• Triple sec liqueur – 30ml
• Orange jam/confiture – 1 tablespoon
• Fresh green basil – a handful
• Orange slice (with zest/peel)
• Grapefruit slice (with zest/peel)
• Lime or lemon juice – 25ml
• Soda or dry sparkling wine – add to fill up a glass

How to make it at home:

1. Put a slice of orange, a slice of grapefruit, and basil into a 0.5-liter jar.
2. Slightly and gently crush it all with a spoon, not turning everything mushy.
3. Add a spoonful of jam.
4. Fill the jar with ice, add tequila and liqueur.
5. Then mix everything nicely with a spoon and add soda, or even better, dry sparkling wine.
6. Enjoy!

Take our quiz to find out if you know the history of famous alcoholic drinks!