gin basil fizz.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to next year! Especially for New Year's Eve, I've rustled up a super simple cocktail recipe combining a couple of my favourite drinks components - gin and Prosecco. This fizzy gin cocktail recipe is lifted by fresh basil to bring out the spirit's botanicals. Cheers!

cloudy lemonade caipirinha.

A refreshing, zesty cocktail featuring the new cloudy lemonade from The Cracker Drinks Co. The original caipirinha recipe hails from Brazil, and is made up of cachaça, sugar and lime on ice. If you can get hold of cachaça that's fab - but white rum is a good substitute here too. It's super simple to make and will be the perfect cocktail recipe when Summer comes along!

cherry old fashioned cocktail.

A drink that leaves you as cool as Don Draper after nailing a million dollar pitch. Having recently taken to watching the suave 1960s set series of Mad Men, the idea of muddling up an Old Fashioned couldn't be more appealing. Take your favourite whiskey, stir up sugar cube and bitters (in a sophisticated fashion, of course) and serve ice cold. A fancy short glass is a must.

When The Bar got in touch about trying out, or putting my own spin on their cocktails, I instantly reached for their Old Fashioned recipe. Traditionally made with angostura bitters, I switched up their timeless medley with my favourite flavour of cherry. By using a tangy and sour cherry bitters instead, this recipe is a tad sweeter with the same whiskey kick. Serve on ice in a short tumbler, garnished with a retro cherry and orange peel curl.

pomegranate sour.

A delicious drink for a worthy cause; bottlegreen have turned bottlepink to raise money for Breakthough Breast Cancer. The refreshing blend of exotic pomegranate and sweet elderflower will be sold across the UK with 10% of sales donated to charity. 

I wanted to show my support by featuring the drink in a recipe inspired by one of my favourite cocktails, the amaretto sour. This is a mocktail but can be created as an alcoholic version too.

ola, sangria!

shopping list
♥ a bottle of red wine

♥ a bottle of non alcoholic ginger beer
♥ a cup of orange juice

♥ a cup of lemonade

♥ a large, juicy orange

♥ your best summer jug

well there isn't much to this recipe except open, pour and serve.

though after making this same sangria for the last year or so, here are a few top tips:

♥ don't worry about getting good red wine. if anything, somehow the cheaper the better.

♥ do not add too much ice to the main jug as it will water the sangria down, to get a really cool summer drink, keep the glasses in the fridge beforehand.

♥ add brandy for a real kick.

♥ warning, it tastes just like a soft drink and is therefore lethal.
♥ cocktail umbrellas and swirly straws are a must.