Delicious and easy to make cocktails for all occasions

From nautically themed drinks to winter warmers and summer coolers, these delicious cocktails are perfect for any occasion, whether you're celebrating on the high seas or spending a stint as a landlubber

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The sun’s over the yardarm somewhere, as the saying goes, and it’s time for a drink. But then that dreaded question arises: what’ll you have?

Never fear, our list of festive cocktails is here to help.

There’s something for everyone: from a Old Fashioned with a twist, to a Spiced Apple Fizz, all of these drinks are easy to make and you will feel festive from the first sip.

Enjoy and sail safe!

 

Black Beauty Mojito

cocktail garnished with berries

This delicious fruity drink packs a punch and is ideal for all seasons.

Ingredients:
40ml Goslings Black Seal Rum
80ml soda or sparkling water
2-3 ripe blackberries
1 sugar cube
Juice of half a lime
3-4 mint leaves
Ice cubes

Method:
Muddle together the blackberries, sugar cube, mint leaves and the juice of half a lime in a shaker filled with cubed ice. Add Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and shake. Strain onto fresh ice and top with 80ml soda water into a tumbler.

 

Win a year’s supply of Goslings Black Seal Rum

 

 

Malted Old Fashioned

old fashioned cocktail

A delicious and festive twist on the classic Old Fashioned. Black Bush stirred with malt syrup and a hint of vanilla, served on the rocks with a twist of lemon. 

Ingredients:
50ml   Black Bush
8ml     malt syrup
3ml     vanilla syrup
1        lemon twist

Method:
Stir all the ingredients with ice in a 300ml rocks glass until the correct level of dilution is achieved. Garnish with a large lemon twist.         

 

Hipster Irish coffee

Irish coffee cocktail

Irish coffee is the ideal Christmas drink. Boozy, as the festive season should be, but with a kick of caffeine to keep you alert during a long day of eating and drinking. We love this twist on the classic Irish Coffee, which uses cacao spirit for extra aroma and sweetness.

Ingredients
40ml   Black Bush
1 cup  ristretto espresso
10ml   chocolate spirit
10ml   simple syrup
30ml   cream

Method:
Black Bush and cacao spirit shaken with a ristretto espresso, served straight up with a float of double cream

 

 

‘Tis the Season

vodka and amaretto cocktail

Cocktail meets pudding with the delicious ‘Tis The Season, thanks to the addition of ice cream. Indulgent, as Christmas should be.

 

Ingredients:
30ml Tamova Vodka
30ml Belluci Amaretto
50ml Espresso
2 large scoops of Strachans Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

 

Method:
Add two scoops of ice cream to a whisky glass, poor the Tamova Vodka and Bellucci Amaretto over the ice cream and finally add the chilled espresso coffee.

 

St Nick’s Brew

gin and beer cocktail

A very seasonal cocktail that mixes gin, beer, ginger and lemon. If it’s good enough for old Nick…

 

Ingredients:
50ml Gin (we like Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin for this recipe)
25ml fresh lemon juice 25ml ginger syrup
Shipsterns Bitter or for a lighter version use San Miguel to top
For the ginger syrup:
1kg white sugar
1 litre water
400g fresh ginger


Method:
To make the ginger syrup add 1kg of white sugar to 1 litre of freshly boiled water. Grate 400g of fresh ginger and add to the sugar/water mixture as it is cooling. Once cooled finely strain through a cheese cloth and place in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Add the gin, lemon juice and ginger syrup to an ice filled cocktail shaker.Shake well for 10 seconds. Strain the shaker contents into a chilled beer schooner. Top with either bitter or lager.

 

 

Dark ‘n’ Stormy

Dark-n-Stormy-cocktail-recipe
The sailor’s drink, a Dark ‘n’ Stormy builds on the pirate tradition, using rum, and Gosling’s lays claim to the original recipe.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
Gosling’s Stormy Ginger Beer
Method:
In a tall glass filled with ice, add 4-5 oz of Gosling’s Stormy Ginger Beer and top it off with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. The lime wedge garnish is optional, but encouraged.

 

Spiced Apple Fizz

Rum cocktail

This spiced apple-based cocktail is light and fizzy, thanks to the addition of champagne. Perfect for a pre-Christmas dinner aperitif.


Ingredients:
50ml Dark Rum such as Old Hopkins or you can try the spiced variety
Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut to top
25ml lime juice
25ml cinnamon syrup
50ml apple juice
Cinnamon syrup
1kg white sugar
1 litre water
1 pot of ground cinnamon
Apple fan


Method:
To make the cinnamon syrup add 1kg of white sugar to 1 litre of freshly boiled water. Add the whole pot of ground cinnamon to the sugar/water mixture as it is cooling. Once cooled finely strain through a coffee filter or muslin cloth and place in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Add all the ingredients except the champagne to an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake well for 10 seconds. Strain shaker contents into a tall ice filed glass. Top with champagne to finish. Garnish with an apple fan.

Rossini
rossini cocktail
This fabulously chic and delicious Italian cocktail is great for all seasons and oh, so easy to make. All it takes is strawberries, Prosecco, a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon and voilà, your guests will be impressed.
Ingredients:
12 Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 bottle of Prosecco
1 squeeze of lemon
3 teaspoons of sugar
Method:
In a blender, mix the strawberries (if using frozen, allow them to thaw for a few hours first), lemon and three teaspoons of sugar (you can add less or more if you wish) and whizz to a liquid pulp. Pour into four champagne glasses and top with the Prosecco. Make sure you use a good quality Italian one. We love Sensi Prosecco Gold 18K which is dry and crisp. For a twist on the classic Rossini, try a sweeter sparkling rosé instead, such as Live to Sparkle, which is made with Californian Zinfandel grapes. Follow the same method but only add one teaspoon of sugar. Enjoy!
Aperol Spritz
cocktail
This classic Italian aperitivo has become hugely popular in the UK and it’s easy to see why: it’s delicious, perfect in winter and summer and very easy to make at home. The orange-based Aperol liqueur and the Prosecco make this drink very Christmassy. Serve it with canapés for a true Italian experience.
Ingredients:
Good quality Prosecco, such as Zonin Prosecco Black Edition
Soda water
Twist of orange
Method:
Fill a glass with ice cubes, pour over three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, top with soda water and garnish a twist of orange. Enjoy!

Best of the rest…

 

 

Sea Breeze

sea-breeze-cocktail-recipe
According to Absolut Vodka, the cocktail known now as the Sea Breeze was once called the Salty Dog, another great nautical cocktail that’s on our list.
Ingredients:
2 oz vodka
3 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz cranberry juice
Method:
Fill a chilled highball glass with ice cubes. Add ingredients. Stir. Garnish with lime.

Sex on the Beach

sex-on-the-beach-cocktail
This titillatingly-named tipple is bog standard party fare at universities around the world. However, for those who like a sweet finish or … erm … happy ending, the combination of peach schnapps, cranberry and orange juice does the trick.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz peach schnapps
2 oz cranberry juice
2 oz orange juice
Method:
Pour the vodka and schnapps over ice in a chilled highball glass. Fill with equal measures of cranberry juice and orange juice. Stir.

Salty Dog

salty-dog-cocktail-recipeThe old Salty Dog. It’s apparently changed its makeup over the course of years, and now bears striking resemblance to a Greyhound, but the simplicity (two ingredients) and salted rim makes it a sure bet no matter what the occasion.
Ingredients:
Kosher salt
2 oz vodka OR gin
4 oz grapefruit juice
(Dash of simple syrup — made up of two parts sugar and one part water — if desired.)
Method:
Pour kosher salt onto a small plate and moisten the rims of two chilled highball glasses. Dip the rims into the coarse salt to coat lightly. Fill the glasses with ice cubes and pour the vodka or gin over the ice followed by the grapefruit juice. Stir and garnish with lime.

Squid Bite

squid-bite-cocktail-recipeNot to be confused with the Snakebite, a drink that mixes alcoholic cider and lager, the Squid Bite is a winter warmer that was invented by the makers of The Kraken Black Spiced Rum in Trinidad and Tobago. The Kraken is a mythical sea monster that has been often depicted to resemble a giant squid, so get wrapped up and enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 oz Kraken rum
15 oz hot mulled cider
Cinnamon stick and apple slices
Method:
Pour the rum into a large glass, add the cider and stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick and apples.

Cape Codder

cape-codder-cocktail-recipeAs Patti Page sang in the 1950s, you’re sure to fall in love with old Cape Cod, and by extension of course, its namesake cocktail the Cape Codder. A simple vodka and cranberry with fresh lime juice, the drink is as easy to make as it is refreshing.
Ingredients:
2 oz vodka
4 oz cranberry juice
Juice from half a lime.
Method:
Fill a chilled highball glass with ice. Pour the vodka and then cranberry juice over the ice. Squeeze the juice from the lime half into the drink. Stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

The Knot

the-knot-cocktail-recipe
Making this specially created rum, citrus and honey drink from Bacardi is slightly more involved, but the taste and the fantastic name make the effort worth the time.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Bacardi Carta Blanca white rum
1 oz fresh mandarin orange juice
Dash of lemon juice
15ml honey syrup (1:1)
0.5 oz Martini bitters
Dash of Angostura bitters
Method:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail mixer filled with ice. Shake and serve straight up.

Tidal Wave

tidal-wave-cocktail-recipe
Make sure you have your sea legs before attempting this tipple. No less than five types of alcohol are mixed with orange and pineapple juice to produce a tasty and effective inebriant.
Ingredients:
0.5 oz gin
0.5 oz white rum
0.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz peach schnapps
0.5 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
Dash grenadine
Small amount of Bacardi 151 rum
Method:
Pour gin, vodka, rum and schnapps over ice in a chilled collins glass. Add orange and pineapple juices, dash of grenadine and then float the 151 rum on top. Garnish with a piece of freshly cut pineapple.