Cocktails and Mocktails
What's a girls weekend without cocktails?! If your girlfriends are anything like mine, they like to experiment with the blender and random ingredients which occasionally results in sheer horror. These are some basic recipes and some basic rules to follow to make sure your cocktail doesn't become a complete disaster!
7 Tips To Never-Fail Cocktails
- Don't mix watery stuff with creamy stuff. Pineapple and cream don't work well when they separate, either in the glass or in your stomach.
- Consider the consequences and vary your ingredients. If you drink a few litres of sugary fruit and syrup based liqueurs you will spend the next day in pain. Purchase a variety of ingredients including fruits, juices and soda - and lots of ice!
- Ice is Water, so use it! Dehydration creates a lot of the symptoms in a hangover so cut down on the other ingredients and add heaps of ice. Blended cocktails are just like slushies, only yummier - the longer you blend it the more 'frozen' it will become.
- Theme your ingredients before you start. If you feel like a chocolate cocktail, consider the ingredients available and add only what meets that theme. Adding bourbon to milk and creme de cacao is a bit gross, but mixing baileys with kahlua and peppermint liqueur is delicious!
- Copy your favourite chocolate bar. This rule also works with your favourite sorbet flavour or dessert too. Think of your favourite chocolate bar and consider how easily it will convert to a cocktail - Toblerone, crunchie/honeycomb, fudge and toffee, coffee creme, peppermint crisp... there's an alcoholic liqueur for every taste!
- Garnish. Cocktails are as much about the presentation as they are about the drink. It is meant to be an adventure to work our way through the garnish to the delicious liquid within.
- Consume alcohol safely. Friends don't let friends drink drive... or fall off balconies.