Muscat is experiencing the full blast of the summers and there’s little to do, than sit at home on the weekends and empty large goblets of mango smoothie.

So I found myself a little hobby to pass the time - cocktail making 101. 

Baba had this stock of liquor bottles that he never really used, being a whiskey person

Living in Pune and Delhi, I’ve had the opportunity to sample a wide variety - from Pina Coladas to Hot Toddys. The more colourful the drink, the more intrigued I was. Hence, I picked up a cocktail making guide we had at home and began to experiment on the weekends. Some of them turned out great, others just tasted like cough syrup - but I would like to share the top six success stories!

The best part is that most cocktails can be made at home using regular kitchen equipment. For example: an egg cup for a measure, a thermos flask as a shaker, a spoon as a mixing spoon or a muddler and a tea strainer as a strainer.

So once, you’ve read through this list of types of cocktail glasses, you should be set!

Mojito

Serve in a tall glass.

50 ml White rum

2 tsp brown sugar

Half a lime

4 mint sprigs

Soda water

Crushed ice

Cut a lime into quarters and place two quarters into the glass. Add the sugar and rum and muddle together, making sure you squeeze the juice out of the limes. Fill with crushed ice and top up with soda (or apple juice for an apple mojito). Add the sprigs of mint and tease to the bottom of the glass with a spoon, at the same time as gently lifting the lime, sugar and rum upwards.

Classic Margarita

Serve in a tumbler with ice or in cocktail glass with a salt rim.

37.5 ml Tequila

25 ml Cointreau or triple sec

12.5 ml Lime juice

Ice cubes

Fill a glass with ice and leave to one side. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously for 45 seconds to a minute. If using a tumbler, leave the ice in the glass. If using a cocktail glass, discard the ice. If you intend to salt the rim, pour either table salt or sea salt onto a small plate, rub the rim with lime and roll into the salt. Strain the drink into the glass.

Island Girl

Make in a pitcher and serve in highball glasses.

250 ml Cranberry juice

250 ml Vodka

125 ml Ginger Ale

60 ml Fresh lime juice

Lemon wedges

Ice cubes

Stir together the cranberry juice, vodka, ginger ale, and fresh lime juice in a large pitcher. Pour into ice-filled glasses, and garnish with lime wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Blue Lagoon

Serve in a Hurricane glass

30 ml Vodka

30 ml Blue Curacao liqueur

50 ml Lemonade

1 cherry

Pour vodka and Curacao over ice in a highball glass. Fill with lemonade, top with the cherry, and serve.

Cable Car

Serve in a cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar frosting

15 ml Orange Curacao liqueur

30 ml Captain Morgan® Original spiced rum

15 ml Lime juice

15 ml Sweet and sour mix

Cinnamon Sugar

1/2-inch orange peel/twist

Combine everything in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cinnamon sugar-frosted cocktail glass.

Cosmopolitan

Serve in a cocktail glass

60 ml (1/4 cup) vodka

15 ml Cointreau

25 ml Cranberry juice

15 ml Fresh lime juice

1/2-inch orange peel/twist

Ice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add vodka, cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice. Shake the cocktail shaker for about 30 seconds until well chilled. Then, strain into a martini glass. Garnish with orange peel/twist. For an extra burst of flavour, peel the orange twist over the filled cocktail glass.

The pictures I took weren’t that great, so I’ve used stock images - let me know if anyone tries them out :)