Bring the bar to your home: The best classy cocktail recipes

As the Coronavirus pandemic forced us home and closed bars, we’ve all become makeshift bartenders. Our desperation to enjoy a round of cocktails with our friends again makes us long for the days we can go out for a night on the town. 

No matter if you’re stockpiling your at-home bar for a few more months of stay-at-home orders, a virtual happy hour with friends, or a quiet night at home with a good drink, we have a few classy cocktail recipes for you to try. They are sure to impress your friends and family when we’re able to have get-togethers again.   

These drinks aren’t more than four ingredients, and their base alcohol is probably your favorite. Don’t worry about messing up because there is no wrong way to make a cocktail. There is no one way to make a drink, and, as Greg from How to Drink will tell you, “if the drink you like is in the glass, you did it right.” 

Moscow Mule

While it has no origins in Russia, the Moscow Mule is a world-renowned cocktail enjoyed by many. It’s one of the many drinks you can also buy premade at the store, but it’s best enjoyed made at home in a copper mug. 

Ingredients

2oz. of Vodka, Ginger Beer, 1oz. of lime juice, and ice

Directions 

1. Crack some ice into your mug. If you don’t have large ice cubes to crack, any ice you can get at the store will work. 
2. Add your vodka. Any vodka will do.
3. Pour in your ginger beer to fill the mug. 
4. Add your lime juice and stir.
5. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

Old Fashioned 

The Old Fashioned is a simple & classy cocktail that’s easy to make. You don’t need to be a seasoned bartender to ace this drink. The eighteenth-century drink has a million and one recipes, but this is definitely the best one to make. We say that because the common debate is whiskey vs. Bourbon. We went with a rye whiskey, but a bourbon works just as well. 

Ingredients 

1 sugar cube, angostura bitters, 2oz. of rye whiskey, and a lemon twist

Direction

1. Take your sugar cube and soak it with your bitters.
2. Muddle the sugar in the glass you’re drinking out of. 
3. Add a large ice cube. If you’ve ever received a set of Whisky stones, this would be the drink to use them. 
4. Add your whiskey
5. Stir together
6. Express a lemon twist and drop it into the drink 

Margarita 

While most Margaritas are enjoyed as a blended drink, the famous drink is just as simple as the Old Fashioned. While we love a blended Margarita, it’s best served as a simple shaken three-ingredient cocktail. The simple Margarita is the perfect classy cocktail to make at home when getting one from a bar isn’t possible.

Ingredients 

2oz. of Tequila, 1oz. of lime juice, 1oz. of Curaçao, and ice

Directions

1. Add your ingredients to your shaker
2. Shake for twenty to thirty seconds
3. Pour into your glass and garnish with a lime wedge

You’re welcome to rim your glass with your salt, but it’s not necessary. You don’t need to use a high-end tequila, but you want some quality for this recipe. 

Martini

While James Bond prefers his Martini shaken – you never supposed to shake a Martini. It dilutes the drink and brings down the potency. Our recipe is one part classy and another part boozy. It won’t become diluted, and you’ll impress your friends and family when you make it. 

Ingredients 

1.5oz. of London Dry Gin, 1.5oz. of French Vermouth, 2 dashes of orange bitters, and a lemon twist 

Directions

1. Add your liquid ingredients and stir with ice
2. Strain your drink into your glass
3. Cut a twist of lemon and express it over the drink and drop the twist into the glass

Manhattan 

A simple cocktail recipe perfect for any bourbon or whiskey you like. So don’t feel like you need to buy some high-quality alcohol to enjoy a Manhattan. It’s a classic cocktail perfect for a night in, relaxing with a good book. 

Ingredients 

1oz of Sweet Vermouth, 2oz of Rye Whisky, a few dashes of bitters

Directions 

1. Add your alcohol and bitters to a glass of ice and stir
2. Strain the drink into an empty glass and enjoy

Another option you have is to use Bourbon – it all depends on your preference. We also recommend chilling your glass before pouring your drink.