A Guide to Making Cocktails At-Home

It has been just over a week since I reopened my beautiful bar in sometimes sunny Hertfordshire. Lockdown lifted and the clouds parted for the hospitality industry. However, the lockdown wasn’t all doom and gloom for me – it actually helped to forge a few new business relationships and opportunities, adapting to the new way of offering my services to the public. 

With pubs and clubs being closed, Nelson + Pops had the ingenious idea to uproot the bar and send it, beautifully packaged, to your front door! From equipment to prosecco, gift experiences and brewing tips, they have created a new way to enjoy a tipple every single night of the week. 

My job was simple – make cocktails! So let’s just dive in to how simple it really is to make your own cocktails at home.

Number 1) Set Up

If you’re going to shake, stir and muddle your way to perfection then you’ll need the right equipment. But don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a shopping list of what to go out and buy because we’ve done all the hard work for you with our Copper Cocktail Set.

This equipment is bar grade, which means that it won’t tarnish, dent or chip after a few uses. It also looks bloomin’ beautiful so you’ll want to showcase it, along with your new found mixology skills. If you want to know what everything is and does then check out my handy little demo on how to use cocktail equipment.

As for glassware, there are no rules as to what you can and can’t use. I’ve served a cocktail in a vintage tea cup before!

Number 2) Ice

Never underestimate your need for ice. Most bars have ice machines that are fine tuned to crank out hundreds of perfectly sized cubes every hour and sometimes even they run dry! 

If you’re going to be shaking and stirring all night, you’ll need a couple of bags at least. You need the ice to shake and, depending on the drink, to serve your drink on too! 

Number 3) Recipes & Ingredients

Plan your cocktails ahead of time, do some research and find the recipes that really tickle your fancy. Read reviews and see if they are popular or have a flick through Instagram for those show stoppers. Most cocktails won’t have more than 5 ingredients and you can choose to go simple or crazy with your garnish. Nelson + Pops have a few recommendations online and you can also catch us on The Gin Guide, where we live demonstrated a couple of delicious gin cocktails. 

Number 4) Putting it all together

You have your recipe printed out with clear instructions, you have your ingredients and equipment ready to go. The ice is chilling in an ice bucket and your friends are at the door. 

My biggest piece of advice? Take. Your. Time. 

Be methodical and precise, don’t rush. People don’t always need a show; they just want a really yummy drink in their hand. When it’s just you at home then you can start to practice little things that will make it look faster and effortless and as if you’ve worked in a fast paced, London bar for years! 

Ice the shaker, measure and pour in your ingredients, either stir or shake (depending on the recipe) and serve your creation to your guests. Your first few might not be exactly what you wanted – maybe you want it a bit zestier for example – so you can adapt the recipe for next time by adding more of whatever will give you the desired result. 

Cocktails are personal. Never be afraid to ask for a little less of something or a bit more. Take the Espresso Martini for example – how do you take your coffee normally? If you take it black with no sugar, then you might want to ask the bartender to put a little less sugar syrup in there. But, if you’re like me and always order 3 pumps of caramel syrup with an iced latte, you might want them to pour a little bit more in! 

Number 5) Get creative

So you’ve shaken a few cocktails now and you’re starting to know what works and what doesn’t. Think about when you cook, certain ingredients go well with each other: duck and orange, coconut and lime, red wine and onion etc. Cocktails are just an extension of that. 

So what ingredients do you have in the house?

I’ve got some mango vodka, a bottle of amaretto, some apple juice, a few limes, some sugar syrup, single cream, maple syrup, Nutella, a cucumber and lemonade.

Now, not all of these things are going to go well together so let’s figure out what we can do with all this! 

Cocktail 1: Mango Vodka, lime juice, cucumber, a dash of sugar syrup topped with lemonade

Why does this work? Because we’ve got predominantly fresh ingredients and the flavours will complement each other.

Cocktail 2: Amaretto, single cream, Nutella

Why does this work? Because each ingredient is quite decadent and will combine well in the shaker. Cream can curdle with some alcohol and create a lumpy and unappetising cocktail. 

Cocktail 3: Mango Vodka, amaretto, apple juice, maple syrup and a touch of lime juice

Why does this work? It’s all about balancing flavours, if you want one flavour to stand out then you put a bit more in – but if you just want the hint of it on your tongue then you might put a bit less in. 

My suggested measures for Cocktail 3 would be:

Mango Vodka 35ml

Amaretto 15ml

Apple Juice 50ml

Maple Syrup 20ml

Lime Juice 15ml

Combine all ingredients in a shaker on top of ice and shake, then sling the whole lot (ice and all) into a glass and sip to your hearts content. This will be sweet and rich but with a freshness from the apple, lime and mango flavours. 

Try it with ingredients you have at home and play around! Cocktails are fun. Fun to create, fun to make and fun to drink. 

For more tips and tricks check out the Nelson + Pops instagram.

Until next time, happy mixing!