Five Fuss-Free Fail-Safe Cocktails Worth Committing to Memory

Viva
You can't go wrong serving martinis at a party. Picture / Monocle.com

Martini
50ml gin, 10ml dry vermouth, 10ml olive brine, large green olive
Mix ingredients over ice. Stir well, strain into a cocktail glass and pop in an olive.

Old fashioned
10ml sugar syrup, 6 dashes Angostura bitters, 50ml single malt whisky, lemon
Combine the syrup and bitters over ice in a lowball glass; slowly add whisky then stir to dilute. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Negroni
25ml Campari, 25ml gin, 25ml vermouth, slice of orange
Fill a tumbler with ice and layer up the spirits in equal measure. Slip in a fresh slice of orange just before serving.

Aperol Spritz
50ml Aperol, 75ml prosecco, 25ml gin, splash of soda water, slice of orange
Fill a large tumbler or wine glass with ice cubes, Aperol, prosecco and gin (in that order). Stir once and finish off with a splash of soda water and a slice of orange.

Sidecar
60ml cognac, 30ml triple sec, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp orange juice, sugar
Mix cognac, triple sec, lemon and orange juice over ice and strain into a sugar-laced martini glass.

Extract reprinted with permission from The Monocle Guide to Drinking and Dining
Gestalten, £40 from monocle.com 

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