Recipe

• 30ml gin

• 30ml dry vermouth

• 3ml maraschino

• 2ml absinthe

• 3 dashes orange bitters

Stir thoroughly with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon zest and a cherry.

Superb!  I love a dry martini, and this felt like a lighter, more vibrant and curious twist on that.  The high proportion of vermouth and the dash of cherry sweetness made it very drinkable, while the absinthe and bitters gave it a deep, subtle spiciness.  It also looks great: clear all the way through, just a hint of green, and the garnishes adding a touch of brightness.

My cocktail skills have improved, and I am now confident at producing zest twists.  I invested in a citrus zester, which makes it dead easy to peel a long strand of zest off.  After this it's just a case of rolling it up (over the drink, to catch as much oil as possible) at the same time as stretching it.  This was the first time it actually stayed twisted in the drink, which I was pleased with.

Ingredients

• Bourbon whiskey

• Punt e Mes vermouth

• Cherry Marnier

• Bitters

I got this at a cocktail bar in St Andrews, so I'm not sure of the exact amounts, but it came with black cherries on top, chocolate chips on the side, and an ice cube big enough to sink the Titanic.

It was nice! Like my last Manhattan, I was unsure about the flavour after I'd been drinking for a while. Maybe it was a bit sickly for me – again, I'd like to try a Manhattan with rye or Scotch to see if the flavour's better. Still, it was enjoyable and a nice experience. I really felt the booze too.

It cost me £9.50, which is outrageous. I think I'll stick to making my cocktails at home.

Recipe

• 330ml Mexican lager (1 bottle)

• 60ml lime juice (~2 limes)

• 10ml Tabasco sauce

• 5ml Worcestershire sauce

• Salt

• Chilli powder

Mix some salt and chilli powder in a small dish. Run a lime around the rim of a pint glass to wet it, and then run the rim through the chilli–salt mixture. Preferably leave to dry. Put the lime juice and sauces in the glass, with lots of ice, then add the beer (I used Corona) and stir with the handle of a chopstick. Throw in a couple of chunks of lime to garnish. The pint glass should now be full – if not, add more ice.

This is absolutely delicious; so much better than last time. It's fiery and salty, but also cool and refreshing. I made an audible "phwoar!" noise when I had my first sip, and the excitement and zing kept going until the very last mouthful a mere 15 minutes later.I'd encourage anyone to try this. It's like there's a fiesta in your mouth and the whole of Mexico is invited.

I have to address how this is so much better than the awful Michelada I had in a Mexican restaurant in Luxembourg. Firstly, I put no salt in the drink. The key is an initial taste of salt followed immediately by a refreshing drink, just as in a margarita or the whole salt–tequila–lime thing. Those guys put salt in the drink itself, and it was disgusting. Secondly, I put a lot of ice in. I'm calling this a refreshing drink, but for that it needs to be really cold, for the entire time you're drinking it. Those guys put no ice in, and by the time I'd poured it out and mixed it with the other crap it was already too warm. Finally, I think they maybe over-complicated the sauces. The above recipe is simple, satisfying, and uses easily available ingredients.

I would like to apologise to Forth Valley CAMRA, a society of real ale activists who would probably be horrified by me using their glass for this abomination. In my defence, it's the only pint glass I own.

Recipe

• 40ml citron vodka

• 30ml cranberry juice drink

• 15ml triple sec

• 15ml lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass with a thin slice of lime.

Reasonably pleasant, though maybe a little boring. This is Claire's all-time favourite cocktail, and I think this recipe is a little more boozy than she likes it – I agree it could do with being more fruity and less harsh, so maybe we'll tweak the proportions next time. God knows we'll be making it again, because I bought a whole bottle of Absolut Citron and I have no idea what else to do with it.

Recipe

• 40ml gin

• 10ml maraschino

• 10ml lemon juice

• 3–4 shakes of Angostura bitters

• Orange zest

Shake everything with ice and strain (thoroughly) into a martini glass. Serve with a twist of lemon zest and a cherry.

I didn't have orange bitters (as required in the IBA recipe) so I decided to go for a mix of Angostura and orange zest. I'm not sure how close it is to the real thing, but I didn't like it. You just taste a really strong hit of alcohol muddled up with a load of aromas that overload each other and just taste bitter. The maraschino gives some sweetness – enough to make it worth finishing, anyway – but not enough to make me want another. I'd love to try it again with real orange bitters.

Recipe

• 8 parts cola

• 1 part grenadine

Pour into a Collins glass with ice, stir, and add a cherry on the rim.

Delightful! Like many mocktails, it's very sweet, but the grenadine has a lovely flavour that makes a can of cola into a special occasion. I thought the cherry was just for show, but having it at the rim means you get the cherry aroma every time you take a sip. Delicious to the end.

I used Pepsi Max.

Recipe

• 5 parts white rum

• 12 parts cola

• 1 part lime juice

Fill a Collins glass with ice, pour it all in, and stir as best you can.

Also known as a rum and coke. In this case I used Bacardi, Pepsi Max, and bottled lime juice. It was very boring, with the rum taking the sweetness out of the cola but not replacing it with any kind of depth or flavour. Maybe I just don't like Bacardi? Time will tell.

Recipe

• 30ml lime juice

• 15ml agave nectar

• 10–15 mint leaves

• 40ml tequila

• Soda water (about 30ml)

Put the lime juice, agave nectar and mint in a Collins glass, and mash it all up a bit with a spoon. Add a splash of soda water, then fill the glass with crushed ice, add the tequila and top up with soda water. Garnish with half a lemon slice and another mint leaf. Add a straw, and stir as best you can.

This is a simple edit of the mojito I described the other night. Indeed, the only difference is swapping rum for tequila and syrup for agave nectar. The result is a much more interesting drink, with a real Mexican twang and a combination of flavours reminiscent of a highly refreshing margarita.

The agave nectar could probably just be simple syrup, but I thought this would be a bit of fun, and might suit the tequila better.

I actually crushed the ice this time! I got a big block that had frozen together, put it in a sandwich bag and hit it with a rolling pin.

Recipe

• 45ml vodka

• 90ml tomato juice

• 15ml lemon juice

• 2 dashes Tabasco sauce

• 3 dashes Worcester sauce

• Salt

• Pepper

Stir everything thoroughly with ice, and strain into a Collins glass. Add two sticks of celery and a thin slice of lemon.  Top up with a little extra tomato juice if there's room.  Don't be scared of the salt.

I've ordered a Bloody Mary in a few different places, and they're wildly inconsistent.  I've never really made one myself, and I think I need more practice.  I followed the IBA recipe closely, but there was too much lemon juice for my taste.  Still, it's a nice filling savoury drink, something like drinking a pizza.

Note that this isn't actually vegetarian, what with the anchovies in the Worcester sauce.  But I tend to think it's such a small amount that it's not worth worrying about.

Recipe

• 30ml lime juice

• 15ml sugar syrup

• 10–15 mint leaves

• 40ml white rum

• Soda water (about 30ml)

Put the lime juice, syrup and mint in a Collins glass, and mash it all up a bit with a spoon. Add a splash of soda water, then fill the glass with crushed ice, add the rum and top up with soda water. Garnish with half a lemon slice and another mint leaf. Add a straw, and stir as best you can.

Nice and refreshing, with simple mint and lime flavours that balance well with the sugar. I couldn't really taste the rum, which perhaps makes this dangerous.

I'm not sure where crushed ice comes from. I used the remains from the end of a bag of ice, which included a lot of little shards as well as a pile of frost. Maybe next time I'll be breaking out rolling pins and god knows what else.