12 Lockdown Cocktail Recipes for Your Happy-Hour at Home

T.G.I.F. is not the same without the people you want to enjoy the night with. It’s been weeks since your go-to bar has temporarily closed for the lockdown and you begin to miss the taste of your favorite cocktail. Cheer up! It’s time that you head over to your liquor cabinet and create your own happy-hour on lockdown right in the comfort and safety of your own home. Here are the amazing cocktail recipes for you:

Easy Sangria

As the weather is warming up, a cool refreshing drink is what you need to beat the heat during the lockdown. Made primarily from red wine with a lighter and fruitier taste such as a bottle of Garnacha or Pinot Noir, then infused with fruits, this classic Spanish drink will make you imagine yourself being in the rustic vistas of an old Catalan countryside. This classic cocktail is just perfect before you turn in for an afternoon siesta while on lockdown period.

Ingredients

Chilled red wine, thinly sliced red or green apple, thinly sliced orange, and orange juice, 

Items

Red wine glass

Steps

  1. Step 1: Add in sliced apples and oranges into the wine glass
  2. Step 2: Pour red wine a third of the way 
  3. Step 3: Fill glass with orange juice

Jack and Ginger

While most of you have probably tried Jack Daniel’s mixed with Coca-Cola at least once in your life, this drink takes a different twist to that old classic. While on lockdown, try getting creative with your go-to drink, substitute Coke with Canada Dry Ginger Ale for that tart, slightly citrusy cocktail that pairs well with a heavy meal.

Ingredients

2 shots Jack Daniel’s bourbon, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, sliced lemon or lime wedge, and ice

Steps 

  1. Step 1: Fill up a whiskey glass with 2 shots of Jack Daniel’s bourbon
  2. Step 2: Fill up the glass with ice.
  3. Step 3: Add Canada Dry Ginger Ale until the glass is almost full
  4. Step 4: Squeeze a wedge of lemon or lime into the drink. Add a thin slice for garnish.

Mojito

This classic cocktail hails from Cuba and was once the favorite drink of the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. Mojito never fails to be part of a bar menu and just like in every happy hour, now you can make a bottomless Mojito at home while on lockdown. Served with lots of ice and made with ingredients like rum and mint, this cocktail will surely refresh you and take a sip while you read a book on your couch.

Ingredients

50ml white rum, soda water, ½ lime, 10 pcs Mint leaves, 1 tbsp brown sugar (you can also use honey for sweetening), and ice

Items

Mortar and pestle

Steps

  1. Step 1: Crush the mint leaves to allow flavors to diffuse.
  2. Step 2: Add white rum into a highball glass.
  3. Step 3: Add the crushed mint leaves and brown sugar, mix until the sugar fully dissolves.
  4. Step 4: Fill up the highball glass with ice.
  5. Step 5: Squeeze the lime juice into the drink.
  6. Step 6: Add the Soda water until the glass is full.

Moscow Mule

If you are to think of what Russia is most famous for, chances are you’d come up with vodka. This cocktail is aptly named after Russia’s capital as it is primarily made from vodka, it also includes ginger beer and a dash of lime and is traditionally served in a copper cup to make for a truly unique and interesting drink. Try out this cocktail and take a journey to Moscow while we are on lockdown.

Ingredients

50ml vodka, 1 can ginger beer, ½ sliced lime, ice, mint leaves (for garnish)

Steps 

  1. Step 1: In a copper cup, add in 50mL of vodka.
  2. Step 2: Fill up the copper cup with ice.
  3. Step 3: Add the ginger beer until the cup is full.
  4. Step 4: Squeeze 1/2 lime into the drink.
  5. Step 5: Garnish with a mint leaf and enjoy!

Piña Colada

So maybe you’ve been longing to get that beautiful tan, to hear the sound of crashing waves, and the smell of sunscreen lotion on your skin. If there ever is a drink that best represents the happy-hour by the beach, it would be none other than the Piña Colada. While we are stuck at home during the lockdown, the next best thing to do is to daydream of visiting the beach — so sit back and relax, play some outdoor beach music, and make yourself a glass of this tropical delight!

Ingredients

70 ml white rum, 150 ml coconut milk, 1 lb frozen pineapple chunks

Items

Blender

Steps 

  1. Step 1: Put frozen pineapple chunks, 70 ml of white rum, and 150 ml of coconut milk into a blender.
  2. Step 2: Blend until it becomes a puree.
  3. Step 3: garnish with a slice of pineapple and serve immediately.

Long Island Iced Tea

Drinking iced tea as a kid usually quenches our thirst on a hot summer’s day but now that we’ve all grown up, something with a stronger kick is what we needed to unwind after a stressful day. This cocktail contains your regular iced tea mixed with four different types of alcohol that will surely tickle your palate this lockdown period. Long Island Iced Tea is said to be a mommy’s cocktail since the base ingredient is often present around the house and it imitates the look of a regular iced tea. So while on lockdown, make a tall glass for yourself and be sure to keep this drink within your sight! 

Ingredients

20ml vodka, 20ml white rum, 20ml tequila, 20ml gin, bottled iced tea, ¼ lemon, and ice

Items

Collins glass

Steps

  1. Step 1: In a Collins glass, add the vodka, white rum, tequila, and gin
  2. Step 2: Fill up the glass with ice.
  3. Step 3: Top it off with the iced tea until the glass is nearly full.
  4. Step 4: Squeeze a quarter of a Lemon into the drink.

007 Martini

“Shaken, not stirred” A line time and again said on the silver screen by British Intelligence spy James Bond (aka Agent 007) has made the Vodka Martini gain equal recognition in the world for being a classy drink. Although the character in the movie always preferred his drink prepared in the manner of being shaken, the correct way is stirring all of the ingredients together. Keep yourself entertained during the lockdown, have a James Bond movie marathon night serving only this cocktail with a side of popcorn.

Ingredients

50ml vodka (pre-chilled), 10ml Martini Dry Vermouth (pre-chilled), 2-3 green olives

Items

Cocktail shaker, and cocktail pick

Steps 

  1. Step 1: In a cocktail shaker pour the pre-chilled vodka and Martini Dry Vermouth with ice. Shake for at least 15 seconds.
  2. Step 2: Using the strainer of the cocktail shaker, pour the drink in a chilled Martini glass without the ice.
  3. Step 3: Pierce the olives with a cocktail pick then garnish your drink with the skewered olives. 

Strawberry Daiquiri Iced Tea

Use your leftover frozen strawberries for this cocktail. This classic rum daiquiri takes a fun twist by adding frozen strawberries and iced tea to make your happy-hour on lockdown more enjoyable!

Ingredients

50ml rum, 5pcs frozen strawberries, 50ml bottled iced tea, ¼ sliced lime

Items

Blender

Steps 

Step 1: Add rum, frozen strawberries, iced tea, and squeeze a quarter of lime juice into a blender.

Step 2: Blend all of the ingredients together until they look smooth and consistent.

Step 3: Pour into a margarita glass and enjoy!

Mimosa

So you’ve been longing to be on that first-class plane ride to a beautiful Mediterranean resort but you’re just too bummed out about the fact that you’re on lockdown. Well, try this classic Mimosa recipe for that sophisticated and exotic getaway right in your own living room!

Ingredients

2 sliced oranges, pre-chilled champagne 

Items

Manual orange juice

Steps

  1. Step 1: Squeeze the juice out of two oranges and pour it into a champagne flute.
  2. Step 2: Pour equal amounts of Champagne to the amount of orange juice into the flute.

Tequila Sunrise

If tequila is your thing, then look no further. This refreshingly fruity cocktail takes its name from the gradient colors of the sunrise made by the Grenadine syrup. It’s one of the most popular tequila-based cocktails and is very easy to make. Perfect for your home lockdown happy-hour! 

Ingredients

50ml tequila,  100ml orange juice, 15ml grenadine syrup, maraschino cherry, thin orange slices,  and ice

Steps 

  1. Step 1: Pour tequila and orange juice into a highball glass.
  2. Step 2: Fill up the glass with ice.
  3. Step 3: Pour the grenadine syrup into the center of the glass.
  4. Step 4: Add the maraschino cherry and orange slice as a garnish.

Blueberry Jam and Prosecco Cocktail

Who says jams can be only used for toasts? This lockdown period is the perfect time for us to experiment. Try mixing blueberry jam in your cocktail, you would think fresh blueberries were used once you have tasted the finished product. Plus, the jam gives a great purplish-blue color without any grenadine. 

Ingredients

1 1⁄2 tbsp. blueberry jam, half a cup of fresh lemon juice, 1 1⁄2 oz. vodka, 3 oz. Prosecco, frozen blueberries

Items

Cocktail shaker, and cocktail pick

Steps

  1. Step 1: Using a cocktail shaker, pour the lemon juice and blueberry jam with ice. Shake for at least 15 seconds. 
  2. Step 2: Pour the liquid into glass without the ice. 
  3. Step 3: Pierce the frozen blueberries with a cocktail pick, then dunk the blueberry skewer into the drink.

Green Tea Irish Whiskey Cocktail

Surprisingly, steeped green tea can also be a base for your cocktail, the original bar master who created this drink, coined it as a Saint Patrick’s Day cocktail. 

Ingredients

1 teabag of green tea, 2oz of Irish Whiskey, lemon, honey, mint leaves, and ice

Steps

  1. Step 1: Steep a teabag of green tea in a mug for 5-10 minutes, then let this cooldown.
  2. Step 2: Add ice in a tall glass, then fill ¾ of the glass with the green tea.
  3. Step 3: Squeeze a lemon and add honey and whiskey.
  4. Step 4: Add a slice of lemon and several mint leaves for garnish. Stir and enjoy!

Being on lockdown doesn’t necessarily mean we are not allowed to enjoy ourselves anymore. Sure, you’re now restricted only in the confines of your home, maybe stuck with the whole family or stuck alone. But we can still manage to whip up a cocktail, take your mind off the stress and worry of this health pandemic and transport your mind to being anywhere on the planet. It could be a tropical getaway to a beach far away, classy night out in the city, or being in a rustic countryside scenery. So relax, play some music and settle in for the long-haul. The places where your mind can wander are endless if you would allow yourself to follow the recipes above for your next happy-hour on lockdown!

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