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3 party cocktails – ready, steady, shake!

Step away from the Chablis and try something different! We've got 5 copies of a cool new cocktail book to give away - and here are three autumn liveners from it to whet your whistle.

The party season is incoming! ‘Tis almost the season for sequins galore, dinner parties and warming up with a cocktail (or three), and I’ve found just the tipple.

I recently came across Schofield’s Fine and Classic Cocktails by Mancunian brothers and cocktail-making stalwarts Joe and Daniel Schofield. The siblings have worked in all the grooviest bars around the world, including The American Bar at The Savoy Hotel in London, have won awards for their bartending skills and basically know pretty much everything there is to know about mixing up a blooming good cocktail (my kind of people).

The book features 100 recipes, each with a tidbit of info on the drink’s history, plus tips and tricks on how to shake’n’stir like a pro. It was a challenge, but I’ve picked out my three favourites, a rum, vodka and gin offering, that are dead certs for getting the party started. Chin chin.

AIRMAIL

First appearing in print in 1949, in Esquire Magazine’s Handbook for Hosts, the Airmail is a very elegant drink. We prefer to serve it in a champagne flute rather than a highball glass, to emphasize this quality and also to keep the drink effervescent.

As with all drinks that are topped up with champagne, make sure the shake is quite short, as this keeps the dilution low and the flavour intense.

30ml (1fl oz) Aged Rum – Havana Club Especial

15ml (½fl oz) Lime Juice

15ml (½fl oz) Honey Syrup

Top Champagne – Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV

Glassware: Champagne Flute

Ice: Served Without

Garnish: Served Without

Preparation: Quick Shake, Top with Champagne

Add the rum, lime juice and honey syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into a champagne flute. Top up with Champagne, stir gently to mix and serve.

MOSCOW MULE

Legend has it that the Moscow Mule was born when John Martin (with the rights to Smirnoff Vodka) and Jack Morgan (with his own Ginger Beer label) had a drink together at New York’s Chatham Bar in 1939 and, ever savvy, they served it in a copper mug as these were produced in a factory owned by Jack Morgan’s business partner at the time.

However, the more likely story is that it was put together at the Cock ’n’ Bull saloon in Los Angeles and owes its origins to a stock clearance of the restaurant’s basement. Either way, no-one can deny that vodka and ginger beer make a fine pairing, and it’s deliciously simple to make. You can also experiment with changing the spirit base – try it with gin, bourbon or even tequila for interesting variations.

50ml (1¾fl oz) Vodka – Belvedere

15ml (½fl oz) Fresh Lime Juice

25ml (⁴⁄₅fl oz) Ginger Syrup

Top Soda – Schweppes Soda

Glassware: Highball

Ice: Block Ice

Garnish: Lime Wheel and 3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Preparation: Quick Shake and Top Soda

Add all the ingredients, except the soda, to a shaker with ice and shake. Pour into a highball glass over ice. Top with soda and gently stir to mix. Garnish with a lime wheel and serve.

SOUTHSIDE (OR SOUTH SIDE)

This one goes back to the Prohibition, as a long version of the drink, served over crushed ice, was apparently the drink of the Chicago Southside mobsters. This shorter version, a perfect balance of gin, mint and lime, was created at the 21 Club in New York. Top with Champagne for a Southside Royale, or soda for a Southside Fizz.