We’ve all become brooding socialites via video chat and backroom boozers from the comforts of our couch while our roommates tend to their sourdough. Your mum has scrapbooked the last decade of photos into numerical order and your partner has become a trained criminal psychologist through a rather questionable online bachelor’s course.
However, with all the mayhem you’ve been neglecting yourself and your taste buds from being romanced by the sweet dance of lovingly mixed tipple, and we thought it was only right to provide a couple of naughty wee quarantine-themed numbers to the mix.
Just like any good jazz number, it’s all about improvisation, baby. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, no sweat; just use whatever else you have lying around the house.
Also, why not make it a pairing? Our fantastic food writers have been hard at work helping to scratch your takeaway itch by keeping you posted on local offerings, including great restaurants you won’t find on delivery apps. If you’re more inclined to tuck into some vino, check out our latest piece on how to shop smarter when buying local wine.
Lockdown Limbo.
Credit to Tiago Catulo
Ingredients:
-Ice
– 4 shots of Vodka
– 2 shots of Dulce de Leche Liquor
– 2 Shots of Triple sec
– 3 shots of Sugar Syrup (Make it yourself- it’s super easy)
– 2 shots Coffee (Optional)
-Splash of milk or cream (Optional)
-Grated dark chocolate (Optional)
Directions:
Just bang it all into a mixer. Start with a bit of ice, followed by the alcohol, and top it off with the sugar syrup, milk and coffee. Shake. Serve in a tall glass with ice. If you’re wanting to go all out, top it off with some grated dark chocolate as a garnish.
Just like your current home life, this delicious drink won’t shake things up too much. It’ll just leave you sitting in either a state of bliss or wondering where to go next. The concoction was created by yours truly after a week of mulling about, trying to muster the courage to make some sort of change to the routine of going to the local shop and popping open another cheap bottle of Malbec plonk. I wanted to treat myself. Just like any good scientist, it was a matter of trial and error, with the errors mostly revolving around the lethality of the drink, which became half the fun of experimentation (much to the ire of my friends, who witnessed the tail end of this testing via some rather nonsensical Zoom calls).
The Extension.
Credit to Timur Romanov
Ingredients:
-Splash of Vodka
-Splash of Gin
-Splash of White Rum
-Splash of Tequila
-Splash of Triple Sec
-Lime Juice
-Top with Energy drink
Directions:
Throw it all into a tall glass with a bit of ice! Who needs to be a perfectionist about it? Obviously finish off with your energy drink and use your lime juice to even out the flavours.
This is a perfect wee night starter after you’ve just found out the lockdown has been extended by another two weeks. Due to the lack of energy many of us are feeling, this peppy piece of angry juice will get you ready to take on the world from the comfort of your couch, or maybe give you the inspiration to start an in-house rave, taking you through to the early hours without having the difficult task of trying to hail a cab when you’re blitzed at 8am the next morning and wondering where you are and who you are.
PPE.
Credit to Radovan
Ingredients:
-A shot of tequila
-A shot of Vodka
-A can of Lager/Ale
-Lime juice
Directions:
Start with the hard liquor in a tall glass. Top it off with a nice cold tall boy (a beer) straight out of the fridge and finish with some lime juice.
This classy wee number was born out of countless nights of hard work, dedication, and my failure to make it past the pre-drinks before going to the clubs. So, working off the classic saying “Hard liquor before beer, you’re in the clear,” I decided to mix them, with great success. And thus the PPE was born. This drink is great to sit on without having to constantly worry about going through the trials of popping out the shaker every 30 minutes. Plus it uses basic ingredients, so you’re not breaking the bank trying to get all the components.
Quarantine Lean.
Ingredients:
-Grapefruit soda
-Splash of Gin, preferably the cheap stuff
-Lime Juice
-Mint leaves
-Sugar syrup (Optional)
Directions:
Just like the other recipes, just mix together to your tastes and finish off with some mint to garnish.
If it’s good enough for Olympians, it’s good enough to provide the sustenance for your latest YouTube yoga sesh. Created as the unofficial official beverage of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, this refreshing piece of nectar mixes the sweet floral notes of gin with the tasty zest of grapefruit to create a concoction that really hits the spot after you’ve achieved some solid zen. However, I decided to put a slight twist on it with a bit of mint and sugar syrup to really round off this drink, which I look forward to serving in the summer months.