🍸 Cocktail Recipes
Easy Cocktail Recipes for Beginners
Five simple drinks, UK measures, and the kit that quietly does the work.
Key Takeaways
- A bar@drinkstuff Boston shaker set covers every drink in this guide, so it is the sensible first purchase for a home bar.
- A Perjoy 16 piece cocktail set adds the jigger, strainer and spoon you would otherwise buy one at a time.
- Fever-Tree Indian tonic water lifts a plain gin and tonic more than a fancier gin usually does.
- RCR Crystal Melodia highball glasses handle the long drinks, and MIKASA Cheers martini glasses cover the short ones.
- Large silicone ice cube trays matter more than most beginners expect, because watery ice spoils a good drink.
Suggested reading: Best Cocktail Shaker Sets UK 2026 and Home Bar Essentials UK
The Kit You Need Before You Pour Anything
Cocktail recipes look intimidating until you notice that most of them follow the same three part shape of a spirit, something sweet and something sharp. What separates a drink that tastes like a proper bar pour from one that tastes thin is the kit and the ice rather than a shelf of bottles. A Boston shaker set and a 16 piece cocktail set between them cover shaking, stirring, measuring and straining. Add a decent set of highball glasses and you can make everything further down this page.
There is one more purchase worth making early, and it is the least glamorous item on the list. Two inch silicone cube trays give you slow melting blocks of ice, and slow ice chills a drink without turning it into coloured water. Plenty of beginners skip this step and then wonder why their drinks taste flat after five minutes.
Getting UK Measures Right Without the Guesswork
British recipes usually list spirits in millilitres, and a standard pub single is 25ml. That makes a double 50ml, and a Negroni built from three 25ml measures is a 75ml drink, which is exactly why it turns up in a small glass. A jigger gives you both sizes in one tool, and any cocktail set worth buying includes one.
If you are measuring with kitchen spoons instead, the maths stays simple. One tablespoon holds 15ml and one teaspoon holds 5ml, so a 25ml measure is one tablespoon plus two teaspoons, and 50ml is three tablespoons plus one teaspoon. That is not precision bartending, but it beats guessing, and the gap between a 25ml and a 40ml pour is the gap between a balanced drink and a strong one.
Five Easy Drinks Worth Learning First
These five cover the techniques you will reuse again and again: building over ice, shaking, stirring and topping with a mixer. Learn them in this order and you can improvise from there.
Gin and Tonic
Fill a copa glass to the top with ice, add 50ml of gin, then top it with 150ml to 200ml of Indian tonic water. Stir it once and finish with a slice of citrus or a strip of peel. The ratio is the whole drink, so keep the tonic cold and pour it down the side of the glass to hold the bubbles.
Negroni
Pour 25ml of gin, 25ml of sweet vermouth and 25ml of Campari into a mixing glass with ice, then stir for around 20 seconds and strain it into a chilled coupe. Stirring instead of shaking keeps the drink clear and stops it thinning out too fast. A strip of orange peel over the top is the finishing touch.
Espresso Martini
Shake 25ml of vodka, 25ml of coffee liqueur and 25ml of fresh espresso with plenty of ice, then strain the lot into a martini glass. You need a hard shake of at least 15 seconds to build the foam on top, and fresh espresso is what makes that foam happen. Pull the shot and let it cool for a minute before you shake it.
Margarita
Shake 50ml of tequila, 25ml of triple sec and 25ml of lime juice with ice, then strain it into a martini glass with a salted rim. Fresh lime is worth the extra minute of squeezing, because bottled juice tastes flatter and sweeter. If the drink feels too sharp, add a small spoon of sugar syrup rather than more triple sec.
Whisky Highball
Build 50ml of whisky and 150ml of soda water or ginger ale in a tall highball glass packed with ice. Add the whisky first so you can judge the colour, then top it with the mixer and stir once. A highball lives or dies on carbonation, so open a fresh bottle and do not stir the fizz out of it.
Ice, Dilution and the Mistakes Beginners Make
Almost every disappointing home cocktail comes down to one of four things. Warm ice is the first, because a tray of small cubes melts fast and waters the drink within minutes. Crowding the glass is the second, since a half full glass lets the ice melt quicker than a full one. Shaking anything carbonated is the third, and it will spray tonic across your kitchen. Skipping the strainer is the last, and it leaves shards of ice and pulp in a drink that should be smooth.
Two habits fix all four problems. Chill your glass in the freezer for ten minutes before you build the drink, and keep your ice in a bucket with a lid so it stays dry and cold while you pour.
What to Buy First on Amazon UK
Start with the bar@drinkstuff Boston shaker set if you want one purchase that covers everything, or the Perjoy 16 piece cocktail set if you would rather have every tool laid out in front of you. Glassware is the second purchase, and the RCR Crystal Melodia highballs plus a pair of Vemacity coupes cover long drinks and short ones. Buy the mixer separately and buy it well, because a case of Fever-Tree costs less per drink than a supermarket multipack. An Amazon reviewer noted that the ice trays and an insulated Harbour Housewares bucket do the unglamorous work that makes the rest taste better.
Final Verdict
You do not need a wall of bottles or a shelf of gadgets to make good drinks at home. Pick up a shaker set, a couple of decent glasses, better tonic and proper ice, and the five recipes above will carry you through most evenings and most guests. Gin and tonic is the easiest place to start because it needs no shaking at all. The Negroni teaches you to stir, and the espresso martini is the one that makes people ask what else you can make.
Products mentioned: bar@drinkstuff Boston Cocktail Shaker Set, Perjoy 16 Piece Cocktail Shaker Set, RCR Crystal Melodia Highball Glasses Set of 6, MIKASA Cheers Martini Glasses Set of 4, Rink Drink Martini Cocktail Glasses Set of 6, MIKASA Julie Copa set of 4, Vemacity Art Deco Cocktail Glasses Set of 2, Argon Tableware Traditional Highball Glasses Set of 6, Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water 24x200ml, LessMo Large Silicone Ice Cube Trays, Harbour Housewares Insulated Ice Bucket.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a measure in UK cocktail recipes?
A single pub measure in the UK is 25ml, so a double is 50ml. Most home recipes are written in millilitres, and a jigger gives you both sizes without any maths.
Do I need a cocktail shaker to make cocktails at home?
You can stir any drink built over ice without one, but anything with citrus, coffee or egg white needs shaking. A Boston shaker is the cheapest way to start.
What is the easiest cocktail for a beginner to make?
A gin and tonic is the simplest drink on this list, since it needs three ingredients and no shaking. Get the ratio right and it tastes like a bar pour.
Can I use bottled lime juice instead of fresh?
Fresh limes taste sharper and cleaner, and bottled juice is noticeably sweeter. If you use bottled juice, cut back slightly and taste the drink before you serve it.
How much ice should go in a cocktail?
Fill the glass to the brim, because a full glass melts more slowly than a half empty one. Large cubes or two inch blocks last longer than small tray cubes.
Why do my shaken cocktails taste watery?
Usually because the ice was small, warm or both. Use big cold cubes, shake for 15 seconds and strain the drink straight away.
Last reviewed: 10 September 2026 ยท Evidence-based review ยท Contains affiliate links