Chico Byrne

You’ll love this easy chocolate chilli martini. It is luscious, smooth and hot at the same time. Clear liquid hides an intense chocolate surprise. With only three main ingredients you can whip these up to impress your friends in bulk and at speed.

Our spectacularly simple Chico Byrne is named for our friend, Sarah Byrne, because during testing the chocolate chilli martini was her favourite, by far.

Chico Byrne is a chocolate cocktail that is dairy free so your vegan friends will be happy, too.

Recipients: People who love chocolate, chilli and sweet, flavoured martinis. Chocolate lovers who are dairy free.

I Love Loosey

This is our cherry flavoured homage to Lucille Ball. Lucy was the original cocktail mum who fudged her way through household and relationship management, paving the way for the rest of us to be true to our goofy natures. In life, Lucille Ball was the creative genius we have to be to pull off being a modern woman.

Loosey looks and tastes like a proper cocktail but she’s only 30ml of alcohol so you won’t get too loosey.

Recipients: Fruit fans. And those that like to sip their drinks slowly while looking suave.

Type: Made In Glass

Hello Berry

We’ve tried LOTS (hehehe!) of wine punch, sangria and wine based cocktail recipes. The issue has always been consistency. Wine varies. Unless you are using the same non vintage brand and varietal the end result will vary.

So we decided to come up with a red punch that works with the worst wine you can manage to sip. And make your guests sing with happy taste!

Recipients: Everyone. Honestly.

Type: Jug

Fresh Shot – Strawberry

This is the first of our Fresh Shot range of recipes. We like to have these as shooters.

But sometimes we don’t want to buy a whole bottle of liqueur for one cocktail. With a few common ingredients you can whip this up and use it in your strawberry daiquiri, Strawberry Sour or over ice cream.

Because this contains fresh strawberry it cannot keep like liqueur. However, it can be kept for a week in the freezer. I’m not sure if it lasts longer as I’ve never had it that long. Hehehehe!

Recipients: Newly arrived guests. Welcoming them with a shot sets the pace for the rest of the visit.

Type: Shot

La Cucaracha

La Cucaracha is a spectacle. It is best served at special occasions with familiar faces. As with most cocktail shots, it looks exciting. Contrary to the reputation of shots, it is smoother than expected.

Confession: Not my recipe. Our Spanish friend, Jose Antonio Laguens Martin showed us how to make these too many years ago to tell. And we’ve never looked back. Viva España!

Recipients: Party people in a controlled environment

Type: Shot

Straya

This was my second popular cocktail invention. It arrived hot on the heals of the Measle, and tastes even better. It is pretty good on a hot summer day in January when your tray of mangoes needs to be eaten. Straya really is an all round typical Aussie – good looking with good taste.

Recipients: People who like smoothies, everyone else

Type: Frozen

Strawberry Sour

Strawberry Sour is a strawberry flavoured cocktail, a bit like a frozen daiquiri or margarita. The main differences are that it is more tangy than sweet and doesn’t contain strawberry liqueur, which in my unsophisticated opinion, smells like strawberry lipgloss. I have strawberries and raspberry cordial in the house more often than strawberry liqueur.

Raspberry cordial makes the colour a weirdly bright red. If you can’t bear the artificial colouring replace the cordial with a sweetener of your choice. Caster sugar will do. It will be pale pink instead.

Confession: This recipe is inspired by the sourness of a Zulu Warrior, which has a few more ingredients, including strawberry liqueur, Midori and melon.

Recipients: Cocktail lovers who like to sip their drinks.

Type: Frozen

Lemon Sorbet

This has an unusual method but it’s worth it. It is a drink I make for myself.

I usually make this when I have juicy, thin skinned lemons. Grapefruit works, too.

The ingredients include caster sugar and I prefer it to sugar syrup in this one. If it doesn’t dissolve I enjoy the fine, crunchy grit that adds to the texture of the blended lemon.

Recipients: People who like to sip their drinks. Nobody enjoys brain freeze.

Mozzie Bite

I have a few friends that drink moscato. And they also seem to be the ones whose spirit of choice is vodka. This punch is for them. It is aromatic but not flavour intense so I use a clean tasting vodka.

Recipients: Those with a sweet tooth and mature ladies

Type: Jug