Champagne Pick-Me-Up

If you need a little help to restore your good spirits this far into the winter season, a pick-me-up with sparkling wine could be the answer to your prayers. Its combination of sparkling wine, cognac and dry vermouth is certainly not mainstream, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable.

2 cl cognac

2 cl dry vermouth

0.5 cl simple syrup

Dry champagne or sparkling wine

Shake cognac, vermouth and simple syrup with ice, and strain into a flute glass. Top with dry champagne or other sparkling wine.

There are quite a few recipes that bear the same name; this is the best.

Whisky Buck

Buck is a mixed drink that involves ginger ale or ginger beer and citrus fruit combined with a base spirit. In the whisky buck the smoky flavour of whisky blends well with lemon and ginger making a simple, tasty long drink that packs a punch if you use ginger beer. With ginger ale it reveals its more pleasing side.

4 cl whisky

2 cl lemon juice

Ginger ale

Pour the whisky and lemon juice into a tall glass filled with ice, top with ginger ale. Stir gently.

Any whisky type will do just fine. Ginger ale is generally sweeter and less spicy than ginger beer.

William and Tonic

Poire William, the French pear brandy, is a marvellous eau-de-vie in its pure form - an exceptionally strong aroma of pears is its distinguishing trait. Mix it with tonic and it is pure delight. If the tonic is an elderflower tonic, it gets even better.

3 cl Poire William

12 cl elderflower tonic water

To a glass of your choice add ice and the ingredients. Stir gently. Could it be more simple?

Vermouth Cassis

Created in Paris in 1891, the Vermouth Cassis soon became quite à la mode and reached a peak of popularity in the 1930s, not just in France but also in the USA. The same year it was created it was mentioned in a French journal, Journal d'Hygiène, and that may account for its popularity.

Dry vermouth and blackcurrant liqueur is a perfect match of opposites. An intriguing blend of herbal, spicy notes and sweet fruity flavours is the result. A delicious, low alcohol longdrink fit for all seasons.

12 cl dry vermouth

1.5 cl crème de cassis

Splash of club soda

Fill a highball or similar glass with ice. Add the ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.

White Lady

The White Lady is a cocktail that sticks to the same basic formula as the Margarita and the Sidecar: a base spirit shaken with Cointreau and citrus juice. The gin makes her the elegant one in the group and she is classy in a clean, crisp and discreet way. A lady's age should never be mentioned, suffice to say that her first appearance was in the 1920s. A very civilized drink indeed.

4 cl dry gin

1.5 cl Cointreau

1.5 cl lemon juice

0.5 cl simple syrup

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or don't.

Egg white is often added to give the drink a creamy mouthfeel and thin foam. To try it, add 1cl pasteurized egg white to the other ingredients.

Sidecar

"Less is more" said the master of the international style, architect Mies van der Rohe. He was talking about architecture but the slogan also rings true when we look at the noble art of mixology. The previous drink I offered you, the Margarita, was one example, and the Sidecar is another. 

Believed to be created soon after World War I, the drink became popular in the 1920s and is still going strong. And what is a more appropriate drink in the winter season than one based on cognac? The warm, cosy feel and caramel taste of French brandy is topped with Cointreau's orangey notes and a refreshing tartness from lemon juice. So jump in and enjoy the ride; you won't regret it.

4 cl cognac

1.5 cl Cointreau

1.5 cl lemon juice

0.5 cl simple syrup

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist, or don't.

The recipe is a present-day version. In the 1920s the drink was made with equal parts of the first three ingredients, later known as the French School of Sidecars. In the 1930s an English School emerged with a ratio that said 2:1:1. Both of these two classic versions omitted syrup.

Margarita

The Margarita is a dink with character due to its wide palette of aromas and flavours from the tequila. Fruity, herbal, woody notes blend with spicy, floral and slightly cocoa-like flavours. Combined with the taste of bitter and sweet orange peels from Cointreau and pleasingly tart lime juice balanced by a small dose of simple syrup you are in for a treat.

4 cl tequila

2 cl Cointreau

2 cl lime juice

0.5 cl simple syrup

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a cocktail or coupe glass.

Margarita's name suggests that the drink originated in Mexico but the USA is also a possibility. The drink is commonly believed to hark back to the 1930s or early 40s.