Fruit Cake

Garnish: Lemon Twist
Glass: Martini

60mls Bourbon
30mls Cointreau
15mls lemon juice
60mls cranberry juice

shake all ingredients over ice. Tastes kinda like its namesake.

Ruby Melon Crush

Glass: Highball
Garnish: lime twist

60ml Gin
30ml Midori
30ml Happs Late Picked Semillon
90ml Ruby Red grapefruit juice
A squeeze of lime

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into an ice-filled highball. Garnish and serve.

Sherbert Soda

Glass: Collins
Garnish: Lime Wedge

60ml limoncello
30ml lime cordial
Soda

Pour ingredients in order over lots of ice and stir with a straw. Garnish and serve immediately. Tastes like those lemon shaped lollies you get with the sherbert inside them.

Minced Pie

Glass: martini
Garnish: lemon twist

30ml spiced rum
30ml dark rum
30ml cranberry juice
15ml amaretto
15ml frangelico
5ml Monin apple pie syrup
15ml lemon juice
dash bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice and serve with a twist. Just like Grandma makes at Christmas.

Mango Passionfruit Frozen Daiquiri

Glass: Highball
Garnish: Mango stick or orange slice

120mls bacardi White rum
60mls lime juice
30mls Monin Passionfruit Syrup
One frozen mango

Drop  all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and garnish.

Prior preparation required: cut up the mango and freeze it in a sandwich bag. this way the drink is about the consistency of a frozen smoothie or thick shake, it is cold and there is less mess when you make the drinks.

This recipe serves 2.

Planter's Punch

Glass: Collins
Garnish: A straw

75mls Bacardi or dark rum if you prefer
30mls Fresh Lime Juice
30mls Lime cordial
60mls Soda Water
2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Combine the rum, juice and cordial with plenty of ice and shake vigorously. Dump the ingredients, ice and all, into the collins glass, top with soda and bitters and stir it with a straw.

There are plenty of recipes around for this old drink. This is my favourite because it is quick and easy, unpretentious, and it fits perfectly into a 14 oz (414mls) or 16 oz (473mls) collins glass.