How to mix a quarantini, and other cocktails to drink during digital happy hour

We are living in unusual times, which will be long remembered for what we couldn’t get (masks, toilet rolls, hand sanitiser) and what we couldn’t do (work, travel, party). Among the things I have missed the most is catching up with friends over drinks.

Many of us can rustle up a gin and tonic at home, but how about something more interesting? With time on our hands, take the opportunity to look through your drinks cabinet and make something different.

If you want to connect with friends, pick a cocktail and host a Zoom happy hour for everyone to talk about their own variations. All drinks should be shaken or stirred – no blenders allowed.

Here are a few essentials to keep at home: spirits, including vodka, gin, rum (white or amber) and tequila; triple sec; vermouth – a dry one such as Noilly Prat and a sweet red such as Martini Rosso; Campari; mixers – tonic, soda or sparkling water and lime cordial; and Angostura bitters. In the fridge (hopefully): limes and lemons.

Round 1: The Quarantini

Quarantinis have certainly been popular. A quarantini should have a generous amount of vitamin C, so you can pretend it’s healthy. There are different versions, but the one I like is essentially a vodka martini with half a Berocca vitamin tablet dropped into it, shaken and served in a martini glass with lemon zest.

Another tasty version starts with a basic vodka martini, to which is added half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, half a teaspoon of honey and the juice of half a lemon. Shake and serve.

Round 2: The Negroni

I was about to make a negroni recently when I realised I was out of sweet vermouth. All I had in my drinks cabinet was a bottle of dry Noilly Prat. Getting creative, and thirsty, I used it anyway, threw in a dash of bitters and the results were surprising – it was pink in colour and the taste was quite refreshing. Would I make this again? Yes!

Round 3: Riff on a classic martini

For this, our group came up with the follow­ing: gimlet – equal parts of gin and lime cordial; gibson – gin martini with a pearl onion; dirty martini – gin martini with a generous spoonful of brine from an olive jar; smoky martini – gin martini with a small splash of Islay single malt.

My contribution? A pink gibson with home-made pickled shallots and a table­spoon of the brine. It was delicious; tart and savoury at the same time.

Round 4: Margarita or daiquiri

For this round we had the following versions: classic lime; calamansi – this one looks good because the citrus juice is orange; and another quarantini-style entry, with a powdered-sugar and Berocca rim.

I had no citrus at home aside from a sad lemon. I did have opened jars of jam, and decided to try a kumquat jam daiquiri. I used 20 grams of jam, the juice from half of my sad lemon, and mashed the two together in a shaker. Then I added a measure of white rum (35ml), a dash of triple sec (5ml) and ice, and shook it until the ice cubes stopped rattling before pouring it into a cocktail glass.

The result? Surprisingly delicious. Would I make this again? Yes! I have a few more jars of jam to experiment with – I’ll try fig next.