HOW TO | SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED

Whether you’re a serious connoisseur or an experimental hipster, we bet you’ve had a cocktail or three! With the weather climbing to chillier temperatures, downtime at home can be the ultimate breather. Try our recipes for a cosy night in:

Photo credits: Coveteur

Champagne is not just for special occasions
It’s true: whether your birthday or a Friday, a little flute of bubbly sets the right tone:

• Pour ½ a cup of cold champagne over large ice cubes
• Add two dashes of orange bitters
• Twist a lemon peel to express the oil and drop into the glass

Photo credits: Saveur

Calvados hot toddy instead of the usual mulled wine
Pumpkin, apple cider, cinnamon … autumn conjures many warm memories. This toddy with Calvados, a French apple brandy, is fall in a glass:

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for garnish
• ¼ cup apple cider, plus more for rimming the glass
• 3 tbsp fine Calvados
• ¼ cup heavy cream

Photo credits: The Grid

Betel leaves, anyone?
Did you know that betel leaves are a recommended cure for the dreaded common cold?

You will need 2 fresh paan leaves, 4 cardamom pods, 1 spoon rose syrup, 45 ml vodka, 15 ml sambuca and 1 maraschino cherry.

• Muddle the paan leaf, rose water and cardamom in a cocktail shaker
• Add vodka, sambuca, ice and shake well
• Fine strain into a glass filled with ice and paan leaves and garnish with a cherry

Photo credits: Pinterest

Beer for a lazy evening
Beer in a hot toddy? It totally works! Elevate the usually heavy drink for an evening around a fire.

You will need 30 ml dark rum, 15 ml white rum, beer, cinnamon, ginger and some cloves.

• Boil all the spices in water and use 30 ml of the liquid
• Add it to the rum
• Top the whole thing off with some beer in a tropical glass, with a slice of orange for freshness

Cin cin!