Everyone loves a good drink, especially a college student. But, there comes a time where pinnacle vodka right out of the bottle doesn’t really cut it anymore. I am here to teach you the 5 most basic cocktails you should know how to make, with college tools and ingredients. Cheers!

The Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 1 sugar cube (can sub for a spoon of simple syrup or a low-calorie option, I prefer the taste of cube sugar plus it looks so cute in a jar)
• 2 dashed of bitters
• 2/3oz of bourbon
• Garnish with orange peel or cherry

How to:

1. Get a chilled bourbon glass (as pictured) and muddle the sugar cube with the dashes of bitters, add spoon of water if using a sugar cube and exclude the water of using simple syrup or liquid stevia.
2. Add Bourbon and stir
3. Top with garnish (squeeze oil peel over the glass and rim for the oil aromatics)
4. If not using a chilled glass, crack you ie with the spoon since ice is coldest in the middle and stir until the drink is thoroughly cold.
5. Enjoy!

The Margarita

Ingredients:

• 2.5 oz tequila
• 1-2 oz lime juice
• 1 oz triple sec
• Salt (optional)
• Agave or simple syrup (optional)

How to:

1. If you like, rub a lime on the rim of your glass and coat in salt or sugar
2. Place ice and all liquids into a shaker
3. Strain your shaker into the rimmed glass
4. Add ice into the glass or blend for a frozen margarita
5. Enjoy!

The Moscow Mule

Ingredients:

• 2.5 oz Vodka
• 2 oz Lime Juice
• 6 oz Ginger Beer (This is usually found in the Alcohol isles where I am from if you can’t find it)
• A few mint leaves
• 1 oz simple syrup (because I like mine sweet)

How to:

1. Muddle mint leaves and lime in the bottom of a cup
2. Add in all liquids and stir
3. Add ice to the copper mug
4. Pour contents into mug and garnish with mint and lime
5. Enjoy!

The Hemmingway (How my dad makes it)

Ingredients:

• Same as a an old fashioned without the bitters
• add one lime, quartered
• Use simple syrup

How to:

1. Muddle the lime
2. Add liquid ingredients
3. Stir
4. Add one big Ice cube or 3 small
5. Garnish with lime peel
6. Enjoy!

The Vodka Soda with an upgrade

Ingredients:

• 1-2 oz Vodka
• 4 oz club soda
• Use any flavor syrup to up the flavor and garnish with same flavor
• Ex: Blood orange syrup, watermelon syrup
• To make own syrup boil equal parts sugar and water and add desired flavor, strain and cool

How to:

1. Put ice in a glass
2. Pour vodka, then soda, then syrup
3. Stir
4. Garnish
5. Enjoy!

The Martini

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 oz of vodka or gin
• .5 – 1 oz Dry Vermouth
• .5-1 oz olive brine (the more brine, the dirtier the martini)
• Olives for garnish

How to:

1. Add all liquids into a shaker with ice
2. stir or shake the shaker until combined
3. strain into a chilled martini glass
4. Spear however many olives you’d like with a toothpick and place diagonally in the glass or horizontally atop the glass
5. Serve
6. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: again these are very basic and I am just trying to introduce aspects of adulting to my 21+ crowd. Drink whatever you want, serve whatever you want (as long and all parties are 21+) and enjoy! I just like knowing how to make these and having all ingredients on hand because they are the most common and please many people in the crowd.