5 Easy Drinks to Get You Through Quarantine
By Gabby Houck
While quarantine has opened up new hobbies, like making whipped coffee from TikTok or doing yoga, my new hobby has been making drinks that aren’t just Jameson and ginger ales, or gin and tonics.
If there’s anything that quarantine has taught me, it’s that just because the bars aren’t open anymore doesn’t mean that you can’t and don’t have access to fun cocktails that are totally #instagram-able.
Also, as a disclaimer, I am not a bartender, and I’ve never been one. I’ve served plenty of drinks in my life, but I’ve never really made them. I was more of a dash of this dash of that kinda gal, and I just hoped for the best for me and my liver.
That’s the beauty of these drinks though, they’re so easy to make that truly anyone can do it, I have faith in you. And because I have faith in you, here are five easy cocktails that will help liven up your quarantine happy hour.
The Aperol Spritz
Photo Credit: Gabby Houck
To all the Temple Rome kids who had their time abroad cut short, this one’s for you. Sure, drinking one of these on your deck probably won’t even compare to sipping on one in Venice. But, the nostalgia this drink brings makes it that much more delectable. What’s so great about these, too, is how easy they are to make. You just need Aperol, prosecco, and club soda to make the perfect sunny day cocktail.
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Aperol
3 ounces prosecco
3/4 ounce sparkling water or club soda
1 orange slice, for garnish, optional
How to make it
Fill up a white wine glass about halfway with ice
Add Aperol and prosecco
Top with club
Add Orange Slice (optional)
French 75
Photo Credit: Gabby Houck
I implore you, if you’re brunching it up, go outside your comfort zone and make one of these bad boys instead of a mimosa. You won’t regret it. This cocktail is refreshing, light, and it’ll make you feel like you’re part of the lost generation. For this you just need gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and champagne. Also, don’t fret if you don’t have simple syrup because it’s incredibly easy to make. You just boil sugar and water together, let it cool, and voila.
Ingredients
2 ounces London dry gin (or any gin really)
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
2 ounces Champagne
Long spiral lemon twist (optional)
How to make it
Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker and shake for 20 seconds
Strain cocktail through a strainer or a slotted spoon into a large flute and top with Champagne
Garnish with lemon twist (optional)
Moscow/Kentucky Mule
Photo Credit: Gabby Houck
Mules are so refreshing and so easy to make. A beautiful thing about them too is that they can be made with vodka (Moscow) or bourbon (Kentucky), and it’ll taste delicious either way. For a mule, the trickiest ingredient to acquire is probably ginger beer, but even that can be found at your local grocery store. For a mule, you’ll need lime juice, vodka or bourbon, ginger beer, and club soda.
Ingredients
2 ounces vodka or bourbon
3 ounces ginger beer
juice of half a lime
Garnish: lime wheel
How to make it
Add all of the ingredients intoto a Moscow Mule mug (or highball glass) over ice.
Garnish with a lime wheel
Espresso Martini
Need an after-dinner pick-me-up? This’ll do the trick, and it’s much classier than a Redbull and vodka (no shade). It’ll give you the perfect jolt you need to stay awake to keep binging that new Netflix show instead of going to bed at a reasonable time because really, what is a reasonable time anymore? Here’s what you’ll need.
Ingredients
2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Simple syrup
1/2 oz Coffee liqueur (I use chocolate liqueur, personally)
1 oz Freshly brewed espresso
Garnish: Coffee beans
How to make it
Add all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with 3 coffee beans
Photo Credit: Gabby Houck
Negroni
Maybe I’m just a sucker for Italian drinks but I can’t help it. They’re easy to make and they’re just too damn good. I will warn you, just like Aperol, Campari is bitter and bold. But when it’s balanced between gin, sweet vermouth and orange, it creates the perfect aperitif to sip on before your Sunday dinner.
Ingredients
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
Garnish: orange peel
How to make it
Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a rocks glass filled with large ice cubes.
Garnish with an orange peel.
If you decide to make any of these cocktails, let us at REFINE know! Take a picture of your drink and tag us, we’d love to see your concoctions and raise a glass to our readers.