A party simply isn't a party without drinks. But which drinks should you serve? The answer is simple. Here are four popular cocktails that are guaranteed to make any party come to life.

Dry Martini
4 parts gin or vodka
1 part dry vermouth

Daiquiri
Juice 1/2 lime or 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 jigger light rum

Bloody Mary
2 jiggers tomato juice
1/2 jigger fresh lemon juice
Dash of Wocestershire sauce
1 jigger vodka

Manhattan
1 jigger bourbon or rye
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters

So serve up a few of these cocktails and you'll soon have a great party. It is important to use top quality spirits when mixing the drinks. However, once you've all had a few no one will be able to tell the difference so feel free to use any old booze.

I save a fortune that way. Instead of spending top dollar on top quality brands of alcohol or doing favours for airline staff to get me duty free goodies, I now go down to my local liquor outlet and pick up a bottle of "Captain Higgins" rum, "Mellow Highlands" whiskey and "Tommy Stalker" gin all for under $10.

Another great thing about this is you don't need to worry about mixing cocktails. Just stick a bit of everything in a glass and slurp it down.

Have fun mixing those cocktails!

© 1997-2002 Robyn Gallagher
Robyn's Secret Passage