10 Quarantine Cocktail Recipes You Can Easily Make at Home
Updated: Apr. 29, 2020
Brushing up on your bartending skills in self-isolation? Master some classics with this crash course in quarantine cocktails from Chris Jacks of Toronto's Nickel 9 Distillery.
Espresso Martini
“This really popular cocktail is commonly made by adding coffee liqueur and cream liqueur to espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, just brew a nice strong pot of coffee.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Want to make the perfect pot of joe? Avoid these common coffee brewing mistakes.
Sangria
“The key to a killer sangria is to start the day before by taking whatever fruit you have in the house—fresh or frozen—and soaking it in brandy or bourbon. Letting the fruit sit overnight infuses it with flavour.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Maple Old Fashioned
“This classic stirred cocktail calls for angostura bitters. If you don’t have any bitters available, strong black coffee makes a great substitute.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Apple-tini
“Your tea cupboard is a treasure chest of cocktail ingredients. Making great syrups is as easy as brewing tea and then stirring in sugar at a 1:1 ratio. If you have peppermint tea, you instantly have a great mint syrup for mojitos. Strong black tea syrups make an easy hard iced tea. I had a great apple tea, so I decided to pair it with a vodka distilled from apples for this flavour-packed Apple-tini.”– Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Spicy Cilantro Margarita
“A margarita is a fun cocktail to play with because of its simplicity. Like a daiquiri or a gimlet, it follows a basic principle of three well-balanced ingredients: Your alcohol of choice (tequila for a margarita), your sugar of choice (whether it be a liqueur like triple sec or a simple syrup), and lime juice. Once you get the balancing of these three core ingredients down, you can start adding other elements to your liking.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Peanut Butter & Rum
“Inspired by hot buttered rum, this ‘PB & R’ cocktail can be enjoyed warm or cold.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
If you like the sound of this sweet treat, you’ll also want to check out these easy cake recipes to bake during quarantine.
Michelada
“Spice up your next beer by making it into a Michelada—a light beer or lager mixed with tomato juice and hot sauce.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
This cocktail would pair beautifully with these hearty chili recipes from some of Canada’s top cooks.
Nona’s Breakfast Cocktail
“Why not do some detoxing while you’re re-toxing? Perfect for brunch, this gin-based cocktail has not one, but two secret ingredients: apple cider vinegar and marmalade—but you could use any jam or jelly in your fridge.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
If you’re not already doing a daily shot of apple cider vinegar, this might convince you to start.
Boozy Ice Pops
“Chances are, you’ve got a couple of bottles of brightly-coloured flavoured liqueurs in the back of your liquor cabinet from some party years ago. Now is the time for them to shine again!” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Check out 40 more productive things to do during quarantine.
Whisky Sour
“Traditional sours often intimidate people for two reasons: They seem complicated to make, and they include raw egg whites. Considering the ease of this recipe, and the fact that egg whites are actually high in protein and low in calories, there should be nothing stopping you from trying this classic today.” – Chris Jacks, Nickel 9 Distillery
Now that you’ve got these quarantine cocktail recipes under your belt, find out how to sound like a whisky expert in five minutes (or less).
