Anyone who has watched the film Cocktail will probably be harbouring a secret wish to one day become a mixologist (a fancy name for someone who mixes drinks!)  All that complicated throwing, catching and swizzling, and at the end of it you’re left with a delicious alcoholic beverage worthy of Tom Cruise’s attention.  Let’s face it, who wouldn’t fall in love with you if you had the skills to do that?

But pulling together a top tipple seems to involve SO much investment; with even the simplest of cocktails needing at least seven different spirits, a shaker, strainer and a fancy spoon as an absolute minimum. Surely it would be cheaper to fly to the Bahamas to get someone to make it for you?However, it really doesn’t have to be so complicated and with just a little bit of know-how and a few tricks of the trade you could soon be shaking and stirring with the best of them.

Here are five of our favourite (tried and tested – hic) easy summer cocktail recipes:

Sex on the beach

 The ultimate summer cocktail that’s certainly a lot easier and less embarrassing to make yourself than ask for in a bar.

30 ml Vodka

30 ml Peach Schnapps

150 ml Orange Juice

150 ml Cranberry Juice

1 Slice of orange

Crushed ice

Fill a large glass with crushed ice and add the vodka and peach schnapps.  Top up with equal amounts of orange and cranberry juice until the glass is full.  Finish off like a pro with the slice of orange.

Mango Bellini

Not only is this little corker delicious, it looks really classy too.  The best news of all is that it only needs two ingredients – winner!

Prosecco

Mango juice

Half fill a champagne flute with mango juice then top up with Prosecco.  Easy peasy.

Mojito

A really refreshing drink will have you coming back for at least one (or maybe two) more.

4-5 mint leaves

Teaspoon of lime-juice

1 teaspoon icing sugar

65 ml white rum

Soda water

Put the mint leaves in the bottom of large glass and bash with the end of a rolling pin until it looks a bit bruised. Add the lime-juice, sugar, ice and rum before topping up with soda water.  You could really show off here and garnish with a mint sprig, but I don’t suppose anyone would mind if you didn’t.

Pinå Colada

There are some flavours that just belong together – chocolate and orange, apple and cinnamon and rhubarb and custard to name just a few.  But one of the most classic cocktail flavour partnerships is coconut and pineapple, which when joined together in holy matrimony with rum makes a classic favourite that tastes as good now as it did in the 80’s.

Note: A blender is really helpful here. If you don’t have one just give it all a really good stir.

60ml white rum

30ml coconut cream

90ml pineapple juice

Crushed ice

Add all the ingredients to a blender and whizz until it looks smooth, sweet and creamy.  Drink and enjoy.

Woo Woo

This drink can be easily turned into a party punch by increasing the ingredients to fill a punch bowl. Woo-woo, all aboard the party train people.

25ml Vodka

25ml Peach Schnapps

Splash of cranberry juice

Ice

Add ice to a large tumbler glass before pouring over the vodka and peach schnapps.  Finish off by filling the glass with cranberry juice.  Delicious!