Make Mine a Martini. Kay Plunkett-Hogge

Garnish with a slice or twist of orange, ideally a blood orange.

      KAY’S TIP: if you replace the gin with prosecco, you get a Negroni Sbagliato, or a Wrong Negroni.

      The Gimlet

      I’m sure there’s someone out there who calls this a Lime Martini. But we won’t go there. It’s one of the classics. The Savoy in London used to make two versions of this, a Gimlet with equal parts gin and lime, and a Gimblet with two parts gin to one part lime. In the former, the lime was Rose’s lime cordial; in the latter, it was fresh juice. My Gimlet blends the two.

      60 ml (2¼ fl oz) gin

      5 ml (1 tsp) Rose’s lime cordial

      a twist of lime, to garnish

      Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the gin and lime cordial. Stir vigorously. Strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a twist of lime.

      The Fizz & The Collins

      The Fizz, the Collins and the Sour are closely related. Each involves a similar blend of lemon juice, sugar and spirit, then the recipes deviate. In essence, a Fizz is a shaken Sour that is topped up with soda. And a Collins is a stirred Sour that is…topped up with soda. Does it make a difference? Generations of bartenders say so. I suggest that, on a hot summer’s night, they are both equally refreshing.

      The Gin Fizz

      25 ml (¾ fl oz) fresh lemon juice

      50 ml (1¾ fl oz) gin

      10 ml (2 tsp)

      chilled soda water, to top up

      Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the lemon juice, gin and sugar syrup. Shake hard until ice-cold. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and top up with soda water.

      Variations: You can substitute the gin for rye or bourbon, or for Nick Cuthbert’s sloe gin. You can also replace the lemon juice with Meyer lemon juice, which is slightly sweeter, to make a Meyer Lemon Fizz.

      The Tom Collins

      I am particularly attached to the Tom Collins, for it was down to this very drink, sipped under a starry Mumbai sky on board the good ship Oriana, that yours truly became more than a twinkle in her mother’s eye…

      25 ml (¾ fl oz) fresh lemon juice

      50 ml (1¾ fl oz) gin

      10 ml (2 tsp) sugar syrup

      chilled soda water, to top up

      To garnish:

      a slice of lemon

      a maraschino cherry

      Fill a Collins glass with ice and pour in the lemon juice, gin and sugar syrup. Stir well to combine, then top up with soda water. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a maraschino cherry, and serve.

      Variations: If gin makes a Collins into Tom, then other spirits will change its name as well. It won’t surprise you to know that no one can agree on these names, so here are a few options:

      Vodka The Joe Collins, Vodka Collins or Comrade Collins

      Bourbon Colonel Collins, and sometimes John Collins

      Irish whiskey Michael Collins (though if you swap the sugar syrup for Grenadine, it becomes a Kevin Collins)

      Scotch whisky Sandy Collins or Jock Collins

      Cognac Pierre Collins

      Calvados Jack Collins, after American Applejack

      Tequila Juan, Pepito, Ruben or José Collins, variously

      Pisco The Pisco Collins, or occasionally Phil Collins, after the singer – can you feel it in the air tonight…?