fourteen cocktails, already mixed, waiting in the fridge
The situation. In late August 2026 we photographed the liquor cabinet and counted thirty-three bottles — 18.3 litres, roughly 413 servings, and an alarming number of things bought twice by accident. Two bottles of B&B. Two of crème de banane. Two Tito's. Four flavoured rums with an inch left in each.
Drinking through it honestly would have taken a year. So we bottled it instead. Every drink here was designed around one constraint — a finished batch fills exactly one 750 ml bottle — so the empties coming off the shelf became the storage for what replaced them.
Nine bottles went to zero. Nothing is watered down: the dilution happens in your glass, from ice, which is where it belongs.
Help yourself. Most of these need nothing but a glass.
33bottles at the start
14cocktails bottled
9bottles emptied
0measuring required
Pour over ice · nothing to add
Stir 90 ml with ice for twenty seconds, strain over one big cube. That stir is the recipe — skip it and the drink tastes hot.
Old Pal
bourbon · Campari · dry vermouth
Bitter, bracing. Orange peel, expressed over the top.
Fuzzy Manhattan
bourbon · peach schnapps · vermouth · bitters
Stone fruit under the whiskey. Orange peel or a cherry.
Dark & Bénédictine
Jamaican rum · B&B · bitters
The strongest thing here, ~40%. Orange peel. Give it a full 20 seconds.
Coco Loco Old Fashioned
dark rum · coconut rhum · banana · bitters
Dry, nutty, not sweet. Orange peel and a heavy grating of nutmeg.
Chrysanthemum
dry vermouth · B&B · a whisper of pastis
Only ~17% — the one to have before dinner. Coupe, orange twist.
Straight from the freezer
Lives in the freezer, not the fridge. Pour it neat — no ice, no garnish, nothing.
Night Cap Stinger
bourbon · peppermint schnapps
Viscous and very cold, mint gone clean instead of sweet. 60–80 ml in a small chilled glass. It is 40% — this is the last drink of the night.
Aperitivo
House Aperitivo Spritz
Campari + Aperol, blended into one
Ice to the brim, 90 ml prosecco, then 60 ml of the mix, splash of soda. Fat orange slice. Prosecco first — it layers better.
Add fresh citrus
ninety seconds of work, and worth every second
How this works. These bottles hold everything except the juice, because citrus dies within a day and the rest keeps for six months. So: 75 ml from the bottle, 22 ml of juice squeezed to order, shake hard with ice. One lemon gives about 45 ml, one lime about 30 ml — so a single fruit covers two drinks. Never use the bottled stuff; it tastes cooked.
Shake with lemon
Aviation
gin · crème de violette · triple sec
75 ml + 22 ml lemon + a teaspoon of simple syrup. Shake, strain into a coupe, no ice in the glass. Comes out the colour of a bruised orchid.
Dover Bramble
vodka · cassis · crème de violette
75 ml + 22 ml lemon. Shake, pour over crushed ice in a tall glass, top with soda. Lemon wheel.
Shake with lime
Mai Tai
dark & white rum · triple sec · amaretto
75 ml + 22 ml lime. Shake with crushed ice and dump the whole thing into the glass, ice included. Mint sprig. The amaretto is standing in for orgeat, which is what orgeat is.
Coconut Daiquiri
white rum · coconut rhum · vanilla rum
75 ml + 22 ml lime. Shake hard, double-strain into a coupe. A teaspoon of simple if you like it rounder.
Banana Daiquiri
crème de banane · vanilla rum
75 ml + 22 ml lime + a dash of bitters. Shake, serve over crushed ice. Sweeter than the others — the lime is doing real work here, don't skimp.
Dessert
No stirring, no citrus. Pour over a full glass of ice and stop thinking about it.
Peppermint Patty
Kahlúa · peppermint schnapps · vodka
75 ml over a glass packed with ice. Float a spoonful of cream if the evening is going that way — in the glass, never the bottle.
The Beachcomber
banana rum cream · Kahlúa · vanilla & coconut rum
75 ml over ice, nutmeg on top. Or blend 150 ml with cream of coconut and a cup of ice for two milkshakes. Contains dairy — fridge only, drink within two months.
Three house rules. Stirred drinks want their twenty seconds on ice — that is the dilution, and it is not optional. Citrus gets squeezed to order, never poured from a bottle. And cream goes in the glass, never in the bottle.