Colour Theme - Red Cocktails

Whatever your theme, whether you're planning a girls' night in or a gory Halloween party, we've the cocktail recipes for you! From pale pink to rich red, these yummy cocktails will suit the occasion. And fellas, there's nothing 'girly' in the punch these drinks pack!

So get out your cocktail shakers, and let's go!

Negroni

• 1 part gin
• 1 part sweet red vermouth
• 1 part Campari

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Add the gin, vermouth and Campari. Shake well. Strain into an ice-filled cocktail glass. Serve with a slice of orange.

Bloody Mary

• 2 parts vodka
• 3 parts tomato juice
• 3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 dash Tabasco
• Sprinkling celery salt

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler. You may like to garnish it with a stick of celery. If you're drinking it as a morning-after cure forget the celery and drink it straight down!

Cosmopolitan

• 2 parts Vodka
• 1 part Cointreau
• 1 part cranberry juice
• Dash of lime juice

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Add the vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and lime juice. Shake well. Strain into an ice-filled cocktail glass. Serve with a wedge of lime.

Sex on the Beach

• 2 parts vodka
• 1 part peach schnapps
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts cranberry juice

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add the ingredients in order. Serve garnished with a slice of orange.

Singapore Sling

• 1½ parts gin
• ½ part cherry brandy
• ¼ part Cointreau
• ¼ part Benedictine
• 4 parts pineapple juice
• ½ part lime juice
• 2 dashes grenadine
• Dash bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass and serve garnished with a chunk of pineapple of a stick.

Strawberry Daiquiri

• 1 part white rum
• ½ part strawberry liqueur
• ½ part lemon juice
• 4 ripe strawberries

Place the ingredients along with a handful of crushed ice into a blender and zap until well-blended. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a strawberry.

Cape Codder

• 1 part vodka
• 3 parts cranberry juice
• Dash of lime juice

Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the vodka, cranberry juice and lime juice. Stir well. Serve garnished with a wedge of lime.

Kir Framboise

• 2 shots raspberry liqueur
• Champagne

Place 3 ice cubes in a champagne flute. Add the raspberry liqueur. Top up with champagne. To serve, thread 2 raspberries on a cocktail stick and lay across the top of the glass.

Raspberry Fizz

• 1 shot vodka
• ½ shot raspberry liqueur
• Champagne

Place 3 ice cubes in a champagne flute. Add the vodka and the raspberry liqueur. Top up with champagne, stirring as you pour. To serve, float a fresh raspberry in the drink.

Red mist

• 1 shot cherry brandy
• 1 shot cranberry juice
• Champagne

Place 3 ice cubes in a champagne flute. Build up the drink starting with the cherry brandy and the cranberry juice. Add the champagne, stirring as you do so. Serve garnished with a cherry on a stick.

Red Army

• ½ shot Cointreau
• 2 shots raspberry vodka
• ½ shot raspberry liqueur
• 1 shot lime juice
• ¾ shot sugar syrup*
• 10 raspberries

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and shake very well. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and serve garnished with a fresh raspberry.

Red Berry Mojito

• Handful mint leaves
• 1 shot sugar syrup*
• 4 strawberries
• 4 raspberries
• Juice of a lime
• 1½ shots white rum
• Soda water

Put the mint, sugar syrup, berries and lime juice in a highball glass. Using a wooden spoon, lightly mash together, trying to avoid breaking the leaves. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the rum. Stir very well - you want to get the drink as cold as possible - cold enough for the outside of the glass to frost if possible. Top up with soda water, and serve with a sprig of mint and a straw.

*Sugar syrup

• 4 tablespoons caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons water

Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir, over a low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Cool before using. Sugar syrup can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.