During this time of the year, we have an enduring appeal for wonderful alcoholic beverages, that we would maybe not normally drink otherwise. It is in our nature to want to try something new and this is why we have prepared this article for you. On New Year’s Eve, we all might want to have some alcohol in our veins to take us through the crazy night between the years, and no, here I am not talking about the classic champagne at midnight, but about the amazing cocktails you simply have to try at one point or another in your life and NYE is the perfect moment. Of course, here at Male Extravaganza we do not try to tell you to go overly crazy and try all of them in one night, or to drink way to much, we believe in drinking responsibly and this is what we desire to promote.

We have thus created a beautiful list of fancy cocktails to definitely try at one point or another, and to help you decide which one to try this New Year’s Eve, to tick it off your list. Plus, as an extra because we are thinking about everyone, even those ones of you who decide to spend their night between the years at home with their closest ones, we have some videos to help you recreate the best cocktails in the comfort of your very own home to be able to experience the high-society bars in your own kitchen.

However, before we start with the whole cocktails list, videos and ingredients for you, we have prepared a little intro into the history of the word and practice of coktails.

History

The origins of the word “cocktail” are largely disputed, so I will present several variations and a short history before we delve into the actual drinks. The ‘first’ mention of the word seems to have appeared in The Morning Post and Gazeteer in London, England on the March 20th, 1798 in the following poem: Mr. Pitt,/ two petit vers of “L’huile de Venus”/ Ditto, one of “perfeit amour”/ Ditto, “cock-tail” (vulgarly called ginger). However, if you check the Oxford English Dictionary, it states that the word’s etymology was first been recorded in the United States in April of 1803, and the first real definition of the word appeared in The Balance and Columbian Repository in May 1806, published in Hudson, New York. So, as of now, the origin is still uncertain.

However, we all know what a cocktail is, right? In case you haven’t ever had one so far, it is a mix of alcoholic beverages with some non-alcoholic beverages that work well together. It can be pretty much anything, as long as they can mix well. However, it first started as a mixture of spirits, sugar, water and bitters and after the 1860s, cocktails often included at least a liqueur in their composition. The first recipe publication appeared in 1862 and the rest is ‘history’. They rose to even more acclaim in the 1980s, with the appearance of a new ingredient: vodka.

And now, let’s get to the actual cocktails as you already know a bit about their history.

When researching this article, I thought what are actual ‘fancy cocktails’? Are they something that has a name we can’t pronounce? Or some really rare or expensive alcoholic beverages inside? So I have decided to ask my friends how they define the term ‘fancy cocktails’, and this is the list we made. I have never heard of some before and it was nice to find something new.

#1 THE CLASSIC

I chose Bloody Mary to be my ‘classic’, as I have found it an easy to make awesome cocktail for lazy moments when you just want something interesting to drink. Personally, I don’t like tomato juice, so this is far from being my favourite drink, but it has an interesting taste and I really wanted to try everything on my list. This is my mother’s favourite cocktail, and I think this is why I have sort of considered it a classic among the ‘fancy cocktails’. In my head, it is a total classic, I have constantly heard it referenced in movies and TV shows, and this adds up to its aura.

Bloody Mary Cocktail How To New Year's Eve

From Brit.co

BLOODY MARY

HOW TO: Take a pint glass. Add the vodka, the tomato juice, the red and the green hot sauces, the worcestershire sauce and all the small pinches of salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Mix it up by pouring it from one glass to another. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. And the final touchpoint is adding the stalk of celery for an extra taste. Et, voilá you have an easy to make classic to sip at your party.

Recipe taken from thebar.com

 

#2 THE REFRESHER

I love Mojitos. I can’t even describe what makes it perfect, the mint or the ice-cold serving, or simply the taste as a whole, but it is definitely one of my favourites on this list. I chose to call it ‘the refresher’ as, for me it is a rather summer-ish cocktail, that refreshes you on a terrace somewhere nice. What I also like at this beverage a lot, is the fact that it is incredibly easy to make and this just makes it perfect. This was my own addition to the list, as I have always considered it something super super fancy to drink and order, especially when going out, it has something in its name, that just makes me associate it with fanciness.

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MOJITO

HOW TO: Take a Rocks Glass and place mint pieces at the bottom. Crush them with a spoon at the bottom of the glass for extra mint flavour. Add Crushed ice, start pouring the rum on what’s in the glass already. Then add the sugar and lime juice and then muddle. Add the soda water and garnish the glass with some extra mint leaves and maybe a lime and you are done. Wasn’t that easy?

Recipe taken from thebar.com

#3 THE MANLY SIP

This is my boyfriend’s addition to the list. The perfectly manly Gin & Tonic is the perfect drink for any time of the year. It is one of his favourite cocktails, so for me it has a special place in here. Because I have tried several time to create it before finding this amazing recipe, I have decided that this version I will present below is the best, as  it has all the perfect measurements and the best how to. I can tell you that this Gin & Tonic was absolutely delicious, a true delight!

GIN & TONIC

HOW TO: Take a highball glass and fill it with ice. Place a lime weel on top of the ice. Pour the Gin and a small bottle of tonic water over it. The lime will react to the alcohol and to the water and will leave a bit of taste behind, giving the mix a great after-taste.

Recipe taken from thebar.com

#4 THE RICH

This is one of the cocktails I have never heard of before this article. It is truly fancy and my friends agreed it is a great drink to be added here. It looks and tastes absolutely amazing and, even though separately I wouldn’t drink the beverages in a million years, together, they just make a super tasty combination. For this, I have found out that there are several different ones, so I chose the Sundance Red, as this was the one I liked the most, having a little sweet aftertaste in there, perfect for me.

MANHATTAN

HOW TO: Take a highball glass and add the ingredients, one after the other, the whisky, the vermouth, the cherry brandy and finally the orange juice. Stir the all together, until you see they have mixed well. Pour it in your glass of choice and, for an extra adornment, garnish it with a cherry or with an orange peel. Looks and tastes great, doesn’t it?

Recipe taken from thebar.com

#5 THE SWEET

My best friend’s favourite drink: The Daiquiri. Again, a super exotic beverage, it is refreshing, much like the Mojito, but sweeter and coming in different tastes, depending on what you want. I love it as it tastes amazingly well, and mixes nicely with anything, but also because it gives me the opportunity to try more tastes, without actually changing the main alcoholic base. It also comes in an aray of texture, and for this one I have picked my friend’s favourite, which I have never tried prior to writing about it. It is super exquisite!

DAIQUIRI

HOW TO:  Take a rocks glass to put the final beverage inside. Pour your ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker, add the vodka first, then the syrup and finally the lime juice for an added refreshing flavour. Shake well and then put it in your highball glass. Garnish it with a lime or mango wedge and you are set.

Recipe taken from thebar.com

#6 THE LEGEND

For me, Margarita is a true legend of a cocktail. It appears everywhere, people constantly tell you how amazing it is and when my friends mentioned it I instantly thought of adding it here for the legend it is. I have chosen the Margarita that specifically contained ‘legendary’ in its name, because I have found it the perfect example of this great drink. Tasted it myself for the first time during the research for the article and it has a very interesting taste, but it was not one of my favourites around here.

MARGARITA

HOW TO: Take a rocks glass. Fill it with ice. Add the ingredients in the order shown above in a shaking glass, so the tequila, then the Grand Marnier and finally the lime juice and shake. Afterwards, strain it over the ice in the glass you have prepared first. You can salt the rim of the glass and garnish it with the lime wedge for the last touches and you are done. Enjoy your drink.

Recipe taken from thebar.com

#7 THE FANCY

Another drink that is truly fancy. Some find it feminine, but I really have found that both men and women love this drink. It has a great taste, it is really fancy and it shows that you know a thing or two about the hidden taste of some beverages. I personally love it and it has references in many movies and TV shows as well, which made me finally decide to add it to the list as number 7. I chose a recipe wth a pomegranate aftertase, but you should know that it can come in different tastes as many of the cocktails on this list.

COSMOPOLITAN

HOW TO: Take a shaker and add two orange slices. Muddle them on the bottom of the shaker in pomegranate juice and sour mix. Add the orange flavored vodka to the mix. Shake well before straining it into a Martini glass. Garnish it with the remaining orange slice and you are done.

Recipe taken from thebar.com

Did this article help you decide what drinks to try on New Year’s Eve? Comment below and let us know and don’t forget that sharing is caring!

This article was sponsored by Diageo!