Cocktails are not rocket science and certainly are not chemical reactions that need precise measurements. It is all about having fun with ingredients you can get your hands on. At a time where all the bars are closed and you may not have been to a party in months, are five basic cocktails to mix and enjoy. Whether shaken or stirred, they are bound to get your lips smacking.

5 basic cocktails for every party

1. Martini
Martinis, though made famous by Ian Fleming’s James Bond character, have been around and are popular since 1863. The drink is simple and classic and can be dry, dirty, on the rocks, or off. You can make a cocktail glass elegant with three simple ingredients – gin, dry vermouth, and either olives or citrus bitters. Add 2 oz. of gin and 1 oz. dry vermouth into an ice-filled shaker and stir for about 10 seconds. Strain and garnish with either briny olives or sour lemons or oranges.

2. Mojito
Fun to pronounce and easy to make, this was the favorite drink of the renowned American novelist Ernest Hemingway. Mojito is a rum-based cocktail from Cuba spiced with mint and lime. Here’s what you need – 3 mint leaves, 2 oz. white rum, 0.75 oz. lime juice, and 0.5 oz. simple syrup. Pick up your shaker tin and muddle the mint first. Follow this up with ice and then the other ingredients. Shake well, strain, and serve. Some like to add club soda to this as well and enjoy a great cocktail they’d be reminiscing for days to come.

3. Old-fashioned
Born in the late 1800s, this drink, Old-fashioned, is named quite accurately. It is the most genre-defining of cocktails and has been in rotation for a long time now. Common ingredients are a teaspoon of sugar or a small sugar cube, a teaspoon of warm water, two dashes of Angostura bitters, 2 ounces of bourbon or rye whiskey, a strip of either orange or lemon peels, and a couple of large ice cubes. Mix the sugar, warm water, and bitters in an old-fashioned glass, add ice, and then the liquor. Stir everything till the sugar dissolves, then serve.

4. French 75
Created in 1915 in New York by barman Harry MacElhone, a sip of this drink is supposed to feel like getting shelled by a French 75 mm field gun! In French, it is called Soixante Quinze and uses mainly champagne. In a cocktail mixer, throw in 2 oz. gin, 2 dashes of simple syrup, and 0.5 oz. lemon juice. Shake well with ice, and then strain this into a champagne glass. Top with champagne, sit back and enjoy this basic yet brilliant cocktail.

5. Gimlet
Sir Thomas Gimelette served the navy in his capacity of Surgeon General but unknowingly became the creator of a drink favored by many even today. Initially used as a tonic to combat scurvy, it remains a classic due to its simplicity and fresh taste. Shake 2 oz. of gin or vodka with ⅔ oz. Rose’s lime juice with a chunk of ice. Strain the drink and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. It is interesting to note that bottled lime juice is called for and not fresh juice because this was only available to sailors on long voyages.