10 Delicious Lockdown Cocktails to Make at Home

Overlooking Hyde Park and adjacent to the grounds of Buckingham Palace, The Lanesborough is one of London’s most iconic hotels commanding a prestigious location that straddles Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair. The hotel’s Library Bar offers a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life. One of London’s most celebrated drinks destinations, distinguished by its outstanding mixology and venerable ‘liquid museum’ of spirits, the Library Bar offers the warm and intimate atmosphere of a private club complemented by a vibrant ambiance, making it a popular choice with both well-heeled locals and hotel guests. The Library Bar is famous for its classic Espresso Martini; a sweet-toothed tipple that is perfect as a post-dinner digestif, concocted using only three ingredients.

Harbour Island – home of “the friendly people” – is one of the Bahamas’ most colourful and laid-back islands offering visitors the chance to truly switch off and embrace “island time”. Eleven Experience’s Bahama House epitomises luxury island living, seamlessly combining its colonial-style architecture with modern design and Caribbean flair. With one of the best-stocked rum bars on the island, after a day of exploring the coast with a skilled Eleven guide, guests enjoy endless rounds of Goombay Smash cocktails round the poolside tiki bar. Armchair travellers longing for a taste of the Caribbean can recreate Bahama House’s signature rum cocktail developed by the in-house expert mixologists, and visualise themselves by the turquoise waters and the island’s famous pink sand beaches.

Evoking a refreshing virtual taste of the unspoiled ivory sands of the Riviera Maya’s Xpu Ha Beach – widely considered the most beautiful stretch of beach on Mexico’s Caribbean coast – Hotel Esencia’s Esencia Margarita is a fragrant, dynamic cocktail perfectly suited to spring and summer. The drink’s main ingredient, Casa Dragones Blanco, is hailed as being the best Blanco Tequila. It is a small batch, 100% Pure Blue Agave silver tequila, crafted to deliver the true essence of agave through an innovative process that focuses on purity, for a crisp, smooth taste. While this signature concoction is best enjoyed at the hotel’s super-chic open-air Beach Bar – impeccably positioned for the warm sea breeze and the best views from all the hotel – while housebound, it is a particularly fun-loving cocktail best whipped up with friends over Facetime, Zoom or House Party on a Friday night.

Masterminded by award-winning bartender, Ana Paula Ulrich, the Save Me! Save Me! cocktail served at Palácio Tangará’s Burle Bar is composed of Fine Sherry, Dry Vermouth, Jataí Honey and Orange Bitters. The concoction was thought up by Ana to raise awareness of the importance of bees to the environment. While the recipe calls for any honey when recreating at home, the original served at the São Paulo masterpiece hotel uses “magical” jataí honey, which is sought after for its medicinal properties and immunological, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antibacterial effects. Offering cutting-edge service, style and design, the Burle Bar’s chic and opulent ambiance makes it a perfect choice both as an intimate dining venue and a late-night lounge. Designed by Brazilian architect Patricia Anastassiadis, the Bar draws inspiration from Brazilian art and natural landscapes, with photographs of the Amazon rainforest adorning the walls.

Finca Cortesin is Southern Spain’s best-kept secret; a spectacular, independently-owned hotel, golf and spa resort set in the rolling hills between Marbella and Sotogrande, flanked by the Casares Mountains and with sweeping views of the Mediterranean coastline. The hotel’s Blue Bar serves classic cocktails alongside more innovative creations al fresco on a beautiful patio lounge. The photogenic chinoiserie Blue Bar features handmade, bespoke de Gournay wallpaper and contrasting pale red sofas with the same symmetrical décor that flows through the property. Cocktail enthusiasts will want to recreate the hotel’s acclaimed, intricate interior design – and not just the bestselling Basilicus – at home. Created by Finca Cortesin’s inventive Head Bartender and Drinks & Cocktail Manager, Daniele Maroni, the Basilicus’s key ingredient is an Andalusian small-batch craft gin, which is balanced by the aromatic, citrusy botanical taste of Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto.

Spontaneity and freedom are what define the Jumby Bay Island lifestyle. Guests fill their days with breezy pastimes in the warm crystalline waters and on powder-white beaches; strolling through lush gardens and free-wheeling along two kilometres of palm-fringed winding bicycle paths. The perfect welcome to the Caribbean, everyone’s first drink on the private island of simple pleasures upon arrival is the Rum Punch, concocted with local Antiguan rum. Described as being “sweet, a little tart, but full of magic,” this brew is a strong, timeless staple.

The Bellini was created in 1934 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice. He named the cocktail so because its unique pink colour reminded him of the toga of a Saint in a painting by 15th century Venetian artist, Giovani Bellini. The Bellini started as a seasonal specialty at Harry’s Bar and today, is the emblematic drink of the city of Venice, continuing the old Italian tradition of marinating fresh peaches in wine. This Bellini recipe has been perfected by Christophe Lencioni, Head Bartender at the French Riviera’s most glamorous hotel, the 150-year-old Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The hotel even named one of its much-loved bars, the Bar Bellini – the Côte d’Azur’s cocktail bar of choice for Hollywood stars. With a beautiful outdoor terrace and spectacular views over Hotel du Cap’s enchanting gardens and the famous Grande Allée down to the sea, it’s hard to imagine anything more elegant than sipping a Bellini here. 

Adored the world over, the Aperol Spritz is a simple classic cocktail originally from northern Italy. One of the best places to enjoy the summer aperitif however is at fabulous French Palace hotel, Le Bristol Paris. A true urban oasis, the hotel’s Jardin Français is a rare jewel in the heart of Paris; a place where one can drink and dine amidst fresh greenery and fragrant roses. The exquisitely pretty garden is a delightful place to revive after shopping with a light lunch shaded beneath a white parasol. Until one is able to return, one of the easiest elixirs to whip up at home is this four-ingredient favourite.

The Cobblers Cooler is almost as iconic as its home and namesake, Cobblers Cove. This much-loved resort is set on Barbados’s platinum coast right on the white sand beaches and turquoise waters the Western side of the island is famed for. The Cobblers Cooler is a delicious rum-based cocktail blended with tropical fruits and topped with a sprinkling of sugar. A generous serving of local Doorly’s 5-Year-Old rum is blended with fresh banana, pineapple, lime and grenadine, served in a hurricane glass and topped with a pineapple leaf and dehydrated lime wheel. The cocktail is best enjoyed imagined under the candy stripe pink-and-white parasols on one of the luxuriously soft pool loungers.

Served in Eden Rock – St Barths’s brand-new Rémy Bar – named after the hotel’s original owner, Rémy de Haenen – signature cocktail, the Eden Colada honours both his fabulously wild pioneering spirit and the birthplace of the drink’s main ingredient: rum. With a centuries-old tradition of rum distillation, cocktail lovers should look to the sun-soaked Caribbean with its plethora of distilleries for drinks inspiration. The Eden Colada mixes two rums including Plantation 3 Stars, a tribute to historic rums with a suave blend of the region’s three primary terroirs: Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad. Barbados delivers richness and a balanced palate, Trinidad adds finesse, and Jamaica provides an emphatic structure. The deeply glamorous Eden Rock – St Barths cocktail list is all about a sense of place, taking drinkers on a journey for the senses sipping divine elixirs that transport them to the island that perfectly blends the sophistication of St. Tropez with the laissez-faire Caribbean lifestyle