Ingredients

1 lemon
3 limes
4 shots (100ml) cranberry juice
12 shots (300ml) citrus vodka
8 shots (200ml) Cointreau
1 teaspoon orange bitters
2 (fresh or dried) bay leaves
cubed ice
chilled ginger ale, to finish
orange, to garnish
lavender sprigs, to garnish

If your friends are anything like mine, a gathering at the house can be a little hard to organise, so removing as many difficulties as possible is a plus. This is a very welcome variation on the Cosmopolitan that seems to suit all palates, and leads to a brisk, dry yet fruity serve that’s easy to put together. Simply take the bottle outside with some ice, glasses and chilled ginger ale and let everyone help themselves.

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Instructions

1.To make the Bottled Cosmo mix, take 1 strip of lemon zest and 3 strips of lime zest using a peeler, and juice the limes with a hand-squeezer.
2.Mix the peels, citrus juice, cranberry, booze, bitters and bay leaves in a large jug.
3.Rest for at least 10 minutes, then strain and pour into a clean bottle. Cap and keep well chilled.
4.To serve, fill a narrow highball glass with ice and add 2 shots (50ml) Bottled Cosmo mix.
5.Cut a strip of orange peel using a peeler.
6.Top with chilled ginger ale, and garnish with the orange twist and a lavender sprig.

This is an edited extract
from Mr Lyan’s Cocktails
at Home: Good Things to
Drink with Friends by Ryan
Chetiyawardana, White
Lion Publishing, Images
© Kim Lightbody.