\"Maragaritaville\" by Jimmy Buffet has been on my mind during this pandemic. Instead of \"Margaritaville,\" I have replaced it with \"Coronaville\" in honor of our pandemic as I sing out loud and make another drink at night. Throughout this pandemic, I have been taking advantage of making both difficult and easy drinks that I think everyone enjoys and have the ingredients on hand. Since I moved to DC, I have been exploring local brands in the Washington DC Metro Area. Here are my five top easy drinks to make that use three ingredients (excluding the garnish) on the rocks.
1. Gin and Tonic:
This is my favorite drink of all time. I love using Tanqueray, Bombay, or any other classic dry gin. Recently, I have been enjoying two local distilleries in the DC area: Vitae Spirits and Filibuster Distillery. These are both excellent brands of gin and both offer a wide variety of other spirits that are worth checking out.
Ingredients:
2-3 ounces of gin
4 ounces of tonic water
1/4 ounce of lime juice
Garnish with Lime
2. _____\"And Coke\"
A glass bottle of Coke is wonderful to drink by itself or with its partners in crime, rum and ouzo (a Greek Liqueur). I think both of these spirits pair wonderfully with Coke even though they present different flavor profiles. Ouzo is a licorice/anise flavor that is produced from grapes from Greece. You can drink ouzo on the rocks, with lemonade, or a little water, but my favorite way is paired with a coke. It is similar to its Turkish cousin Raki or Italian Grappa but they have different taste profiles.
Between using dark or light rum in your Rum and Coke, I leave it to your preference. I think both are pretty wonderful to have with Coke anyways. Currently, I have been using Vitae\'s Platinum Rum for my rum related needs. Add as much or as little Coke based on your preferences.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of Ouzo or Rum
4-6 ounces of Coke (up to you)
add a squeeze of a lime juice
Lime Garnish
3. The Three Ingredient Margarita
Yes, the margarita has many variations, styles of making, choices of Tequila, serving it either frozen or not, etc. I enjoy a cranberry pomegranate frozen marg a couple of times while experimenting with frozen margs the way I remember from Margaritaville in Las Vegas. Despite the variety, I think a margarita comes down to three essential ingredients: Tequila, Triple Sec or Cointreau, and Simple Syrup. You can add salt or rim the glass with salt as well but that is up to personal preferences.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of Silver Tequila
1 ounce of Triple Sec or Cointreau
1 ounce of Simple Syrup
Garnish with a lemon or lime and add a salt lined rim to the glass depending on your preferences.
4. Moscow Mule
The Moscow Mule is another classic drink that is best served in a cold copper cup. It is super easy and you may have to go to the store for some ginger beer. All the flavors just go perfectly together and I really suggest using a good quality vodka.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of good Vodka or Titos Vodka (my preferred vodka)
4-6 ounces of Ginger beer
Squeeze of lime juice
Garnish with lime
5. Feels Like Summer Vibe (Mint Vodka Lemonades)
In the summer, I want something cold and refreshing while out in the hot summer sun. I learned about mint lemonades and other fruity drinks while I was studying abroad in Kuwait and Qatar. The Gulf is an incredible source of wonderful fruity drinks and smoothies. Once I returned from the Middle East, I started making them and pairing them with certain spirits and this is one my favorite combination by far.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of Vodka
4-6 Ounces of Lemonade
3-4 Crushed leaves of mint
Garnish with mint leaf
If you enjoyed this article and want to see more Top 5 Drinks using a certain spirit or number of ingredients, please let me know. I am creating new content every week and would love to hear your ideas, questions, and challenges.