How to make mixologist-level cocktails at home with zero fuss

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Shaker & Spoon’s cocktail kit for the Brush of the Bush includes all the premeasured ingredients (except the alcohol): sage-infused agave nectar, cherry-vanilla bitters and white-sage hydrosol. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The house is decorated. The music is on. And the hors d’oeuvres are in the oven. The doorbell rings and your guests go straight to the kitchen for a drink. 

Cocktail party season is back, and the goal in the kitchen is to keep it simple: roughly three ingredients per drink. 

You might have noticed a proliferation of new cocktail mixers and syrups on the shelves of your local liquor store. I bought and tasted almost 30 of these products from nearly a dozen different brands. Many were terrible. (I could make a better drink with NyQuil.) Some were just strange. A few were good but required five or six (or more!) additional ingredients to make any of their recommended recipes, which defeats the point. 

After tasting far too many recipes, a few brands bubbled to the top: Proof Syrups, Woodford Reserve, Runamok Maple, Liber & Co. and Shaker & Spoon. 

The following two- and three-ingredient* cocktails taste like they were made by expert mixologists.

(*The drinks from Shaker & Spoon actually require several ingredients, but their kits arrive with everything you need — except alcohol — pre-measured, including garnishes, so their recipes are incredibly quick and effortless.)

Leather & Velvet

The mixer: Runamok Smoked Maple Syrup (8.5 ounces, $18). How to make it: Pour 1/4 ounce of smoked maple syrup and 2 ounces of whiskey into a rocks glass. Add an extra-large ice cube and stir for at least 10 seconds. Garnish with a dehydrated orange or lemon wheel. Buy online: runamokmaple.com

Two easy takes on the bourbon old fashioned. Left, the Leather and Velvet with Runamok Smoked Maple Syrup. Right, with Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Cocktail Syrup. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Old fashioned

The mixer: Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Cocktail Syrup (16 ounces, $22). How to make it: Pour 1/3 ounce of cocktail syrup and 1 1/2 ounces of bourbon into a rocks glass. Add an extra-large ice cube and stir for 10 seconds. Garnish with orange peel. Buy online: Amazon.com

Left: The Shimmering Champagne cocktail is made with Sparkle Syrup from Runamok Maple, garnished with a crab apple. Right: Create a citrusy Champagne cocktail with Proof Orange Syrup. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Champagne cocktail

The mixer: Proof Orange Syrup (16 ounces, $33). How to make it: Pour 1/2 ounce of orange syrup into a flute. Fill with sparkling wine. Garnish with a cherry or orange peel (or both). Buy online: proofsyrup.com

Shimmering Champagne cocktail

The mixers: Sparkle Syrup (8 ounces, $18) and Maple Orange Bitters (3.4 ounces, $12) from Runamok Maple. How to make it: Pour a teaspoon of sparkle syrup into a flute. Add 2 dashes of maple orange bitters. Fill with sparkling wine. Garnish with a crab apple (or lemon twist). Buy online: runamokmaple.com

To make this coconut daiquiri, just add rum and lime juice to Liber & Co. Toasted Coconut Syrup. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Coconut daiquiri

The mixer: Liber & Co. Toasted Coconut Syrup (9.5 ounces, $11). How to make it: Add 3/4 ounce of coconut syrup, 2 ounces light rum and 1 ounce of lime juice to a shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lime. Buy online: liberandcompany.com

Shaker & Spoon’s cocktail kit for the Brush of the Bush includes all the premeasured ingredients (except the alcohol): sage-infused agave nectar, cherry-vanilla bitters and white-sage hydrosol. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Brush of the Bush

The mixer: Shaker & Spoon Brush of the Bush kit ($12, makes 2 drinks). How to make it: Combine 2 ounces of reposado mezcal or tequila with the supplied sage-agave syrup, cherry-vanilla bitters and shake with ice until cold. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Spritz with the supplied white-sage hydrosol. Garnish with sage leaf. Buy online: shakerandspoon.com

Shaker & Spoon’s cocktail kit for the Theobroma includes everything needed to make the drink, except the alcohol: cold brew coffee, agave nectar, Mexican mole bitters, orange bitters, dehydrated citrus and cocoa nibs. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Theobroma

The mixer: Shaker & Spoon Theobroma kit ($30, makes 8 drinks). How to make it: In a cocktail shaker, combine 1 1/2 ounces of mezcal with the supplied cold-brew coffee, agave nectar and mole bitters. Shake for 20 seconds, then strain into a glass with ice. Top with a dash of orange bitters and garnish with a citrus wheel. Buy online: shakerandspoon.com

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