Rosie Davenport looks at cocktails
Cocktail credentials: Lamb works at award-winning celebrity haunt Koba in Brighton, where he frequently serves the likes of former boxing champion Chris Eubank and the cast members of several TV soaps. Craig started his career as a chef in his native New Zealand before getting the cocktail bug and eventually winning the title of Bartender of the Year in 2001. He then moved to the UK and was a finalist in the CLASS Bartender of the year awards. He was the head bartender at London nightclub Fabric before moving down to Brighton and joining the Koba team. He also provides bespoke training for staff in pubs and clubs.
Biggest crime against cocktails: Inconsistencies in the quality of the drinks and untrained bar staff.
Garish garnish? The rule with garnish is the simpler the better. It's intended to enhance the drink and have a cumulative effect, so with a mojito, which uses a lot of mint, you might put a few sprigs in the top of the drink so customers smell the mint before they taste it in the liquid.
Tactical Tasting: It's important to taste as you go. You have a recipe sheet that you work to that has all the ingredients and how to put them together but there can be variations that you're not expecting. The aim is to make every cocktail perfect - and you want them to be nicely balanced.
Top tip for getting started: Most of these cocktails
can be "built" in a glass for speed without shaking them, although using a shaker does make some of them taste
better. The essential kit to get started comprises a stirrer, a shaker and a shot measure. Gomme syrup - or simple syrup - is also quite important as it's the basis for lots of cocktails.
As the name suggests, it's easy to make, just combine two parts of white sugar with one part hot water and put it in a squeezy bottle so you can pour in small amounts according to the recipes.
What can you do without? Pre-made pulps and purees aren't really necessary. Use frozen fruit instead.
top training tip: Ninety per cent of pubs have all the ingredients they need but don't have the knowledge. Just two hours of training is enough to get staff up to a level where they can competently make cocktails. It's also good to encourage staff to be creative and perhaps come up with their own recipes.
Perfect Margarita
Fill a glass with ice and add the juice of 1 lime followed by:
2 shots Sauza tequila
1 shot Cointreau
1/2 shot gomme syrup
"A lot of people are scared of tequila, but this is a fantastic drink, a perfect way to get customers into the spirit because it's a name they can recognise."
Rosarita Sling
Put the juice of 1 lemon in a glass followed by:
2 shots Sauza tequila
1 shot fresh orange juice
1/2 shot Cointreau
Stir and fill up the glass with ice, lace with blackcurrant to finish off or crème de cassis and garnish with a slice of orange - to get the citrus flavours going
"It's better to use freshly-squeezed orange juice rather than stuff from the carton because the pulp provides a bit of body to the drink.
For a variation, you can add fresh lime, although any other citrus fruits also work well with this."
T'n't
Put 1 shot of Tuaca in a glass then add:
1 shot caramel or butterscotch liqueur
1 shot Martell
11/2 shots tequila
1 shot Tuaca
the juice of 1 lime
1 shot orange juice
1/2 shot gomme syrup or 1/2 shot runny honey
then top up with ice
"Tuaca is an Italian liqueur flavoured with citrus and vanilla and distributed by Bacardi-Brown Forman. Runny honey works well in place of the simple syrup because it brings out the flavours of the spirit."
Tom Collins
Add 2 shots of gin followed by:
the juice of 1 lemon
1/2 shot simple sugar
Stir, then add some ice and top up with some soda
"This is a classic cocktail but it's easy to change it into something else, such as a raspberry collins, when you add fresh raspberries or puree at the start, or a raspberry bramble, when you add some crème de cassis at the end. You should be able to taste the gin but with a nice balance of sweet and sour. It makes for a great summer drink."
