Cocktails are back in fashion after 30 years but would you rather drink new trendy tipple or a 90s classic?
WE may once have been dubbed a nation of lager louts, but one in five of us orders a cocktail on a night out, latest figures reveal.
Drinks giant Diageo says the trend is down to a boom in all things 1990s.
And the cosmopolitan – the cranberry and vodka drink favoured by Sex And The City’s Carrie Bradshaw and her friends – is still just as popular today.
Gino McCarthy, 34, a leading mixologist and managing director of, confirmed that cocktails are well and truly back after something of a 30-year hiatus.
Gino said: “There is a massive increase in demand.
“But today’s cocktail drinkers have far more sophisticated palates as there’s a much wider variety of spirits and mixers out there to choose from.
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“And there’s no longer an umbrella or pineapple on a stick in sight.
“Instead you can expect your cocktail in a jam jar! And most are vegan-friendly too.”
Here, Gino reveals his top five drinks of the Nineties – and the five new kids on the block for Gen Z and Millennials.
1990
PINA COLADA: Mix a shot of coconut rum, a shot of white rum, half a shot of coconut milk and 50ml of pineapple juice together.
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Add a sprinkle of salt.
Serve in highball glass with a cocktail umbrella and pineapple on a stick.
COSMOPOLITAN: Mix 40ml citrus vodka, 20ml Cointreau, juice of half a lime and 30ml cranberry juice then shake.
Pass through a fine strainer, then serve in a chilled Martini glass.
SINGAPORE SLING: Mix 30ml gin, 15ml Cherry Heering liqueur, 15ml Dom Benedictine, 15ml freshly squeezed lime, 100ml pineapple juice.
Shake well, strain and pour over ice.
Finally, add a dash of grenadine for colour and an optional dash of Angostura Bitters. Garnish with cherry and slice of orange.
THE DEL BOY: Add together 50ml pineapple vodka, 25ml blue Curacao, one dash of coconut syrup and 300ml pineapple juice and mix and pour into a tall glass over ice.
Place three glacé cherries on a cocktail stick and whack an umbrella on top. Lovely jubbly!
MARGARITA: Combine 50ml of tequila (I recommend Reposado), 25ml Cointreau and 25ml fresh lime.
Shake. If you want to add sweetness, add a dash of Agave syrup, then shake.
Next, get a Martini glass, run a wedge of lime around the rim, then press the rim into a little bowl of salt.
You don’t want the salt inside the glass as it will ruin the drink. Then gently pour.
2023
LYNCHBURG LEMONADE: In a jam jar serve 40ml Jack Daniel’s, 20ml triple sec and 25ml fresh lemon juice, then top up the jar with lemonade and ice.
At the end pour in a dash of Angostura Bitters and add a wedge of lemon.
NEGRONI: Pour 25ml gin, 25ml Campari and 25ml sweet Vermouth (usually Martini Rosso) into your shaker and stir with a slice of orange peel inside.
Serve over ice and finally, as an optional extra, you can add a dash of Angostura Bitters if you want it to be extra dry.
ESPRESSO MARTINI: This hugely popular cocktail has 50ml vanilla-flavoured vodka, 25ml Tia Maria or Kahlua, combined with a double shot of freshly brewed coffee.
As an option you can add a dash of vanilla syrup for sweetness.
Shake and pour into a Martini glass. Serve with three coffee beans on top.
LEMON DROP MARTINI: This is my signature drink.
Mix two tsp of lemon curd, 40ml vanilla vodka, 20ml limoncello and 20ml fresh lemon juice.
Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass over ice.
AMARETTO SOUR: (Contains egg white, so not for vegans.)
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Add 50ml of Disaronno, 25ml fresh lemon juice, 12.5ml gomme syrup along with one whisked egg white.
Shake it as hard as you can, pour into a rocks glass and serve with slice of lemon/orange and a cherry on top.