Back in the mix: cocktails for outdoor meet-ups | Kitchen aide

The secret to enterprising cocktails for picnic refreshments is to pack them in a flask to keep things cold

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What cocktails are good to make for a gathering outside?
Jess, Bath

The key to park-time drinking (in moderation, of course) is keeping things chilled. Warm cocktails are one of the worst things in the world," says Claire Strickett, co-author with Bert Blaize of Which Wine When. Salvation, though, comes in the form of a vacuum flask: Obviously it keeps things cold, too, so make a cocktail, put it in the fridge and then into the Thermos." One such drink could be a cosmopolitan, or, as Strickett puts it, a Cosmos. I've spent lockdown rediscovering Sex and the City, so I'm back into them." She shakes 30ml Chase vodka, 30ml triple sec, 50ml cranberry juice and 20ml lime juice per person, chills overnight, then transports in her trusty flask and garnishes with a slice of lime on arrival.