If you’re planning a hen do, birthday party or other event, finding activities and entertainment to suit each and every guest can often be a challenge. Something that always goes down well however, is a cocktail making class. Fun, interactive and easy for everyone to get involved with, cocktail classes...

Vodka is a huge ingredient for cocktail recipes and is used in some of the very best known drinks. With the rise of flavoured vodkas, there are also loads of new ways to try classic drinks with differently flavoured spirits in them. So this means you could have an entire hen party with...

here are two big trends at the moment when it comes to party night drinks – gin and prosecco. The great thing about Prosecco is that you can drink it just as it is, or you can mix it with other ingredients for a host of simple and tasty cocktails – or you can get our buff butlers to do it for you! Prosecco vs champagne When it comes to sparkling wine, the king (or queen) is always champagne. Prosecco is different champagne and a lot more budget friendly – but what is the difference? Champagne is a sparkling wine that only comes from the region of France with the same name. it is made with the ‘traditional method’ and uses chardonnay, pinot noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. Prosecco comes from the Veneto region of Italy, north of Venice and is made with Prosecco grapes, also known as Glera. It is made with an affordable method known as the ‘tank method’ and this is part of why it is less expensive. Simple prosecco cocktails Prosecco is also a little sweeter than champagne which is known to be very dry and high in acidity. This is another reason why people go...

Cocktails are great tasting and fun to make. And they can also come in the craziest, funkiest colours thanks to some spirits that you may never have heard of. Here’s a collection of some of the more colourful and interesting cocktails you could ever have at your hen party. Blue cocktails There’s nothing that says sun, sea and sand like a blue cocktail. With colours from a rich sapphire blue through to turquoise shades, there are drinks that cover all your favourite blue shades. Many of them get this fantastic colour through something called blue curacao. This is an orange flavoured liqueur that comes in a shocking electric blue colour. It has a nice flavour to it as well and is ideal for cocktails. Here’s a few simple recipes: • Blue Lagoon – 1 oz vodka, ½ oz. blue curacao, top with lemonade • Blue Hawaiian – ½ oz. light rum (Bacardi), ½ oz. blue curacao, 1 oz. Pineapple juice, ½ oz. coconut cream and a cup of ice • Midnight Kiss – 1.5 oz. vodka, ½ oz. blue curacao, 1 tsp lemon juice, top with champagne • Blue Margarita – 2 oz. tequila, 1 oz. blue curacao, 1 oz....

Gin is hugely popular at the moment with gin bars popping up all over the place. Everyone wants to go on a gin tasting session or try the best gin cocktails. And that’s why serving gin cocktails at your hen party makes you very on-trend and they are also very tasty! So even if you have never thought of yourself as a gin person or tried a G&T before, here are some cocktails to inspire your planning for your hen party. What is gin? The funny thing about gin is that unlike a lot of spirits, there’s no real concrete definition of what it is and what it tastes like. For example, Scotch whiskey has to be whiskey that comes from Scotland. But gin is a lot vaguer – mostly it tastes of juniper berries but then others are more citrus flavoured or even cucumber. The reason that different gins taste different is the ingredients in them. Distillers are allowed to add a host of botanicals (herbs and other plant stuff) to the mix and still call the end result gin. So, one of the fun things about making gin cocktails is that the actual gin can change the flavour of the drink! Gin cocktails for your hen party Whether you are planning to play mixologist yourself at the hen party, a friend is going to take the job, or you are hiring one of our Buff Butlers to run it for you, gin cocktails can be very easy to make. There are loads that use just a few ingredients, taste great and don’t take any time to prepare. 1. Gin & Tonic The gin and tonic is the most well-known cocktail – for some, it isn’t even a cocktail. Just grab a highball glass, add some ice and mix a shot of gin, usually around 25ml (or double if you want stronger) and then top up with tonic water. If you aren’t a tonic fan, switch to lemonade. 2. Gimlet Another classic, the Gimlet only needs a couple of ounces of gin and ¾ ounce of lime cordial then garnish with one lime wedge. Add ice to a mixing glass, stir well and strain into a cocktail glass before adding the lime wedge to garnish. 3. Negroni For something a little sweeter, the Negroni uses Campari as well as sweet vermouth (or Martini to most of us). Add 1.5...

There are lots of things to plan for a hen party – where to go, if you are having a theme, what to wear. But there’s one thing that is crucial for a hen party or any good party really – the cocktails. Having cocktails isn’t just a fun thing to do now, it is a key part of the event. You can even hire a Buff Butler to make and serve the cocktails for you in ultimate style. But which cocktails should you make? Champagne and sparkling wine cocktails Not only are these cocktails the best for parties, most of them are really easy to make as well. Take the Bellini – all you need is 100ml of prosecco or champagne and 50ml of peach puree – mix together and add four dashes of peach bitters to finish it perfectly. Another famous champagne cocktail is the Mimosa. This uses a champagne flute with 25ml clementine juice and 50ml orange juice then topped with chilled champagne. Very easy to make and very tasty! Daiquiri The daiquiri is a set of cocktails based on one of the classics of the cocktail work that was said to have been invented back during the Spanish-American War in the late 1890s by an American mining engineer working in Cuba. He named it for a beach and iron mine near Santiago de Cuba where he was working. The classic daiquiri is served without ice into a cocktail glass and uses 4.5cl white rum (such as Bacardi), 2.5cl lime juice and 1.5cl of simple sugar syrup (you can make your own or buy it bottled from the supermarket). But the great thing is there are so many different drinks you can make from the basic daiquiri recipe. Take the Raspberry Daiquiri – all you need is 50ml white rum, 25ml lime juice 2 teaspoons of caster sugar and 6 raspberries. Add the berries and sugar to a mixing glass and muddle then add the spirits and ice. Stir then strain into a couple glass – garnish with a raspberry! Whiskey sour The whiskey sour is another cocktail that’s been around a while – first featured in a newspaper in the US back in 1870. It is a blend of 4.5cl bourbon whiskey, 3cl lemon juice 1.5cl Gomme syrup and a dash of egg whites (if you want, it’s optional). That’s just the start though...