I don’t know about you but I’ve had a lot of friends bring me alcohol and spirits as gifts during the holidays. I’m not sure why, is my romance with cocktails and drinks that obvious? My wife isn’t really comfortable seeing so much alcohol in the house and, honestly, neither am I.

So what I did is to invite friends over and had those of them who knew what they’re doing play around with the alcohol for cocktails at our makeshift party. We managed to get through quite a good amount of alcohol and most of what was left over, I had my guests take home.

I found out from that gathering that many of my friends are actually quite good at mixing drinks. In fact, quite a few drinks I had during that get-together really kicked the night in for me and I’d like to share a couple of them with you. They’re my new favorite cocktails - at least, until the next one comes along.

Cucumber Mix

I never would have thought about putting cucumber in a drink but this one really made my night. To make it, mix 2 ounces of gin with lime juice. Add a small piece of mint, a few drops of strawberry syrup and a slice of cucumber. I honestly don’t know how much of the taste came from the cucumber but the drink was heavenly.

French 75

This drink looks like lemonade and, according to my friend at least, was a favorite among soldiers during World War I. Yep, this cocktail has history on its side. While the wartime cocktail connoisseurs probably had their own version of it, my friend’s consisted of two ounces of gin, one ounce of lemon juice and two tablespoons of sugar mixed in a tall glass. He topped it up with a lot of ice and some cheap champagne (yes, I had a lot of cheap alcohol as gifts). For garnish (since we were playing around), we put in a cherry, a lemon slice, an orange wedge and an olive. He served it with a straw but I took it out and started sipping - I was ready for war in no time.