Recipes
World Cocktail Day is 13th of May. Which is the anniversary of the word “cocktail” appearing in print for the very first time, in a New York newspaper in 1806. Over two centuries later, we think that still deserves a proper drink.
Here are 10 recipes using our meads, English wines, fruit wines and spirits from Lyme Bay. A few are new for 2026. A few are old favourites that we keep coming back to.
1. English Garden Spritz (pitcher for 6 to 8)
This is the one for hosting. Both wines are naturally aromatic so they don’t need much help. The fruit and herbs just make it look like a proper occasion. Make the base the night before and it’s ready to go when guests arrive.
You’ll need: A large pitcher
Ingredients (serves 6 to 8):
- 1 bottle Lyme Bay Bacchus 2023
- 1 bottle Lyme Bay Elderflower Wine
- 3 tbsp elderflower cordial
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 green apple, thinly sliced
- Half a cucumber, sliced into rounds
- A few sprigs of fresh mint
- 500ml sparkling water
- Ice
Method:
- Combine the wines, cordial and lemon juice in a large pitcher
- Add the apple, cucumber and mint and stir well
- Refrigerate for at least an hour
- Add ice and sparkling water just before serving
Tip: Prep the base the night before and keep it in the fridge. Add the sparkling water and ice just as guests arrive.
2. The Devon Spritz
Light, floral and very easy to drink. Our Bacchus 2023 has a fresh elderflower nose with pear and grapefruit, and lychee, apple and an English hedgerow character coming through on the palate. It lifts beautifully when you add a splash of cordial. This is the one to pour when the first few guests arrive.
You’ll need: A large wine glass
Ingredients:
- 3.5 oz Lyme Bay Bacchus 2023
- 1 oz elderflower cordial
- 2 oz sparkling water
- Cucumber slices and a mint sprig to garnish
- Ice
Method:
- Fill a large wine glass with ice
- Add the Bacchus and elderflower cordial
- Top with sparkling water and stir gently
- Garnish with cucumber and mint
Tip: A few extra cucumber slices left in the glass while everything chills gives it a lovely freshness.
3. The Lugger Old Cuban (new for 2026)
The French 75 is a classic that doesn’t need much changing. We’ve added elderflower to soften the citrus and used our Brut Reserve for the sparkle. Sharp, celebratory and very easy to go back for a second.
You’ll need: A cocktail shaker and a chilled Champagne flute or coupe
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Lyme Bay Jack Ratt Lugger Golden Rum
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- 6 to 8 fresh mint leaves
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Lyme Bay Brut Reserve Sparkling Wine, to top
- Mint sprig and a lime twist to garnish
Method:
- Gently press the mint leaves with the lime juice and simple syrup in the base of a shaker. Try not to shred them.
- Add the Golden Rum and bitters, fill with ice and shake for 10 seconds
- Double strain into a chilled flute or coupe
- Top slowly with Brut Reserve
- Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime twist
Tip: Pop your glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before you start. The mint should perfume the drink, not overwhelm it.
4. The Honey Bee Sour (returning favourite)
A firm favourite from last year. Traditional Mead in place of whiskey, a good frothy top from the egg white and that sweet and sour balance that makes a sour so drinkable. People are always curious about what’s in this one.
You’ll need: A cocktail shaker and a rocks glass
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Lyme Bay Traditional Mead
- 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water, stirred together)
- 0.5 oz egg white or the liquid from a tin of chickpeas if you’d prefer a vegan version
- Angostura bitters and a lemon wheel to garnish
Method:
- Add everything to a shaker without ice and shake hard for 10 seconds
- Add ice and shake again for 15 seconds
- Strain into a rocks glass over a big ice cube
- Dash a little bitters over the foam and add a lemon wheel
Tip: Don’t skip the first shake without ice. That helps to build the foam. It looks like a lot of steps but once you’ve made one you’ll have the next ready in under a minute.
5. The Smuggler’s Daiquiri (new for 2026)
The daiquiri is a three ingredient masterpiece of good rum, fresh lime and a touch of sweetness, and we’ve folded in a half measure of our Raspberry Reserve Liqueur to give it a gorgeous pink blush and a hit of fresh summer fruit.
You’ll need: A cocktail shaker and a chilled coupe glass
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Lyme Bay Jack Ratt Lugger Golden Rum
- 0.5 oz Lyme Bay Raspberry Reserve Liqueur
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.25 oz simple syrup
- Lime wheel and a fresh raspberry to garnish
Method:
- Add the rum, Raspberry Reserve Liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup to a shaker with plenty of ice
- Shake for 15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is frosted
- Double strain into a chilled coupe
- Garnish with a thin lime wheel and a single raspberry
Tip: Pop your coupe in the freezer ten minutes before you start. A daiquiri should be properly cold and the glass does half the work.
6. The Jack Ratt Paloma (new for 2026)
The traditional Paloma is all about grapefruit, salt and a little heat, and our Spiced Rum was built for exactly this: Caribbean rum aged in bourbon-charred oak and spiced with nutmeg, cloves, orange peel and vanilla. Long, refreshing and deceptively complex.
You’ll need: A highball glass
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Lyme Bay Jack Ratt Lugger Spiced Rum
- 1 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice
- 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.25 oz honey syrup
- Soda water, to top
- Small pinch of sea salt
- Pink grapefruit wedge and a sprig of rosemary to garnish
- Ice
Method:
- Fill a highball glass with plenty of ice
- Add the Spiced Rum, grapefruit juice, lime juice, honey syrup and a pinch of salt
- Stir briefly to combine
- Top with soda water and give it one more gentle stir
- Garnish with a pink grapefruit wedge and a sprig of rosemary
Tip: The salt is worth including. It sharpens the whole drink without tasting salty.
7. Sparkling Strawberry Kir Royale
Two ingredients. One step. Looks beautiful. Our Strawberry Wine in place of crème de cassis makes this lighter and fruitier than the classic version. Very much a summer drink.
You’ll need: A Champagne flute
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Lyme Bay Strawberry Wine, chilled
- Lyme Bay Brut Reserve Sparkling Wine, to top
- Fresh strawberry to garnish
Method:
- Pour the chilled Strawberry Wine into a flute
- Slowly top with Brut Reserve
- Garnish with a fresh strawberry
Tip: Make sure both bottles are properly chilled before you start. This one needs to be cold.
8. The Devon Mule (great for a crowd)
Swap out the vodka for Apple Mead and the mule becomes something really special. Fresh and sweet with notes of toffee apple, it rounds out the ginger beer in a way that vodka simply doesn’t. If you’re not sure about mead yet, this is probably the one to start with.
You’ll need: A copper mug or highball glass
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Lyme Bay Apple Mead
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 4 oz ginger beer
- Lime wheel and candied ginger to garnish
- Ice
Method:
- Fill your mug or glass with ice
- Add the apple mead and lime juice
- Top with ginger beer and give it one gentle stir
- Garnish with a lime wheel and candied ginger
Tip: If you’re making a round, set up the glasses with ice and lime juice in advance. Mead and ginger beer go in last and it’s done in seconds.
This is the one to make when you’ve got a crowd. It scales up very easily and everyone seems to like it.
9. The Winemaker’s Old Fashioned
Black Cherry Mead is rich enough and deep enough to anchor a proper Old Fashioned. It’s a beautiful combination of honey and wild cherries and that sweet, tart depth holds up really well against the bitters. The expressed orange peel over the top ties everything together.
You’ll need: A mixing glass, bar spoon and rocks glass
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Lyme Bay Black Cherry Mead
- 0.2 oz honey syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters1 dash orange bitters
- Large ice cube
- Orange peel to garnish
Method:
- Add the honey syrup and bitters to a mixing glass, then add the Black Cherry Mead
- Fill with ice and stir slowly for about 30 seconds
- Strain over a single large ice cube in a rocks glass
- Flex an orange peel over the top to release the oils and rest it on the rim
10. Elderflower & Lemon Royale
This is the drink to end on. Our Elderflower & Lemon Reserve Liqueur with Brut Reserve Sparkling Wine. Two ingredients, thirty seconds of effort and it tastes like a proper celebration.
You’ll need: A Champagne flute or coupe
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Lyme Bay Elderflower & Lemon Reserve Liqueur
- Lyme Bay Brut Reserve Sparkling Wine, to top
- Lemon twist to garnish
Method:
- Pour the liqueur into a chilled flute or coupe
- Slowly top with Brut Reserve
- Add a lemon twist
Tip: A few edible flowers on top make this look really special if you want to push the boat out.
Before You Start Mixing
When is World Cocktail Day?
13 May, every year. It marks the day the word “cocktail” first showed up in print in a New York newspaper back in 1806. We tested this fact approximately zero times because we were too busy making cocktails, but we’re fairly confident it’s right. Either way, it’s a 220-year-old excuse to make something good and we are very much in favour of that.
What’s the easiest one to try first?
If we’re being honest, the Sparkling Strawberry Kir Royale at number 7 is probably the one to start with. You pour one thing, top with another, and that is genuinely it. It looks a lot more impressive than it has any right to given the effort involved. If you want something a bit longer and a bit more forgiving, the Devon Mule is a good shout.
Do I need a cocktail shaker?
Not for everything on this list, no. The Kir Royale, the Devon Spritz, the English Garden Spritz and the Jack Ratt Paloma are all pour-and-go or build-in-the-glass. Where you do need a shaker is the sours, the Daiquiri and the Old Cuban. For those it genuinely does make a difference.
When do I shake and when do I stir?
This sounds more complicated than it is. Basically, if the recipe has citrus or egg white in it, shake it and shake it properly. If it’s just spirits with no juice involved, stir it slowly and give it a bit of time. The Old Fashioned is a stir. The Honey Bee Sour is very much a shake. To be honest though, if you just follow what the recipe says you’ll be absolutely fine and nobody needs to know the theory.
Does it matter which mead I use?
A little bit, yeah, and it’s worth getting right. Traditional Mead is the one we’d call the all-rounder. It works across most of the recipes on this list without overpowering anything. Apple Mead is the one for the Devon Mule because something about the apple and ginger together just works, we’re not sure we can explain it better than that.
Black Cherry is richer and a bit more intense, which is exactly what you want in the Old Fashioned. If you’re picking up one bottle to get started, go for the Traditional. It’ll take you a long way through the list.
Which one are you going to make?
Now you’ve got ten recipes to work with, it’s time to pick your favourite and get mixing. Take a look at our selection of meads, ranging from Traditional and Dry to Apple and Black Cherry, as well as our English wines, country fruit wines, liqueurs and spirits. Here’s to 13 May. Cheers.
*Please drink responsibly.*
