10 three-ingredient cocktail recipes you need for this bank holiday

Bring the bar to you with these simple drinks to sip on in the sunshine

You don't need a big budget or fancy equipment to serve up some delicious drinks over Easter weekend (iStock)

Our weekends look very different under lockdown, as most activities like brunching with friends, visiting family or heading to the pub are off the table.

As the coronavirus chaos continues, the safest thing to do is remain indoors unless you need to undertake an essential trip for food, medicine or go out for daily exercise.

The weekend does, however, remain a welcome break for everyone, whether you're still working from home or not. It’s also a bit of respite from home-schooling kids out of school.

In order to enjoy that Friday feeling, now is the time treat yourself to a cocktail that you can enjoy on your sofa, balcony or sun lounger.

Concoct them using a KitchenCraft boston shaker, £12.99, that came top in our IndyBest review of cocktail shakers.

It's the perfect balance between high quality and simplicity, and it comes with recipe suggestions if you need more inspiration.

It doesn’t matter if you’re limited on supplies, simplicity is key as we reveal 10 three-ingredient cocktail recipes that are minimum effort, maximum impact

If you are looking to make more complex recipes, however, find our guide to the best cocktail making books here. If you prefer something else though, we've rounded up the online wine shops still delivering and the beer and cider shops you can still buy from.

You can trust our independent roundups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.

Classic margarita

TequilaCointreauLime juice

Ice cubes and salt are optional. Pour into a cocktail shaker, mix it up, serve up and enjoy.

Ginger pear cocktail

Pear juiceVodkaGinger ale

An underrated, easy one to make, that will make you feel like you’re on holiday, rather than in your garden. Recipe from lark & linen.

(mphillips007/iStock)

Mojito

White rumSoda waterBrown sugar

Top with half a lime and mint sprigs if you have some spare from the garden.

Cranberry orange mimosa

Cranberry juiceOrange juiceChampagne or prosecco

A boozy brunch classic, this is as easy as it gets. Recipe from crazy for crust.

You won't need to splash out a fancy bottle of fizz either, IndyBest ruled Tesco Finest vintage champagne, £26, to be the best option with a hint of sharpness from the apples and delicious touch of lemon.

Negroni

Campari Sweet vermouthIce

Add a finishing touch with an orange peel served atop a short, shallow glass.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Martini

Gin or vodka (depending on your preference)Dry vermouthCrushed ice

To make it extra refreshing, pour over a glass full of ice cubes. Reyka vodka, £26.95, is our favourite, thanks to its clean, peppery and slight aniseed flavour we found while reviewing it for an IndyBest roundup of the best vodkas.

Old Fashioned

Light brown sugarBourbon or rye whiskyAngostura bitters

If you’re making a round of drinks, use the rest of the orange peel from the negroni for garnish.

Champagne slushy

Frozen strawberriesChampagne or prosecco.

You’ll only need two ingredients for this nostalgic grown-up funfair drink. Recipe from Julie Blanner.

If prosecco takes your fancy, we'd recommend La Farra DOCG brut, £13.99, it has a tangy, dry finish which will pair nicely with fish come dinner time. If there's any spare of course.

Classic G&T

GinTonic waterSlice of lime (or any garnish)

A foolproof go-to drink if you’re feeling lazy. Fill up and jug and refill your glass as much as you please.

Mint julep

Granulated sugar Fresh mint leavesBourbon

A classic drink hailing from the deep south, this one is strong, rich and moreish.

Read our IndyBest reviews of some of the kit you need:

John Lewis & Partners pineapple cocktail shaker: £25, John Lewis & Partners – Buy now

If there’s one piece of homeware we reckon you can definitely have a little fun with, it’s got to be the cocktail shaker. With full-on tiki-vibes, this shiny silver pineapple-shaped cocktail shaker from John Lewis & Partners is utterly fabulous. We got straight to work rustling up a pina colada (what else?) and are pleased to report that it was certainly not a case of style over substance. Although thanks to the slightly bulbous shape, it wasn’t the easiest to handle – although certainly still manageable. It can hold up to 600ml (enough for a couple of drinks) and looks the part when not in use.​

Read the full roundup here

'A Mixologist’s Guide to Making Cocktails' by Jordan Spence, published by Carlton Books: £9.99, Amazon – Buy now

To help you perfect your mixology skills, try following step-by-step instructions from a recipe book

Part of the appeal of a cocktail, aside from its delicious taste, lies in its appearance – and this no-nonsense guide illustrates each recipe with a wonderfully-straightforward at-a-glance diagram which handily details precise components and proportions for each drink.

What’s more, thanks to these articulate and colourful diagrams – which take up the majority of the page – recipes are so concisely written they’re often no longer than a sentence or two, making this an easy-to-follow guide, even if you’ve had a few...

Whether you’re a vodka, gin, brandy, rum, whisky, tequila, champagne or liqueur enthusiast, there are aperitifs for every taste, handily divided into chapters for each spirit.

There’s also a section dedicated to shots at the back, covering everything from alabama slammers to slippery nipples, if short drinks are more your thing.

Read the full roundup here

Voucher codes

For the latest discounts on spirits and other alcoholic drink buys, try the links below:

• BrewDog discount code
• Beer Hawk discount code
• Whiskey Exchange discount code