7 delicious cocktails you can make using the contents of your hotel minibar
There's nothing better than rolling into a hotel room, plopping into bed and streaming Netflix after a long, grueling day of a long, grueling business trip. Well, actually there is: plopping into bed with a delicious, handcrafted cocktail. You don't feel like sitting in the hotel bar, so where will you get such a tasty treat in the confines of your hotel room? Well, there are a few tasty cocktails you can make in your room in just a few quick steps, using what's in the minifridge, along with a trip to the ice machine and a couple of room service items (like a packet of honey or a lemon/lime — which you can probably also get for free since hotels want you to use the minibar). Follow these recipes to redefine the ultimate hotel room veg out:
Hot Toddy: A Scottish tipple that's believed to help with flu symptoms (take that, travel germs).
Ingredients: Herbal teabag, honey packet, whiskey/dark rum and a lemon wedge
How to make it: Make a hot cup of tea, and after removing the bag add whiskey (or rum, if you must) to your liking and half a honey packet. Sugar can also be substituted for honey, but if you're actually feeling sick, honey has medicinal benefits that make it a better option.
White Russian: A classic that's approved by The Dude, so throw on that hotel bathrobe and get to lounging.
Ingredients: Kahlua, vodka, coffee creamer, ice
How to make it: Mix equal parts Kahlua and vodka over ice. Add a dash of coffee creamer last (no more than half the packet), otherwise it could curdle. If you skip the creamer, you've got a Black Russian.
Vodka Gimlet: A spin on the classic gin gimlet
Ingredients: Vodka, lime juice, sugar packet
How to make it: Over ice, pour one vodka mini bottle and squeeze about 3/4 ounces of lime juice (a typical hotel glass holds about 6 ounces, so just try to eyeball it). In another glass, pour 3/4 ounces water with a couple pinches of sugar to create a poor man's simple syrup. Stir it together with force to dissolve, and then add to the mix to the vodka and lime juice and stir again.
Coffee martini, a cocktail that'll give you an extra boost of energy before going out.
Ingredients: vodka, kahlua, 1 cup coffee
How to make it: The smartest move is probably to make an extra cup of coffee in the morning and leave it in the refrigerator all day. But if you must, you can carefully chill a cup inside an ice bucket. In a glass, combine 1 mini bottle of kahlua and half a mini bottle of vodka over ice. Then, fill the rest up with coffee. Stir well (or use these shaker-less shaker techniques).
Bee's Knees: A prohibition-era cocktail
Ingredients: Gin, lemon juice, honey packet
How to make it: Mix together almost equal parts gin and lemon juice (slightly less lemon juice) with a honey packet. Stir vigorously so the honey dissolves. If you're feeling adventurous, here are some ways to shake without a cocktail shaker.
Gin Buck: A refreshing summer drink from the 1920s
Ingredients: Gin, ginger ale, lemon juice
How to make it: Over ice, empty a mini bottle of gin and fill the rest of the glass with lemon juice. Some recipes call for as much as half a lemon, but it depends on your preference.
Kalimotxo: The Basque region's take on sangria (apparently it's great for hangovers).
Ingredients: red wine, Coca-Cola can
How to make it: This one is particularly great if you're feeling lazy. Just mix equal parts red wine (a dry one, if possible) and Coca-Cola over ice. It sounds weird, but it might be the only way to make that minibar wine palatable.