There’s more to cocktails than an intimidating pricelist and some ‘ooh, naughty’ names that sound like they were made up by your mom. These days they’ve become their own industry, with award ceremonies and a pretentious vocabulary – ‘mixology’, ‘muddler’, ‘flaring’ – to match. But how do you transfer that to your apartment? By listening to Ben Reed, that’s how. He’s shaken cocktails around the world, been courted by hotel moguls, ruled over leading bars and had his own television series. He’s like Tom Cruise. Before he went weird.

Sidecar

50ml brandy 20ml fresh lemon juice 20ml Cointreau Sugar, for the glass

Tip: “Shake all the ingredients together over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass with a sugared edge.” Taste. Pause. Grimace.

Lagerita

1/2 lime, cut into quarters 25ml Centenario Anejo tequila A brown sugar cube Negra Modello, or other dark beer, to top up

Tip: “Mix in this order: lime, tequila, sugar. Muddle with spoon. Ice, then beer, muddle again.”

Sour Italian

25ml Campari 12.5ml Galliano 25ml fresh lemon juice 12.5ml cranberry juice 12.5ml sugar syrup 1 dash egg white 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Tip: “Shake all the ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled champagne flute.”

Dirty Martini

50ml gin 1 dash dry vermouth 12.5ml olive brine lemon zest and 1 green olive for garnish

Tip: “Shake sharply and pour into a cold martini glass with a lemon-zested edge. Garnish with an olive.”