I enjoy a drink and I particularly like cocktails, though I've not made them for ages. Certainly not for 30 years!
What should I have in my kitchen cupboard to get me going again? I have nothing so grand as a cocktail cabinet, I'm afraid.
I have already this entirely random mixture of bottles (the spirits are all very ordinary, so very suitable for mixing into cocktails):
Whisky
Brandy
Gin
Bacardi
Grappa
Campari
Noilly Prat
Cinzano Extra Dry
Marsala wine
Fino sherry
Peroni beer
French cider
Ginger wine
Blue curaçao
Galliano
Cassis
Grenadine syrup
Tabasco
Celery salt
Also a bottle of Champagne (a present for my 65th birthday but not special)
And Jingjiu, a totally and I mean totally undrinkable spirit which I bought in China when I was working there!
I also have an electric juicer, which I hardly ever use but which works well, and an excellent open air market nearby where oranges, pineapples, red grapes, green grapes, mangoes, papaya, lemons, kiwi fruit, apples, grapefruit, pears etc etc are all very cheap and available.
And I have a cocktail shaker, a Christmas present from way back.
I particularly fancy fruit juice based cocktails, I love coconut, they'll be healthier, won't they (ha ha!) I love whisky sours. I can't stand even the smell of vodka, so please don't suggest Bloody Marys etc. despite me having celery salt in my cupboard.
The price of Angostura Bitters I noticed in my local large supermarket this evening is currently £6.49 a bottle! So I need to prioritise, so most important purchase first please!
The only cocktails I can spot lurking in the list of ingredients above are Whisky Mac (am drinking one now!), a classic Martini (which never really excites me) and/or Kir Royale (hmm, I prefer plain Champagne, who wouldn't!)
Over to you
i) what do I buy next to start me off
ii) which cocktails will I end up making (and loving!)
I know there are lots of websites out there dully listing cocktails, but its your personal knowledge and experience (that's what grans and gramps are good at isn't it?) that I'm after 
No white rum. In fact, no rum!
OOOHHH ! Dare we ??? 
Cheers Nonu! Looks good doesn't it? Maybe one for the weekend, I love mint and the big pot of it on my balcony hasn't yet pegged out in the autumn cold
Thanks for recipe for Mojito .
Isthis. Blow me down with a feather duster , just scrolled back and read your drink list . 
Bet you know how to throw a good party !
Soop , you go girl !!
For extra special occasions, and when alternative transport is available for our pals, we have discovered a group-liking for:
a cube of brown sugar..soak with a few drops of Angostura Bitters...pour over a single measure of brandy and top with the nearest thing to Champagne that we can afford. 
nonu
In fact I think I even prefer them to Margaritas .!
Though Bloody Marys come close . !
Specki . one of my favourite cocktails of all time .
I think it is white rum , but not sure . When we are in the States , we go to a bar and ask for one . Never thought to ask !
Still as you say you can google ,ENJOY .
Anyone noticed Prosecco on sale in Tesco for an amazing £6.81 a bottle? That's even cheaper than Aldi!
With the Aperol that Sainsbury were selling recently at £2 off, plus soda-water, ice and a slice of orange as garnish, we could all be drinking delicious bargain Spritz for Christmas!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spritz_(alcoholic_beverage)
The taste of Venice for me (I've never been there at the right time of year for Bellini cocktails).
I prefer the Aperol version of Spritz to the Campari one. But that could require some serious testing I know that one of the two versions is dismissed as a corrupt Padua nonsense in Venice. I think I'd had too many glasses of Spritz to remember! Does anyone know which is which?
Probably not! [devilish emoticon]
Would I even remember it?
Have sampled the first one jeni:
"My champagne cocktail
1/2measure brandy
1/2measure Cointreau
Top up with champagne
Serve poured over a sugar lump garnish with orange and lemon"
Awesome! Wonderful. Not quite sweet, which is just how I like things (Freud, pls analyse).
Pleasantly "cocktailed" by 6.30pm. Hmm, time to watch another DVD episode of "Six Feet Under", very favourite TV series.
More cocktail recipes/favourites please.
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