Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest It’s a brand new year! This is the time for new beginnings and fresh starts. 2020 was challenging, to put it mildly. So we look forward to what 2021 has in store for us, and welcome it with a renewed sense of hope. We’ve asked some of our friends in the industry for cocktail recipes to celebrate the new year. Raise your glasses with these light and fresh cocktails to welcome 2021. Fresh Start Recipe by Lennon Aguilar | Assistant Bar Manager, Discovery Primea Fresh Start by Lennon Aguilar “We look for opportunities to wipe the proverbial slate clean and start again. That might mean starting an exercise regimen or eating well, making a commitment to spending more quality time with family and friends, or trying to add healthy habits to your daily cocktail! Although alcoholic indulgence isn’t the healthiest option, you can find ways to include them in your lifestyle without sacrificing your health goals. It all comes down to making good choices when ordering out at a bar and playing with smart ingredient swaps when mixing for yourself at home. Fresh Start is a cocktail you can make at home if you choose to live more fully and healthily all year long.” Lennon Aguilar Ingredients: 50 ml Hendricks Gin 30 ml fresh calamansi juice 30 ml *fresh basil honey syrup Cold-brew jasmine tea or any green tea Directions: Pour all ingredients in a highball glass with ice (cracked ice preferably). Fill glass with cold brew tea. Garnish with calamansi slice. Stir well and serve. *How to make Fresh Basil Honey Syrup Infuse fresh basil leaves in a 1:4 ratio of water and honey. Mix the syrup in a blender for added texture. First of the Year Recipe by Larry and Sharleen Guevarra | Manille Beach Bar, El Nido First of the Year cocktail “If there’s one very important lesson that we got from the year 2020 (aside from staying alive and healthy) it is about re-evaluating our priorities in life and learning the art of living in simplicity. First of the Year is a drink inspired by the plight of the whole bartending community and what every individual bartender, manager, and bar owner has gone through during this pandemic in order to survive. May the lessons of the year 2020 be our guiding light as we all move towards the new year.” Larry and Sharleen Guevarra Ingredients: 60 ml Dragon Fire Dragon fruit Wine 30 ml Empire Vodka 30 ml Elderflower syrup Splash of tonic water Directions: Pour ingredients into a glass with ice. Add a splash of tonic water. Garnish with edible flowers. Tanqueray & Tonic De Manila Recipe by Rian Asiddao | Brand Ambassador, Diageo Philippines Tanqueray & Tonic De Manila “This is a simple fizzy cocktail combining the classic Tanqueray & Tonic and a Gin Pomelo dedicated to all Filipinos. It’s tangy, citrusy, fizzy, bright, and light! One of my mantras in life is ‘Always look at the brighter side.’ It was a challenging year, but the bright side was that I got to spend more time with my family and loved ones. 2020 reminded us to be grateful for the gift of family and friends. Last year was tough, but I’m hopeful that there will be better days ahead.” Rian Asiddao Ingredients: 40 ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin 30 ml pomelo juice Top with tonic water Directions: Pour gin and pomelo juice into a highball glass with ice. Top with tonic water. Garnish with pomelo chunks and lemon peel. MMXXI Recipe by Ian James Osillo | Brand Ambassador- Philippines, Campari Group MMXXI “2020 was a rough year, but we shouldn’t lose the celebratory feel of the new year and move forward for the better. An Aperol Spritz would be a great drink to have in hand for the new year, but the accessibility of ingredients to make it at home might be tricky. So I made a twist to the recipe, switching prosecco with tonic water and adding olive brine. I dedicate this cocktail named after the year to look forward to at its best 2021! May it be an inspiration to look into the best that the year has to promise for all.” Ian James Osillo Ingredients: 45 ml Aperol 90 ml tonic water 30 ml green olive brine Directions: Build in a wine glass. Garnish with 3 olives. Deki-tate Highball Recipe by Vanessa Rabadon | Head Bartender, Kampai Deki-tate Highball “2020 was tremendously challenging for all of us. In the midst of uncertainty, our industry strives to survive and find opportunities to rebuild our lives as we slowly re-open. Let us welcome 2021 with positivity as we prepare and move forward to our recovery. Welcoming 2021 with this refreshingly cool and a bit sweet cocktail Deki- tate Highball which means “fresh start” in Japanese. Very easy to make that everybody will surely enjoy.” Vanessa Rabadon Ingredients: 45 ml Beefeater Gin 20 ml sake 20 ml simple syrup 15 ml lemon juice 3 pcs cucumber wheels Sprite to top Directions: In a shaker, muddle cucumber. Combine all ingredients (except soda). Add ice and shake. Double strain in a glass with ice. Top with Sprite. Garnish with peeled cucumber. La Importancia Recipe by Cedric Cello | Head Bartender, A’Toda Madre La Importancia “This coming year brings new hope to each and every one. We look forward to a better year taking with us all the lessons and realizations we learned from 2020. It taught us resiliency and innovation – such as utilizing items we would have otherwise just discarded or thrown away. So I made this special holiday cocktail using spirits that are usually leftover from the festivities of the season to show that with a little creativity, we can make something great out of anything. That’s why I named this drink La Importancia.” Cedric Cello Ingredients: 90 ml leftover white wine 30ml tequila reposado 30 ml fresh orange juice 30 ml ginger ale 30 ml blended lychee (100ml water and 10 pcs. lychee) Orange and lime or any leftover fruits Blended dried chili and rock salt (1:3) Angostura bitters (optional) Directions: Rim glass with chili-salt. Pour ingredients into a glass. Add ice and garnish with orange, lime, or any leftover fruits. Snowball Recipe by Sciemon Maquirang | Bartender, The Curator Coffee & Cocktails Snowball “I’m still on Christmas mode at the beginning of the year. They always say that Christmas is only for kids. So I made a drink that brings out the kid in me. Vanilla ice cream and Yakult remind me of my childhood, and I’d like to mix that with my fascination with Amaro. So here’s the Snowball, a creamy low-ABV twist on a classic Boulevardier, and a sweet way to start the year.” Sciemon Maquirang Ingredients: 15 ml Maker's Mark Bourbon 15 ml Campari 3 scoops of vanilla Icecream 1 bottle of Yakult Directions: Use a hand immersion blender or blender to mix the ingredients. Pour the mixture over ice on a rock's glass. And garnish it with cherry or cookie. Pagsibol Recipe by Jairra Poltrias | Pagsibol “As we welcome in 2021, I am inspired to practice sustainability in making drinks. I used ingredients that I already had in the kitchen and from competitions I’ve joined to make this cocktail. The industry had a tough time last year, but we will stand back up and come back stronger. This year is full of hope and new beginnings.” Jairra Poltrias Ingredients: 45 ml gin 20 ml fresh pineapple juice 15 ml cucumber puree 15 ml mint syrup Top with Lemon-Lime Soda (Sprite) *4 pcs Blueberry Black Tea ice with mint leaves Directions: Combine gin, pineapple juice, cucumber puree, and mint syrup in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Place cucumber strips and Blueberry Black Tea ice in the glass. Double strain cocktail into the glass. Top up with Sprite and stir. Garnish with mint leaves. *To Make Blueberry Black Tea Ice With Mint Leaves Steep tea in hot water. Transfer tea to ice tray after it's cooled down and add some mint leaves. Freeze. Santa Ana French 75 and Pomelo Spritz Recipe by Aaron Goodall | Brand Ambassador, Santa Ana Gin Santa Ana French 47 and Pomelo Spritz “2020 was an interesting year to say the least – I started my new role with the Bleeding Heart Rum Co. the weekend before lockdown began. No longer being able to visit friends at their bars or restaurants, it was strange to pivot to the online landscape to connect with others… And in a way it made relationships a little stronger, more direct and one-on-one with Zoom sessions, or with Don Papa’s Taste of Sugarlandia at home experience that we hosted for small groups. I have a heavy heart for the venues that shut because of COVID, but I am optimistic for the day this is over and we can all visit our favorite venues once again and high-five the bartenders and staff. I can’t wait to shake (and share) some Don Papa and Santa Ana cocktails with this great industry once more, and I wish everyone the best for 2021! Aaron Goodall Santa Ana French 75 Originally known as the 75, this Harry McElhone classic first appeared around World War I… the combination of ingredients was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun, giving this cocktail its famed name. The light floral notes of the Santa Ana Gin work in harmony with the sour and sweet of the lemon juice and sugar – elevated further with just a splash of Champagne. A perfect (and ever so slightly decadent) way to ring in the New Year. Ingredients: 45 ml Santa Ana Gin 25 ml lemon juice 20 ml simple syrup Champagne Directions: Pour Santa Ana Gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add ice, and shake hard for 10-15 seconds. Double strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist. Pomelo Spritz Bright and tart, the Pomelo Spritz pays homage to the famed Gin-Pom (one glass gin, one glass pomelo juice) of the Philippines. Lightened with the effervescence of a soda water, and gently sweetened with agave syrup, the Pomelo Spritz truly is a moreish refresher. The balance between the Santa Ana Gin, fresh pomelo juice, agave, and soda water creates a low-ABV cocktail perfect for any time of the day – and a truly Filipino-inspired cocktail to celebrate 2021. Ingredients 30 ml Santa Ana Gin 10 ml agave syrup 45 ml pomelo juice 45 ml soda water Directions: Pour Santa Ana Gin, agave syrup, and pomelo juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and short shake to combine. Strain burgundy glass with ice and top with soda water. Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel.