Close Menu
Top 10

Top cocktails to celebrate the Rio Olympics

With the Rio Olympics 2016 well under way, what better way is there to toast the talent, dexterity and endurance of the athletes than settling into a bar chair with a cocktail in hand?

London Cocktail Club have crafted a special Caipirinha to honour the event

Home of the Caipirinha, birthplace of cachaça, the vibrant, robust flavours associated with Brazil’s food and drinks scene have inspired many a cocktail list both at home and overseas.

Those who won’t be heading to Rio to immerse themselves in the games this year can still sample a taste of South America thanks to a flurry of fresh cocktails crafted by London’s bartending greats.

From twists on Brazil’s national cocktail to zingy new recipes, these drinks will make you feel as though you’re right amongst the Olympic action.

Even if your team doesn’t win a gold medal, these cocktails surely will. Let the (drinking) games commence!

Click through the following pages to take a look at the best Olympics-inspired cocktails in London. 

Amazon Prime – The Shrub & Shutter, Brixton

Price: £10

Ingredients: 30ml Ocho Reposado Tequila, 10ml San Cosme Mescal, 10ml Umbungo liqueur, 20ml coconut rum, 10ml Green Chartreuse, 15ml tropical shrub*, 10ml lime juice, 15ml kiwi puree, 25ml coconut water

Method: Shake all ingredients and strain into young coconut. Garnish with kiwi crisps, passionfruit, mint and coconut

*Tropical shrub = 800ml stock shrub, sliced pineapple, 3 passionfruits (seeds) 1 orange peel and segments, 25ml passionfruit puree

LCC Caipirinha – London Cocktail Club, various locations

Price: £10

Ingredients: 50ml Fuba Cachaça, 20ml sugar syrup, 6 lime wedges

Method: Muddle, churn and garnish with lime wheels

Rum Forest Rum – Dirty Martini, various locations

Price: £8

Ingredients: 20ml Ciroc Pineapple, 15ml Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, 10ml Bold London Spirit, 10ml Briottet Creme de Banane, 10ml lime juice, 25ml Vitta Coconut Water, 10ml gomme syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters

Method: Add all ingredients to Boston tin. Add cubed ice to tin. Shake and double strain over crushed ice. Garnish with dehydrated pineapple and 2 pineapple leaves, and cap with crushed ice

Olympia – The American Bar at The Savoy, Covent Garden

Price: £20

Ingredients: 45ml Beluga Noble, 25ml lemon, 25ml grapefruit, 15ml greek spirit (1 litre sugar syrup, 15 crushed olives, 3 rosemary sprigs – water bath for 1 hour), dash egg white

Method: Blend and shake. Serve in Highball with cubed ice, garnish with mint, rosemary ring, crushed rose and an edible flower

Just A Little Samba – K Bar at The Kensington, South Kensington

Price: £10

Ingredients: 35ml cachaça,10ml Cointreau, 10ml Frangelico, 20ml cranberry juice, 20ml lime juice

Method: Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. We recommend garnishing your cocktail with an orange and lemon zest

Feisty Rum Punch – The Refinery Bankside, Southbank

Price: £8.95

Ingredients: 45ml Bacardi Carta Fuego, 15ml lemon juice, 5ml sugar syrup (2:1 sugar:water), 2 dashes aromatic bitters, 150ml cranberry juice, 50ml red wine

Method: Build all ingredients but wine in a highball/wine glass and mix well. Fill with cubed ice, then crushed ice. Float with red wine. Garnish with mint sprig and red currants. Include a splash of soda if you want more lightness.

Handy Nightcap – Cocktail Trading Company Brick Lane, Shoreditch

Price: £10

Ingredients: 2 parts Bourbon, 1 part cold drip coffee, 1 part sweet vermouth, 1 dash chartreuse, 1 dash Terry’s Chocolate Orange bitters

Method: Stir all ingredients over good ice and strain into a cold rocks glass with a frozen golf ball as a whiskey stone. Fun fact: so many golf balls end up in natural water sources every year that the EU now requires that they be food-safe. And, given their physical properties, including the increased surface area from dimpling, they make absolutely incredible whiskey stones.

XXXI BATIDA – Jinjuu, Soho

Price: £10

Ingredients: 50ml Abelha Organic Cachaça, 60ml coconut milk, 15ml pistachio syrup, 20ml fresh lime juice, 1 pinch smoked sea salt

Method: Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain into tall glass over crushed ice and garnish with dried lavender flowers and mint sprig

Brazilian Flag Cocktail –  The Nook Sports Bar, West End

Price: £7

Ingredients: 40ml Bacardi White Rum, 20ml Midori Liqueur, 25ml pineapple juice, 15ml lemon juice, 10ml gomme syrup

Method: Shake all ingredients and strain over crushed ice. Float of Blue Curacao. Garnish with a wedge of lemon

Batida –  Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, Queen of Hoxton, The Book Club, Patterns, various locations

Price: £7.80

Ingredients: 50ml cachaça, 25ml pineapple juice, 12.5ml lime juice, 25ml condensed milk, 25ml coconut milk

Method:

Place all these ingredients in a blender and pour over ice. Garnish with a wedge of lime

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No