Happy winter solstice, cats and kittens! Today is not only the shortest day of the year, but the official beginning of winter. But perhaps you're missing the brightness of summer. There's a cocktail for that.

Wine spritzers have a hokey reputation but, like most things dismissed as “girly”, they’re damn delicious. They’re also a great, low-ish proof beverage for when you want to sip on something without ruining yourself for the next day.

I drink most of my martinis sitting in dark bars, trying to avoid small talk centred around my tattoos. Even so, there's no reason why you can't enjoy this drink in the comfort of your own home.

I am a lazy person, which means I need a steady stream of easy-to-make, but not too boozy cocktails to keep me calm. Gin and tonic works for a bit, but guzzling gin, no matter how diluted, can get one into trouble.

If you took part in the recent discourse — or shall we say “spritzcourse” — surrounding a certain beverage, you now know that some people do not enjoy the Aperol spritz, and feel it “drinks like a Capri Sun after soccer practice on a hot day”, but “not in a good way”.

Some pretty decent recipes can be found on the backs of boxes, bottles, cans and other packaging, and the piña colada recipe that’s printed on cans La Preferida cream of coconut is a good example of the genre.

I am not against simply sipping on an amaro or five, as they are usually so full of flavour that they don’t need much. I also enjoy them with a little carbonated water. But my amaro-focused worldview sometimes makes me forget that these sweet and herbal little numbers go great in full-fledged cocktails, particularly those made with darker spirits.

“Something and Coke” barely qualify as cocktails. But you can’t deny that they are delicious, particularly when you pair cola with a complex, herbaceous liqueur such as my good friend Cynar.

Happy weekend, everyone, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. This week we’re getting sauced with one of my favourite autumnal flavours — cranberry.

Though I’ve always claimed to hate the heat and love the cold, living somewhere with a barely-real winter and only the tiniest bit of snow has taught me that I just don’t like environmental extremes of any kind.

Though I love introducing you all to new and exciting bottles, my bar cart is rapidly filling up, so I’ve been trying to find new and exciting ways to use up the alcohol I already have. My process for doing so is pretty advanced: I google random combinations of the ethanol I own until I find something that sounds good.

Happy weekend, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. This week we are shedding our summer skins and easing into cooler weather with extremely ripe figs and spicy ginger.

This week, while rearranging my bar cart, I rediscovered a bottle of cachaça, which I had only ever used to make the iconic caipirinha. It’s a great drink, but I hate monotony, even in my cocktails, which led to me searching the internet for other, non-caipirinha uses for the Brazilian sugar cane spirit.

The grocery store is an inspiring place, particularly the produce aisle. No matter what I have on my list, I make sure to take a few minutes to leisurely browse the fruits, vegetables and fungi, just to see if anyone pops out to say “hello”.

This week, I stumbled upon a large, sunny, yellow boi, simply named “cocktail citrus”. My mission was clear.

Happy first weekend of February, and — if you participated — congratulations on making it through dry January. Let's celebrate with a nice drink.

Jam is a constant on most breakfast tables, but one usually finds it on toast, not in cocktails. Beyond boosting your bread and butter, really good fruit preserves can sweeten and mellow almost any cocktail, giving it a friendly, welcoming vibe that’s perfect for AM imbibing.

Happy weekend, everyone, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. This week we’re making a basic buck with a good amount of very strong bourbon.

Congratulations to everyone who made it to the end of 2018, I dare say you deserve a drink (or seven). If you'res till looking for a way to toast the beginning of 2019, gaze upon the many good three-ingredient cocktails we made and enjoyed last year. There are a lot to choose from.

Happy weekend, everyone, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. Claire is busily filming exciting Thanksgiving video content, so this week is a guest post — written by me, A.A. Newton — dedicated to a true classic: the Negroni.