Water

Water might seem like one ubiquitous ingredient in any alcoholic beverage, and to have no specific purpose other than dilute the alcohol, to prevent irritation and burn, it has more purpose to its presence than it seems.
Water breaks the alcohol molecules and attaches to them and releases the esters that holds the secret to the aroma into the drink and to the nose. Temperature of water is important and although almost all cocktails are served chilled, be sure to understand the role water plays in a drink. Another factor is the quality of water, if you are serious about your cocktail, be sure to use the best neutral tap water or preferably bottled spring water if possible.

Bourbon Whiskey

American's don't need to be lectured on Bourbon, but still, let's put it in record like all other spirits. A Bourbon in American spirit is a barrel-aged distilled liquor made primarily from corn. The name might have been derived from the French Bourbon dynasty, or from Bourbon County in Kentucky, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both named after the French Dynasty.

Technically, most whiskey made in America are legally classified as Bourbon, although Bourbon is in spirit a Southern Whiskey with special connection to Kentucky. Note than although Tennessee Whiskey is classified as Bourbon, Tennessee distilleries do not prefer their whiskey to be unique and referred to as Tennessee Whiskey only.

Distilling came to Kentucky in the late 18rth Century with the Scots, Scot-Irish and other settlers including English, Welsh, German and French, and they brought with them their distilling techniques and ageing processes in charred oak barrels. The charring is what gives the Bourbon the brownish colour and distinctive taste.

To be a legal Bourbon, a whiskey has to meet the following criteria

Produced in the United States and Territories (Puerto Rico) and the District of Columbia
Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
Aged in new, charred oak containers
Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
Entered into the container for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume)
Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume)

Frozen Lemonade

This sweetened lemon flavoured beverage is an eternal popular throughout the world and there are varieties of homemade lemonades found everywhere. In North Africa and South Asia, cloudy lemonade dominates, be sure if your cocktail requires a clear lemonade or a cloudy one, which is indication of fruit pulp presence in the mix.

Frozen Orange Juice

Orange Juice is an excellent source of Vitamin C, one cup contains twice the daily recommended value. Vitamin C supports the immune system and helps fighting the common cold. The folate in Orange juice supports healthy fetal development. It is low calory and thus is already a qualified alternative to cola fizz in your cocktail if you want to keep your drinks acceptably healthy.

Orange Juice being citrus and naturally sweet and sour, it literally goes with almost any liquor, and of course Vodka being neutral, the best known pairing is with Vodka. But goes well with Dark Rum too, and you get the Planter's Punch, mix it with Champagne and you have made a mimosa, or with tequila to make a tequila sunrise.

Sugar

Brown Sugar is a sucrose sugar with a distinctive brown colour from the presence of molasses, it is a partially refined or unrefined sugar containing sugar crystals and residual molasses giving it a distinctive taste and flavour of crystallised molasses or toffee. The taste of dark brown sugar is described as a caramel taste with a deep molasses flavour.
Brown sugar is used in cocktails where a caramel candy or toffee flavour is expected.

Caster Sugar is finely ground granulated sugar. It is not as fine a powdered confectioners' sugar and has a little grit to it. It is somewhere between confectioners' sugar and granulated sugar, and melts in mouth with a mild spicy feel to the tongue

Vanilla Sugar is the regular granulated sugar infused with vanilla flavour, by using vanilla pods and seeds to flavour the sugar. A home made alternative is to use vanilla sticks or pods in a jar of sugar and leave it sealed for 4 weeks to allow the vanilla flavour to infuse. Or to use granulated sugar and vanilla extract and blend in a mixer, although this ends up in powdered sugar.

Strong Tea

Black tea or red tea is a type of tea that is one of the oxidised roasted ways of consuming tea, it’s the most oxidised of them and is stronger in flavour than Oolong, yellow or white tea and very different from the green tea too. All teas come from the same bush called Camellia Sinensis and differ only in how they are treated.

A strong tea refers to a black tea with a thicker liquor that lacks the flavour of a first flush roasted tea, a strong tea can be brewed from a leafy full leaf pekoe, but brewing a pekoe for too long makes it too bitter, hence a regular CTC tea or strong liquor tea bags are better if a strong tea is required.