Gin

Gin is a distilled alcoholic beverage that has it's origin in medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The historical Gin producing regions are Southern France, Flanders and Netherlands. Gin was originally created to provide aqua vitae from grape and grain distillates.

During the Middle ages, the newly found substance Ethanol was considered by Alchemists to be the water of life, and an aqueous solution of ethanol was in use all over Europe and had different names and is literally the origin of many spirits like Whisky ( from the Gaelic uisce beatha for water of life ). Today Gin is produces from a wide range of ingredients, which gave rise to numerous distinct styles and brands. The predominant flavour of Gin is from the Juniper berries and then each different distillery flavours it further with an assortment of botanicas or herbs, spices, floral and fruit flavours, in different combinations. Gin is commonly drank mixed with Tonic water but it is also often used as a base spirit for many gin based flavoured liqueurs like Sloe Gin.

Club Soda

Soda refers to carbonated water, sweetened, flavoured or plain, but there is a difference between Soda and plain Carbonated Water or Sparkling Water, which is known as Seltzer Water, while Seltzer Water is plain water carbonated to add fizz, Soda water contains potassium bicarbonate and potassium sulphate in the water, and according to research Seltzer Water is safer for teeth health and sparkling water provides true hydration and is better at it than regular soda or diet soda.

Anisette

Anisette is as the name suggests, an anise flavoured liqueur most commonly consumed in the Mediterranean countries. It is a colourless, sweet liqueur and the sweetness comes from the added sugar, which is in contrast with dry anise flavoured spirits like Absinthe.

Anisette have two distinct production variations, one is a distilled drink, created by distilling fermented anise, and the other is a simple maceration of anise filtered to Anisette.

Note that often Pastis liqueur is confused with Anisette but Pastis is different and it uses Licorice and Anise.

Note: To substitute Anisette in a cocktail, if absolutely necessary, either steep Anise Extract and Anise Oil ( preferably Green Anise, since Anisette is created with Mediterranean Green Anise ) in neutral Vodka for a few days and add sugar syrup to finish, and use, or use Anise Seed and follow Home Recipes for Anisette to create your own.

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.

Lime Juice

Lime Juice being rich in Vitamin C is an excellent remedy for sore throat and aids in digestion and controls blood sugar, and also promoted weight loss. It is used for various culinary and non-culinary purposes all over the world. Lime juice is known to reduce or even reverse the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and intoxication.
The difference between Lime Juice and Lemon Juice is that although the sweet and sour Lemon and the bitter and sour Lime are two different fruits, they have similar properties and tastes similar too, the Lime, unlike the sweet and large Lemon, is used raw and is usually plucked green and has more bitterness and sourness in it's taste, and is grown better in tropical and sub-tropical climates.
In drink mixing, fresh lemon juice brings a tangy zing to so many classic drinks and in fact, it's the most used ingredient in drink mixing other than the liquors of course.

Ginger Ale

Ginger Ale is a non-alcoholic carbonated soft drink with a distinct ginger flavour. it is drank on its own and as a mixer. There are two types of Ginger Ale, the classic Golden developed by Irish Doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell, and the dry pale style with milder flavours. by John McLaughlin of Canada.

Traditional Ginger Ale is fermented using ginger, yeast (or ginger bug), water, sugar and other flavourings. Sugar is added to speed up fermentation since Ginger's sugar content is lower than needed for fermentation. In classic Ginger Ale the carbonation is not artificial but comes from the fermentation of sugar by yeast into ethanol and carbon dioxide.