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.

Orange Juice Fresh

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.

Triple Sec

Triple-Sec is an Orange flavoured liqueur from France. It is made by macerating sun dried orange peel in alcohol for a day or more before a three step distillation. Triple Sec has a 15% to 40% ABV.

The Triple Sec name refers to the process of distillation. Sec in French means dry or distilled and triple refers to the triple distillation process.

It's been a popular liqueur for more than 150 years, the Dutch East India Company created orange liqueurs by steeping orange peels in alcohol from the island of Curaçao and called it Curaçao liquor, and unlike Triple Sec, the Dutch added spices and herbs to the orange and Curaçao comes in a variety of colours such as clear, orange or blue. Blue Curaçao being the most used of them, in cocktails. Triple Sec is made from neutral spirits and the Orange peel used is harvested from oranges that have the skin still green, so that the essential oils are still in the skin and has not been absorbed into the flesh. This gives Triple Sec the intense flavour.

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.