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this section I’ll show you how to use your home bar to re-create the most popular drinks from the country’s biggest and fastest-growing casual restaurant chains. For years now companies have been bottling mixers to make home bartending a simpler task. But you should know that many of the restaurant chains make their own mixers from scratch at the beginning of each business day. So to create the tastiest cocktails at home, you should take the extra time to make all your mixers—sweet & sour, pina colada mix, and mai tai mix—using the simple recipes in the last section of the book. It’s definitely worth the extra effort, especially if you’re hosting a little bash.

You’ll also need some jiggers if you want to mix good drinks from this book. As with any proper cocktail guide, I’ve listed the ingredients in ounces. A two-sided metal jigger is easy to find at liquor stores and supermarkets, and it’s cheap. First find one with 1 ounce on one side and 1½ ounces on the other side.Then you might also get one with ¾ ounce and 1¼-ounce measurements.

In case you don’t have a jigger and want to get on with the mixing, never fear. I’ve got a chart here that converts ounces so that you can mix your drinks using tablespoons and cups. Also, I’ve conveniently included cup equivalents in the recipes (in parentheses) for all measurements of 2 ounces or more.

½ ounce = 1 tablespoon

¾ ounce = 1½ tablespoons

1 ounce = 2 tablespoons

1¼ ounces = 2½ tablespoons

1½ ounces = 3 tablespoons

2 ounces = ¼ cup

3 ounces = approx.cup

4 ounces = ½ cup

6 ounces = ¾ cup

8 ounces = 1 cup

You’ll notice that brand names for spirits and sodas are specified in many of the recipes. Usually it’s because the restaurant has marketed the drink with those particular ingredients. For an exact clone, you should use the same brands. But, as a general rule, your drinks won’t suffer if you replace the Smirnoff vodka, for example, with whatever vodka you’ve got in the bar. As well, you can use any cola where Coke is specified (such as Pepsi), and any lemon-lime soda where 7UP is listed (such as Sprite), and vice-versa. But try to use Kern’s nectars for recipes that require it, and when you shop for cranberry juice cocktail, always go with Ocean Spray.

APPLEBEE’S BANANABERRY SPLIT

The secret to re-creating many of Applebee’s drinks is to stay away from the bottled cocktail mixers and make your own from scratch.The recipe for the pina colada mix is a simple 2-to-1 ratio of pineapple juice to cream of coconut and can be found on page 230.You’ll be making two drinks here, so have a companion ready.

2 ripe bananas

1 10-ounce box frozen sweetened

sliced strawberries, thawed

3 ounces Captain Morgan spiced

rum

2 cups ice

cup pina colada mix (from

page 230)

GARNISH

2 fresh whole strawberries

whipped cream

1. Cut an end off each banana—set these smaller pieces aside to use as a garnish later—then put the rest of the bananas into a blender.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until the ice is crushed and the drink is smooth.

3. Pour the drinks into two stemmed drink glasses—such as daiquiri glasses—and add a banana piece and fresh strawberry to the rim of each glass. Add a dollop of whipped cream on top of each drink and serve with a straw.

• MAKES 2 DRINKS.

APPLEBEE’S BLUE SKIES

Check this out. The blue curaçao is drizzled over the top of the white frozen pina colada-like drink, then it slides down the inside of the glass with groovy lava lamp flair.

1 cup ice

6 ounces (¾ cup) pina colada

mix (from page 230)

1½ ounces peach schnapps

½ ounce blue curaçao liqueur

GARNISH

1 pineapple slice

1 pineapple leaf

1. Combine one cup of ice with pina colada mix and peach schnapps in a blender. Blend on high speed until ice is crushed and the drink is smooth.

2. Pour the drink into a white wine glass.

3. Invert the bowl of a spoon just over the rim of the drink. Carefully pour ½ ounce of blue curaçao over the back of the spoon so that it rests on top of the drink. The blue stuff will slowly fall down around the edge of