The big light is off, the disco ball is doing its thing and somebody’s already filled the tomato with ice.
Welcome to cocktail hour, Love Frankie style.
From leopard print martini glasses and gloriously ridiculous fruit-shaped ice buckets to neon bar signs and disco balls, our After Hours Edit has everything you need to turn a forgotten corner of the kitchen into a home bar with very big opinions.
All that’s left is deciding what to pour...
Here at Love Frankie HQ, we never need an excuse for a cheers, so join us as we share our favourite cocktail recipes.
Whose will you choose….
Jo's Spicy Margs
Tanya's Filthy Gin Martini
or Helen’s Twist on the Classic Bloody Mary
But first up, lets talk decor... Because life's too short for sad drinks trolleys.
Whether you've got a fully stocked bar cart, a lonely bottle of gin on the kitchen side or a little corner that's crying out for a glow-up, we've gathered everything you need to turn it into a tiny home bar with very big opinions.
Because cocktail hour should never be boring.
🐆 Leopard Print Martini Glasses
Because even your Espresso Martini deserves a party outfit.
🍅 Apple, Pear & Tomato Ice Buckets
Completely unnecessary. Absolutely magnificent.
🪩 Pink & Gold Disco Balls
Hang one nearby and add the obligatory sparkle. Obviously we're voting for several.
💡 Cocktail inspired Neon Lights
Subtle lighting has officially left the building.
You don't need a dedicated home bar to make cocktail hour feel like an occasion. A bar cart, drinks trolley, kitchen worktop or forgotten corner of the dining room can easily become your own little late-night drinking den.
Start with the essentials: your favourite bottles, some seriously good cocktail glassware, an ice bucket and a chopping or serving board for the all-important garnishes and snacks. Then forget being sensible.
Hang a disco ball where it'll catch the light, add a glowing neon bar sign, bring out the leopard print and give those bottles somewhere fabulous to live.
Whether you're creating a fully stocked home cocktail bar, styling a vintage drinks trolley or simply turning the kitchen into a disco for the night, the best setups aren't the perfectly polished ones.
They're the ones that make you want to turn the music up, mix another round and stay in the kitchen far later than originally intended.
Big light off. Neon on. Welcome to After Hours.
JO'S SPICY MARGARITA 🌶️🍸
Ingredients
- 50ml tequila
- 25ml triple sec or Cointreau
- 25ml fresh lime juice
- 10ml agave syrup
- 3–4 fresh jalapeño slices
- Ice
- Lime wedge to garnish
- Chilli salt or Tajín for the rim, optional but excellent
Method
Run a lime wedge around the edge of your glass and dip into chilli salt or Tajín.
Add the jalapeño slices and agave to a cocktail shaker and give them a gentle muddle.
Glug in the tequila, triple sec and fresh lime juice, then fill the shaker with ice.
Do your best tom cruise Cocktail impression for at least 15 seconds, then strain into your glass over fresh ice.
Tart her up with a slice of jalapeño and a lime wedge.
TIP: The longer you muddle the jalapeño, the feistier it gets. Start cautiously. You can always add more chilli. You cannot un-chilli a margarita. 🌶️😂
TANYA'S FILTHY GIN MARTINI 🫒🍸
Forget dirty.
Tanya wants hers FILTHY.
This is a seriously savoury Gin Martini with an indecent amount of olive brine. Cold, salty, punchy and essentially an extremely sophisticated excuse to drink the contents of the olive jar.
INGREDIENTS
- 60ml gin
- 10ml dry vermouth
- 25ml olive brine
- Plenty of ice
- 3 green olives to garnish
METHOD
Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass generously with ice.
Add the gin, dry vermouth and a whopping splash of olive brine.
Stir until everything is properly ice cold, then strain into a chilled martini glass. (A Leopard print one ideally)
Garnish with three olives.
Taste.
Not filthy enough?
Add another splash of brine. Tanya would.
TIP: Keep your gin, vermouth and olives in the freezer beforehand. A Dirty Martini wants to be absolutely ice cold.
Salty. Boozy. Filthy.
Just how Tanya likes it.
HELEN'S PICKLE JUICE BLOODY MARY 🍅🥒
The morning-after hero.
My twist on the classic Bloody Mary comes with a generous splash of pickle juice straight from the jar. Don't strain out the good bits either. Those little mustard seeds, flecks of dill and all that vinegary deliciousness are exactly what we're here for.
INGREDIENTS
- 50ml vodka
- 150ml tomato juice
- 20ml pickle juice
- 15ml fresh lemon juice
- A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- A load of Tabasco, if in doubt, add more.
- Pinch of celery salt
- Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
- Ice
- Pickle and celery stick to garnish
METHOD
Fill a tall glass generously with ice.
Pour in the vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice and pickle brine, making sure a few of those lovely mustard seeds and bits of dill make it into the glass.
Add Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, celery salt and a good crack of black pepper.
Give everything a proper stir, taste and adjust. More Tabasco? More pickle juice? This is not the time for restraint.
Garnish with a celery stick, pickle and a wedge of lemon.
TIP: Never throw away the juice when you've finished a jar of pickles. It's basically Bloody Mary gold.
Best served cold, spicy and alongside a slightly questionable recollection of the night before.
