Cocktails That Are Good For Health

Two glasses of champers a day keeps heart disease at bay, says Reading University. Here are six cocktails to help you toast to that.

Slimmer's Choice

5ml orange juice

20ml cold Earl Grey tea

A twist of orange peel

Pour the tea and fresh oirange juice into a flute, then top up with Champagne. Garnish with orange peel. This floaty cocktail shimmies in at under 100 calories – that’s a whopping 50% less than a G&T (which means you can have twice as many drinks...)

The flu-fighter

15ml mandarin vodka

Half a mandarin

A mandarin wedge

1 tsp vanilla sugar

4 mint leaves

Muddle the mandarin, vodka, vanilla sugar and mint. Shake and strain into a flute and top up with Champagne. Use the wedge to garnish. The mandarin juice contains one fifth of your vit C RDA (a crucial immune booster in flu season), while mint reduces party-pooping headaches.

The ladykiller

15ml raspberry vodka

4 fresh raspberries

5ml gomme (sugar syrup)

10ml melted dark chocolate

Crush 3 raspberries in a shaker, add the vodka, gomme and chocolate. Shake, pour into a flute. Top with Champagne and garnish with the last raspberry. Chocolate triggers the release of ‘feel-good’ chemicals. Sugar syrup gives an instant energy kick. A potent mix.

Hangover Swerver

5ml Campari

2 black cherries

5ml Punt e Mes

5ml amaretto

2 drops Angostura Bitters

Pour the Amaretto, Campari, Punt e Mes and Angostura into a flute. Top with Champagne. Sink the black cherries in to garnish, The bitters and herb-based Campari and Punt e Mes work together to settle your stomach, while the cherry is packed with polyphenols.

The unwinder

15ml limoncello

1cm thick slice cucumber

5ml vanilla syrup

10ml lemon juice

A twist of lemon peel

Crush the cucumber in a shaker, add the limoncello, lemon juice and syrup. Shake and strain into a flute and top with Champagne. Garnish with lemon. Potassium-rich cucumber will reduce your blood pressure. Lemon is a natural stress alleviator. Perfect for chilling out.

Budget Saver

10ml peach liqueur

4 strawberries

5ml gomme (sugar syrup)

10ml peach purée

Mash up 3 strawberries then add the purée, liqueur and gomme. Shake and top with Champagne. Garnish with a strawberry. The sweetness will soften the acidity of even the cheapest Champagne, plus strawberries give you a bonus 50% of your vitamin C RDA.