Come outside for cocktail hour

Brighten your evenings with batch drinks and grown-up cordials to enjoy al fresco

With our newly permitted freedom to host small gatherings in the garden, it’s well and truly time for some drinks – goodness knows, we’re all in need of one. Lighter evenings call for fresh flavours including grapefruit, lemon, tarragon and mint, topped up with something fizzy for a drink that’s both refreshing and delicious. Batch cocktails and punches mean you’re not running back and forth between the kitchen and garden to top up glasses; simply fill up a pitcher and let the good times roll. And when it comes to non-alcoholic, go the extra mile and make your own cordial. If ever there was a time to make an occasion of Friday night drinks, it’s now. Pip Sloan