4. cocktail hour - good ideas

* glass rims

Rub lime or lemon along the rim of a cocktail flass and upend into a saucer filled with spiced salt or sugar. Shake the glass free of any excess seasoning and prepare to make your cocktail.

* fruit garnishes

For some people it just isn't a real cocktail unless there's half a fruit bowl spiralling off the rim. However, if you want to make a statement, simply break with tradition and garnish your martini with a caperberry or a twist of tangelo.

* flavoured ices

Fill ice-cube trays with fresh fruit juice to add to your favourite drink, or suspend a favourite garnish in ice. Serve in individual drinks, or fill a jug and top with a cocktail blend or fresh juice.

* drunken fruits

Marinate cherries, berries, tiny peeled pears or stone fruit for several hours in your liqueur of choice and serve as a cocktail garnish.

* garnish

Garnishes can be as simple as the perfectly placed olive or as garnish as your sense of kitsch allows. Start collecting swizzle sticks, paper parasols and wacky coasters.

* flavoured syrups

Any spirit or syrup can be flavoured with a variety of fruits and spices, from chilli through to cherry. Place your chosen flavouring into your favourite spirit and allow to infuse for a month.

* citrus stirrers

Garnish citrus-based drinks with long spirals of sugared zest. Make candied zest and wrap the long spirals around chopsticks before dredging in caster (superfine) sugar. Allow to dry overnight on a bed of sugar.