Cocktails and Mixed Drinks

Let me first start this post with this; I am not a sophisticated man but in an effort to widen my horizons a little I started trying cocktails a few years back, and I think its fair to say that I enjoy a tasty mixed drink. 

I am beginning to build out a list of recipes that I enjoy, with a view to making them myself occasionally. I do have a sweet tooth so my efforts at making mixed drinks tend to err on the side of sweet, but tart is also good.  Who doesn't enjoy a little tart in their life!

For instance, at brunch with my wife a while back, I had this extremely nice cocktail:

Delicious!

However given the list of ingredients I will not likely make this at home.  So what do I keep in the drinks cabinet and what can be used for cocktails?

The wife and I are mostly beer and cider drinkers and occasional drinkers at that.  We might have 18 cans of various beers and ciders that might last us several months.  Stronger spirits keep even longer in this house, and tend to vary depending on what I have recently purchased.  With that said, this is what I have in stock right now:

    Delord XO Armagnac            Cointreau

    Michter's Bourbon                 Chambord

    Barbancourt White Rum        Schonauer Apfel
    Grey Goose Vodka                 Limoncello

    Ruby Port

    Mead (x2)

    Chardonnay
    Simple Syrup, cranberry juice and orange juice

So what am I going to make today?

My ingredients and work station

I was thinking about trying the Madras today.  A Madras is a vodka cocktail, made up as follows:

1.5 shots vodka

1.5 shots orange juice

2 shots unsweetened cranberry juice

1 teaspoon simple syrup

1 lime wedge

To make the cocktail, pour the vodka, cranberry juice and simple syrup into a glass with ice, stir, and add the orange juice and squeeze the juice from the lime wedge into the mixture.

My first Madras

You will have to excuse the glass, I don't have any cocktail glasses handy, just these gas station glasses.  Also while making the cocktails, my wife was cooking bacon!

BACON!

So the big question now is how did it taste. My wife liked it but for me it was not that great.  I think I would increase the OJ and decrease the cranberry as i think the cranberry taste was too strong.

I might try modifying the mix next weekend just to see if increasing the OJ makes a difference.  Has anyone else tried this?