Cocktail Tips For All

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by Michael Russell

Summer is a magic season: fresh fruits, warm days, spectacular sunsets, hot seashores and cold tasty drinks are the many invitations to have a good time.  Bars have more clients than in the other seasons; open-air parties welcome their guests with cold drinks and chilling music.  The only problem is: not everyone has the time to enjoy all these wonders.  But to get a taste of summer in a glass is not impossible and you don't need to be a skilled bartender to master a Mojito or a Long Island Iced Tea! 

There are so many cocktail recipes published online, but somehow the publishers fail to tell you what is that special something that makes a cocktail taste heavenly.  They give the recipe, but not the mixing instructions.  Well, we are here to change that! 

There are several mixing techniques, each providing for a different, unique taste.  Bartenders call them, depending on the method of mixing or pouring a drink: building, shaking, stirring, muddling, blending and layering.  While shaking and blending are quite clear, the rest of the mixing techniques sound pretty strange for a novice.  

Building means to fill a glass with ice, poor the drink and give it a quick stir before serving.  Stirring is usually used for Martinis and other similar cocktails to prevent a diluting of the alcohol with broken down ice.  Muddling involves a pestle to crush fruits or spices for the optimal flavor.  Finally, layering is a method that allows you to create "rainbow" drinks by floating one liquid on top of another without mixing them. 

If you were wondering why bartenders use garnishes for your cocktails, or even if you were not wondering but believed garnishes are used for aesthetic purposes, here is a newsflash for you: they are used to flavor the drink.  Take the tasty Margaritas delicately rimmed with salt or Mojitos for example: the mint leaves look great and give the drink that special taste you long for on a hot summer day.  Mmmmm….. refreshing! 

To ensure consistency of the cocktail you want to prepare, always use a measure for all the components.  To get the perfect summer taste, use fresh juices and fruits for the cocktails where you need such ingredients and never spare on quality.  Beware of counterfeit drinks!  Cheap alcohol can seriously affect your health. 

Ice is a very important ingredient for a cocktail - and we don't mean ice cream!  You need plenty of ice and never be afraid to fill your glass with ice believing that you'll get less alcohol or that the ice will dilute your cocktail.  Ice will not melt so fast as you believe and it has the advantage of keeping your drink cold for a longer time. 

If you are a Martini drinker you know that the Martini glass should be cold.  If you prefer cognac, you'll definitely need a warm glass.  Usually cocktails are served cold, or chilled.  So keep your glasses in a freezer for best results.   

And finally, if you really want to amaze your guests with a cocktail on a sugar syrup base, don't buy the sugar syrup from your local department store.  Why should you do such a thing when there's nothing easier than making your own?  Just mix 1 kilo of sugar with 1 liter of water and boil it till the sugar melts.  Don't forget stirring!  Add a touch of vanilla essence (not too much though), chill and serve. 

 

 

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