Cocktails are refreshing and delightful. They are meant to be the best conversation starters. Either you order it at a bar or design your cocktail at home, and it is essential to get the correct mix. A cocktail that doesn’t have the best combination often leaves a bad taste in the mouth. You and your guests wouldn’t love that for sure.
Have you just started designing your cocktail and want it to taste like pro drinks? For that, you need to know about the experts, their vision and their best practices right at the start. You can read about the distilleries in your region for having a better idea. If you are in the Denver region, you can try and learn more about the Denver co distillery.
There can be many reasons that stop you from designing and making the best cocktail drink! And if you look closely, at times, you will see that it is the small things that hold you back. The difference between a classic cocktail and mediocre cocktail drink is in the detailing. For starters, look close at the best bartenders around the globe. Each of them follows a set of steps and tips to curate the best drink that invariably makes the audience respond with a “Wow.”
With a little hand-holding and smart guidance you too can get there! If you want to, you can follow the five steps shared below that will help you improve the quality of your cocktail drink.
1. Make sure to update the liquor cabinet
Have you visited a liquor store? If yes, you will find that the distilled spirits are kept both at the bottom and top shelf. There’s a functional difference in both. It’s the ingredients that get reflected in the drink quality. Since liquor is the most potent ingredient that gets used in a cocktail; you need to spend a few extra bucks to stick to sound quality. Going by this logic, a Martini that has a 5-dollar gin as its ingredient will not impress you. But when you choose a 4-40-dollar gin bottle for the same, the cocktail would be worth remembering,
However, it surely doesn’t indicate that you have to shell out excess cash on a liquor store. You can choose the mid-range brands too that are available at an affordable rate. And these mid-range brands are apt for daily mixing. If you browse through the market, you will get decent gin bottle options for $20 as well. When you start with this necessary upgrade, the quality of your cocktails too will increase.
2. Always select fresh ingredients
Most people today choose bottled or canned ingredients for cocktails. But it is still better if you use fresh ingredients. Sometimes, canned and bottled mixers can contain harmful additives. And this can ruin your drink’s freshness. It is mostly for the fruit juices. But you can also use this tip for mixers, for instance, soda siphon instead of purchasing soda water in a bottle. If you can skip getting club soda as well! You always have the choice to create your sour mix, grenadine, and syrups. And when it comes to fruits, the solution is in squeezing lemons, oranges, and limes using your hand. To make it easy, you can also use an electric juicer or hand juicer. The same applies when you want to use pear, cranberry, fresh apple or any other fresh fruit juice.
3. Match glass temperature and the drink
There are subtle tips that people overlook when making a cocktail. It is one such tip that will help your drink to gain that special “Wow” from your audience. And to many, this step might appear to be simple, but it is an essential guideline that experts follow. It adds a massive difference to the drink.
While serving cold drinks, simply chill the glass for a while. It will help to keep your drink colder for a long time. The drinking experience too will enhance right from start to finish. You can just place your glass in the freezer and wait for a while. Also, pouring ice or cold water in the glass when you are shaking adds to the drink quality. You can do the same for warm drinks. Are you planning to make Hot Toddy? If yes, then warm your glass before. You can do this by pouring warm water in the glass as you make the ingredients ready. When a warm drink becomes cold and cold drink becomes warm at the bottom, that’s when a drink is totally ruined.
4. Make use of garnishes when you think it is apt
Most people believe that all cocktails need garnishing. That’s not true! There are a few that needs a dash of orange, lime or lemon for garnishing. These drinks depend on this for balance or an extra flavor. Sometimes, it’s the garnish that completes the drink and its presentation. Take for example, Gin and Tonic. Here the garnishing lime is essential, as it provides the subtle citrus element in it.
Similarly, olives are a must in Martini to give it the essential brine flavor. Sometimes, the lack of a garnish doesn’t ruin a drink. But a cocktail enthusiast would always want to have a complete experience. Hence, it’s essential that you don’t miss out on this one.
5. Measure it all
Measuring the ingredients for a cocktail is essential. It’s the perfect measure that provides the drink its consistency and taste. Sometimes, few overlooks or skip this step, as they find it very time-consuming. Sometimes, people are not aware of its significance. It’s true that several bartenders are working to incorporate every order on the table. But missing out on the measure is a mistake. Measuring the ingredients assures that you are designing the cocktail as it is supposed to be. Just an excess or absence of a single element might disturb the balance. And that, in turn, will impact the taste and the entire drinking experience.
Every cocktail lover would want to enjoy his/her drink! Hence, if you are planning to design a cocktail drink at home, you need to be careful so that the drink’s essence is not disturbed. These above mentioned five steps could help you create and enhance cocktail drinks at home.
