Let’s Finally Find Out HOW TO MAKE MIXED DRINKS

A cocktail is an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink consisting of two or more ingredients. However, this does not mean that you can pour all the ingredients into a glass in random order and get an exquisite drink. The fact is that liqueurs, juices, strong alcohol, and other liquids have different densities, tastes, and other characteristics.

Technically, the preparation of a cocktail does not seem difficult. Just think — take a glass and pour a couple of ingredients into it. It seems that everyone can cope with the task. But a good cocktail is a good balance between light and rich, strong and weak, sour and sweet.

The art of mixology in all its glory! A real professional does not just combine and mix alcohol but creates a mini-masterpiece. And he certainly knows the ways of making cocktails. Let’s see what these methods are and how they differ from each other.

MAKING MIXED DRINKS

There are drinks that are easy to make and seriously easy cocktails. So, you can learn to how make mixed drinks just in a week. But there is one thing that people often forget – not to keep it very simple!

The main high-grade components of cocktails are vodka, gin, rum. Citrus fruits are responsible for the sour taste. Sugar and syrups bring sweetness.

I can divide the components of cocktails into three categories:

• Base – alcohol like vodka, whiskey, rum, brandy.
• A modifier is a drink that dilutes the base and reduces the strength of composition, bringing the desired taste and aroma.
• Flavoring agent. An ingredient that adds additional notes to the bouquet or changes the color of the cocktail – for example, bitter and grenadine syrup.

METHODS OF MIXING INGREDIENTS

Build Technique

This is a simplest method – a cocktail is mixed directly in a glass. The ingredients can be poured simultaneously or in turn, depending on the recipe. There are two types of “Build”:

• pour ingredients in turn and follow the sequence by the recipe. The most famous examples are “Bloody Mary” and “Screwdriver”. Most often, barmen mix such cocktails in highball-type glasses and serve with a swizzle stick.
• This is how the famous layered cocktails are obtained, first of all, of course, shots. carefully stack the ingredients in layers, from the densest to the lightest. The base layer is forming by liqueurs, with strong alcohol or juices. There are exceptions: for example, Sambuca is pouring into the Hiroshima cocktail, and only then Baileys-so Irish Cream seeps through the transparent alcohol in thin streams and creates a miniature illusion of a nuclear mushroom. Other classic representatives of the style are the B-52 and “Green Mexican”.

Stir Technique

The components are pouring into a mixing glass filled with ice according to the principle of increasing degrees. Everything is carefully mixing with a bar spoon and pouring into a glass for serving through a strainer. The result is a chilled cocktail without adding ice cubes to it (the disadvantage of ice is that it melts, changing the taste and lowering the strength of the drink). An example of a cocktail prepared using this method is a “Dry Martini”.

The mixing time of the cocktail depends on many factors — the initial temperature of the components, the size of the ice cubes, the size of the mixing cup. Many bartenders use this rule of thumb — to make 30 full turns with a spoon around the circumference of the glass.

Shake Technique

This method of making cocktails is necessary for mixing components of different densities. First, fill the shaker with ice for¾, then add the cocktail ingredients and shake it. Finally, the finished drink is poured into a glass, simultaneously filtering from the ice particles and fruit pulp using a strainer. This is how barmen prepare many famous cocktails: “Whiskey Sour”, “Cosmopolitan”, “Margarita” and “Tom Collins”.

The Shake method has different varieties:

1. Long shake (long shake). This is a long-term mixing of drinks. The technique is actively using when there are pieces of fruit and even whole berries, spices, and herbs in the recipe. The drink will have an excellent taste only if you “shake” the shaker for a long time.
2. Dry shake (dry shake). The technology allows you to prepare a thick cocktail with a homogeneous, delicate texture. In this case, do not use ice. This technique is extremely useful with eggs, milk, or cream in the composition of the drink. Many professionals additionally lower a spring from a Hawthorne strainer into the shaker, which acts as a whisk during the mixing process.
3. Handshake (hard shake). In this case, the cocktail is whipping in the shaker for the prescribed time, but the movements of the bartender are much more intense. Barmens uses this method, throwing ice into the shaker, because its temperature is too low for the drink.

Blend Technique

Usually, to prepare fruit smoothies or baby food in this way, but it is worth adding a little alcohol to the ice chips with fruit puree, and a refreshing cocktail. First, grind the solid or viscous ingredients (fruits, vegetables, ice cubes, frozen berries, ice cream) of the drink to the shaker, then add juices, syrups, and alcohol to them in any sequence. The blend is suitable for cocktails “Pina Colada”, “Strawberry Daiquiri”, “Banana Margarita”, and “Bahama Mama”.

Throwing or Frawling Technique

It is a special technique for combining ingredients, which involves pouring a drink from a container to a container. There will be ice in one glass, but not in the other. Maybe from the outside, it looks like a spectacular trick, but in fact, this method of preparing drinks has a practical component. Thus, the cocktail is saturated with oxygen, which makes it tastier. According to professionals, the Throwing technique allows you to get a balanced texture of the drink.

The Throwing technique has a special kind — Rolling. This method differs from Froling. The bartender does not use ice when pouring a drink from a container to a container. The technique is useful in cases when you do not need to cool the cocktail additionally.

There is another difference — a shorter distance between the glasses during transfusion. Using this technique, you can get a drink with a more pronounced alcoholic taste and less enriched with oxygen. The Rolling technique is good for preparing Miss Roza Fizz and the Invisible Miriam.

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES OF HOW TO MAKE MIXED DRINKS

The following actions are not independent ways of mixing cocktails, and it’s impossible to do them without a touch of what follows.

• Muddling (muddling, from the English muddle – “to push”). You should mix mint leaves in a cocktail with pieces of fruits and vegetables in a glass with a special spoon-pestle. It is used in such cocktails as” Mojito” and “Caipirinha”.
• Flaming (Fleming, English. “arson”). This method is the highest skill of the bartender. An alcoholic drink is set on fire. It makes an impression, enhances the taste or brings background aromas to the fore. Most often, shots are set on fire, while the strength of the upper layer must be at least 40%, otherwise, it will not light up. You can not add alcohol-containing drinks to a burning cocktail, you also need to put it out before drinking. Key representatives of this style: “Pumpkin pie” sambuca with coffee beans and “reversed thrust”.

SPARKLING PINK PUNCH RECIPE

You will need any sparkling rose wine – it is necessary for the color. Of course, the use of any other wine is not prohibited, as long as it is sparkling.

Ingredients:

• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 7 liters of Aperol wine
• 7 l of dry vermouth
• 4 cups fresh grapefruit juice
• 7 liters of dry sparkling rose wine
• 2 cups of soda (Schweppes)

Cooking instructions:

1. Mix the Aperol, thyme sprigs, vermouth, and juice in one bowl. Let it cool in the refrigerator for 2 to 6 hours.
2. Add ice cubes and a little wine or sod 30 minutes before serving.

TROPICAL PUNCH COCKTAIL RECIPE

Tropical punch cocktail This cocktail is suitable for a huge crowd of guests at your party. The punch can be served both in one large bowl or punch bowl and in portions in glasses.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of honey
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup white rum
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup of cold water
• 1 cup of soda Schweppes
• 10 glasses of ginger ale Lemon
• slices and fresh mint sprigs for decoration

Cooking instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, mix honey and water.
2. Cook over low heat until the honey dissolves. Let the mixture cool down.
3. take a container or a bowl with a capacity of at least 9 liters.
4. Mix honey water with rum, lemon juice, and water.
5. cover all this with a lid and put it in the refrigerator.
6. Pour the cold cocktail into a punch bowl or into serving glasses, mix it all in half, adding ginger ale and soda.
7. Add ice, a sprig of mint, and lemon slices. The drink for the summer party is ready!

FRENCH PUNCH “75” RECIPE

The classic French cocktail is very popular. It is often consumed at holidays and other celebrations. As a rule, the main ingredient of such a cocktail is cognac, but you can also add gin or other strong drinks. Serve this drink in a punch bowl.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of dry gin (cognac)
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¾ cup of any syrup
• ½ tsp of bitter orange essence
• 4 cups of sparkling dry wine or champagne
• a few large pieces of ice
• 8 round orange slices

Preparation instructions:

The drink is ready!

CLASSIC RED PUNCH RECIPE

People always highly honor traditions at any time . Classic wine punch can decorate any celebration or party. The recipe includes a combination of seasonal fruits (for example, seedless grapes, apple slices, pears, etc., as well as fruits such as kiwi, peaches, and strawberries).

Ingredients:

• 2 thinly sliced oranges
• 1 thinly sliced lemon
• 1 thinly sliced lime
• 500-700 g of fresh fruit
• 5 liters of dry red wine Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 cup of orange liqueur
• ½ cup brandy
• 2 bunches of lemon verbena
• fresh soft fruits, peeled and sliced
• soda, champagne, or sparkling wine

Preparation instructions:

1. Mix the citrus slices with other fruits in a large container.
2. add wine and liqueur, citrus juices, and vervain. You can also add a little cognac.
3. Cover tightly with a lid and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
4. When everything is ready, put some fruit on the bottom and fill it all with our punch, leaving a little space for soda.

PUNCH COCKTAIL WITH CHAMPAGNE AND POMEGRANATE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup sugar
• 7 liters of chilled champagne
• ½ cup white rum
• ¼ cup of pomegranate juice
• a few pomegranate seeds
• fresh mint leaves
• ice

Preparation instructions:

1. Take half a glass of water for one glass of sugar, put in a saucepan.
2. Boil for about 5 minutes until you get the syrup. Let the syrup cool down.
3. Combine champagne, rum, pomegranate juice in a punch bowl.
4. Add the syrup (to taste).
5. Mix the pieces of citrus fruits, pomegranate seeds, mint leaves, knead a little and throw it into the punch.
6. Add ice before serving.

PINK PUNCH WITH CHAMPAGNE RECIPE

It is a delicious, light cocktail that will be appropriate at various events. If you prefer a non-sugary sweet cocktail, use freshly squeezed pomegranate juice instead of packaged or bottled juice.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup of water
• ¼ cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup of chilled pomegranate juice
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 7 liters of chilled sparkling rose wine or champagne
• lemon slices for decoration

Cooking instructions:

1. Mix the sugar, water, and lemon zest and put it on a small fire in a saucepan bowl, make the syrup (5 minutes with constant mixing).
2. Let cool and pour into a large bowl or container.
3. Add lemon and pomegranate juice, put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
4. Just before serving, mix the pomegranate syrup with 2 glasses of wine or champagne.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The preparation of mixed drinks (cocktails) is a whole science. You need to properly observe the proportions, know the compositions of drinks and mixing methods. You can combine each alcoholic drink with certain fruits and juices. To master this skill perfectly, you need to know the nature of drinks well.