Recently, I had the pleasure of sharing my love for the craft of cocktailing with some wonderful people in my neighborhood. I had donating a night of Learning Cocktailing at a charity auction. The people who purchased it were generous, gracious, and lovely. We had a wonderful time together!
Here’s what I made and covered during the night. I wrote this as reference for the guests to be able to repeat what we made.
Principles and guidelines to good cocktails
- Add a subthreshold pinch of salt. The drink won’t taste salty, but the flavors will pop, especially if there’s citrus or chocolate in the drink.
- Build from cheapest to most expensive ingredients. That way, if you make a mistake, you can throw it out with minimal waste.
- Higher proof spirits make for better stirred and built drinks.
- Great ice is key and worth it!
- Aromatics and garnish make the drink. Make it lovely to as many senses as possible.
There are 3 main types of drinks, and we made one of each: built, stirred, and shaken.
- Built — Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail — these are built in a glass over a large ice cube. Most common is an old fashioned whiskey cocktail. Built drinks are spirit forward and designed to be good over a broad range of dilutions from none to quite diluted. While these are stirred, it’s only to mix the ingredients, and typically just about 8 stirs.
- Stirred — Black Manhattan — These are stirred until chilled and then served up (without ice). These are more diluted than an initial built drink but less diluted than a shaken drink. These are stirred until completely chilled, typically 30 stirs in a metal cup or more in a mixing glass (which needs more stirring due to a higher thermal mass).
- Shaken — Aviation — Shaken drinks are commonly made with a citrus base — like lemon juice or lime juice — all the ingredients are added into a shaker, then filled with ice, then shaken vigorously until the tins frost over — typically 8–10 seconds of shaking. This is the most diluted way to make drinks. Shaken drinks are designed to be enjoyed quickly as they’re often sweet in a way that becomes cloying as the drink warms.
Old Fashioned — The world’s original cocktail, and my personal favorite
2 oz rye or bourbon
1/4 oz rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water by mass or use 1/2 oz at 1:1 simple syrup)
2 dashes of angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Pinch of salt
Make it your own: other bitters or sweetener are common tweaks to this recipe
Recommended bourbon: Evan Williams Black Label or Elijah Craig Small Batch
Recommended rye: Rittenhouse
Garnishes:
Cherry (I like Luxardo brand)
Orange peel (oils expressed and then dropped in)
Glass: Old-fashioned or double old-fashioned glass
Directions: Put all of the ingredients in the glass, add the ice cube, stir 8 times. Express orange zest’s oils over the top. Swirl edge of glass with orange zest for aromatics. Drop zest into the glass. Add a cherry, and serve.
Black Manhattan
My favorite take on a manhattan, replaces the vermouth with amaro.
2 oz rye (preferably rittenhouse)
1 oz Averna
1 dash angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Pinch of salt
Garnishes: orange peel, sliced with a paring knife or y peeler, and cherry
Glass: coupe or martini
Directions: Put all of the ingredients into a mixing tin or glass. (I prefer metal since it has a lower thermal mass than glass). Stir roughly 30 times, until very cold. Strain into the coupe glass. Add the orange peel. Rub the cherry around the rim for aromatics, then release into the glass.
Aviation
My wife and sister’s favorite drink is a classy take on a gin sour.
2 oz gin (Plymouth is traditional)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
Fat 1/4 oz Crème de Violette
Optional: can add 1/4 oz simple syrup if you want it sweeter.
Garnishes: Thin strip of lemon zest, spiralized and a cherry. (We learned together that the double garnish is quite nice!)
Glass: Coupe
Directions: Put all of the ingredients in a shaker. Fill with ice. Close the tins and shake vigorously until tins frost — about 10 seconds. Strain into coupe glass. Garnish and serve.
Books
If you want to learn more, here are some books I recommend.
Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail
David Arnold
Best on the science and techniques of cocktail making. Lots of great recipes, too.
Jamie Boudreau, James O. Fraioli
Great cocktail recipes from the Seattle bar
Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki
Martin and Rebecca Cate
Best tiki cocktails book from the SF tiki haven.
Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails
David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day
Great recipes book from the New York bar of the same name.
Happy cocktailing!
Ed
