So you’re ready to try your hand at mixing cocktails. Maybe you’re bored of the simple one-and-ones, disinterested in popping a can or opening a bottle, and you want the thrill of making something with your hands for yourself and your friends. Good! You’ve come to the right place. In this series, I’ll guide you through the very fun, often messy, sometimes confusing, and always delicious journey of making great cocktails at home. In this article, we start with the basics, tools and techniques.
Tools of the Trade
You will need a couple of key tools to make great drinks at home. If you’re ready to go and don’t have them or aren’t ready to invest, that’s okay, I have some hacks for you to help you get started.
Jigger: This is a tiny measuring cup just for cocktails. Jiggers measure in ounces or “oz.” The best jiggers for your money measure 1 oz on one side, 2 oz on the other, and have lines inside to measure smaller amounts. If you don’t have a jigger, you can use measuring spoons. 1 oz of liquid is equal to 2 tablespoons.
Mixing Glass: We will use this for stirred drinks — Manhattans, Negronis, etc. If you don’t want to invest just yet, a standard pint glass works great. If you’re really in a bind, a tall cylindrical to-go container (like what you get soup delivered in) can work too.
Shaker Tins: Shaker tins are for, not surprisingly, shaken drinks. You want to get a solid set, made with all metal; the simpler, the better, as this is a tool, not a decor piece. Avoid the shakers with the built-in strainers on the top. If you don’t have a shaker, you can use a mason jar or a deli container with the lid sealed tight.
Strainers: There are two types of cocktail strainers: Hawthorne and Julep. A Julep strainer is one piece of metal and looks like a big bowled spoon with holes throughout and a short handle. This was originally designed to hold back the ice in a julep cup when sipping before straws were common and is now used for straining stirred cocktails from mixing glasses. A Hawthrone strainer is a flat disk with a handle and has a coil of metal around the edge with holes in the center. This strainer sits at the edge of your mixing tin and allows you to control how much you are letting flow into your glass and at what speed. This is commonly used for shaken drinks.
Cocktail Spoon: A long-handled, small bowled spoon designed for, you guessed it, stirring cocktails. If you don’t have one of these, you can use a chopstick and a dessert spoon to do the two tasks this item accomplishes.
Paring Knife: There always comes a moment in cocktail making when you need a small, sharp knife. I like the ones that are specifically designed for fruit and come with their own covers. They cut through garnishes and peels like butter.
Ice: Ice really makes a cocktail, and it’s worth a little time and planning to have the right options for your drinks. There are a myriad of ice molds available now. At the very least, have a 2x2 block ice mold for drinks served on one big cube.
Bartending Techniques
Okay, now you have all the tools, you have ice, and you are ready to get started. It’s time for the technique. You can make cocktails by building them in the glass, blending them in a blender, stirring, or shaking. The first two are rather straightforward, but much can be taught about stirring and shaking. These two techniques will be imperative to making most of the cocktails in your repertoire — unless you’re doing frozen margs for Taco Tuesday, which I completely support. Stirring and shaking will take some time to master, but practicing is half the fun. Here are the basics for each technique.
Both techniques do two important things to your drink: chill and dilute. Humans like cold things, especially drinks. The colder your drink, the more delicious it will taste. Dilution is also a good thing in cocktails. Water is necessary for opening up the flavors in your cocktail, adding aeration, and giving texture. You don’t want to overwater your drink, but using the right balance is key to a great cocktail experience. When making a cocktail, aim for 30% dilution, meaning that 30% of your drink will be cold water from the ice you’re mixing with.
Give it a Good Stir
Stirring is the preferred technique for drinks that you want to be extra cold and have a silky smooth mouthfeel, minimal aeration (bubbles/froth), and no ice chips. These drinks usually contain only spirits – so no juices or syrups. Examples would be the Martini, Manhattan, and Negroni.
To make a stirred cocktail, build the drink in your mixing glass before adding ice. The second you add ice, your drink will begin to dilute, so don’t build your drink over ice. It’s a classic mistake. Add all ingredients to your mixing glass. Next, fill your mixing glass with ice to the top. You want as much ice as you can fit in the glass so it melts as slowly as possible. Slide your cocktail spoon or chopstick down the inside of the glass between the ice and the inner side of the glass. The spoon should be pressed up against the inside of the glass, and if you let it go, it should be held in place by the ice. If you’re right-handed, move the spoon counterclockwise around the inside of the glass in smooth circles.
Stir for about 20 seconds until you see the ice start to melt, and stirring gets easier. Stop before you add too much water. Strain the drink into your glass of choice and cheers!
Shaken, not Stirred
Shaking adds texture, air, and dilution to cocktails. We use this technique when we want to integrate a lot of disparate ingredients with differing weights, textures, and consistencies into one cohesive drink that is well aerated and a little fluffy. Shaking is ideal for drinks that call for spirits, juices, syrups, fruit, and other mixers because the agitation combines them into something greater than the sum of their parts. Examples would be Margaritas, Daiquiris, Collins, etc.
To make a shaken cocktail, build the drink in your tin first, and then fill that tin completely with ice. Hey! There’s a theme here. You want to get that drink really cold before it gets too watery, so a good amount of ice will help you nail that balance. Add your top tin, flip the set over and tap the small tin into the large tin to “lock” the seal between the two tins. If you don’t do this, you will be covered in cocktail ingredients, so make sure it’s secure. A properly sealed tin set will be held together with a bit of vacuum, and you should be able to toss it around without it splitting open. Hold the set in two hands, one hand on the end of each tin, at shoulder height, perpendicular to the floor.
A common mistake is to shake a drink up and down in front of the midline of your body. In fact, you want to shake a drink back and forth in an oval-shaped movement away from your body at shoulder height. As you move the tins forward and back from your shoulder, imagine making a long skinny oval with the slurry of ice and ingredients inside. Shake hard and fast until you can hear the ice breaking up inside and a layer of frost forms on the outside of the tins, making them almost too cold to touch. Hold the tins so the big one is on the bottom and “pop” the set open with a firm tap to the side with the heel of your hand. It might take some practice, but you’ll quickly learn how to break the seal. Strain your drink into a glass and enjoy!
One Final Note
Is this mixology dogma? No. As with everything, there are always exceptions to the rule. If you love a shaken martini, it’s okay. There need not be shame in your ice chip game if that’s how you like it. If you are getting really nerdy and stirring clarified lime juice in your 3rd wave margarita, go for it. These are just suggestions to set you up for success, but as with everything, you are free to experiment and find your signature style. Have fun mixing!
