Are you starting to get bummed because of cabin fever? Do you miss hanging out with friends while sipping your favourite cocktails at your local bar? Staying home does not mean stopping the fun. Grab this chance to gain basic bartending knowledge. You'll be having so much fun learning everything about (and drinking) delicious cocktail mixes; you'll be surprised you've become a pro. Check out this comprehensive guide on how to improve your bartending skills at home. Let's dig right in!
Tip 1: The Secret Is Sugar
Sugar makes everything taste better in a snap. Alcoholic mixes are no exception. Whether you're using gin, vodka, or whiskey as your base, simple syrup is an indispensable ingredient in countless cocktail recipes. Here are some examples.
- Appletini
- Vodka Sour
- Vodka Fizz
- Caipiroska
- Lemon Drop
- Vodka Mojito
- Russian Recycled
- Shirley Temple
- Daiquiri
- Heat equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan set under low fire.
- Stir slowly to dissolve sugar completely.
- Turn off the stove immediately. Don't let it come to a boil, or it will burn and become bitter.
- Let the simple sugar cool. Transfer to glass jars with lid for storage. Kept in the refrigerator, it can last up to two weeks.
For richer consistency, you can have a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water. Avoid making your simple sugar too thick, or it won't mix well with your other ingredients. If you don't have the time (or the patience) to make simple sugar from scratch, you can also use maple syrup or honey to sweeten your cocktail recipes.
Tip 2: You'll Never Go Wrong with Citrus
Whether you have a lemon, lime, blood oranges, grapefruit, orange, clementine, or a kumquat, you're good to go! Citrus fruits and cocktail recipes are made for each other. If you have a Spirit of York Vodka or Gin on hand and have whatever type of citrus fruit in the kitchen, go ahead and make yourself an enticingly intoxicating cocktail drink, you can slowly sip to take the edge off. To give you some ideas, here are some yummy and easy-to-make citrus-based cocktails.
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Screwdriver -Â It's originally a combination of orange juice and vodka.
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Greyhound -Â Its cocktail recipe calls for grapefruit juice and vodka or gin.
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Rum and Orange -Â It's a straightforward cocktail featuring dark rum and orange juice.
Feel free to give these summer cocktail recipes a twist by substituting with any citrus fruit available. Squeeze the juice first from the fruit. Don't forget to keep the peels or separate wedges for garnishing.
Tip 3: Skip Ready-Made Juices If You Can
While it's understandable that you have to make the most of what you have at home, expert bartenders discourage using pre-made juices for your cocktails. Despite their convenience, they're going to dramatically affect the flavour and compromise the result of your cocktail recipe. Besides, freshly squeezed juices may be a piece of basic bartending knowledge, but it's a valuable one that improves your cocktail skills, and that will take you places.
Tip 4: When Do You Shake or Stir A Cocktail?
For some cocktail drinks, it may not matter whether you shake or stir, for example, a gin or vodka martini. But professional bartenders reveal that cocktail recipes that involve cream liqueurs, juices, and thickened mixtures should be shaken. Shaking adds air that improves the texture of these types of cocktails. On the other hand, the stirring technique is best used for spirits with no mixes, say, the classic gin and tonic.
Tip 5: When Muddling Herbs, Press But Don't Pound
