How to Make Cocktails
Draught cocktails (Draft cocktails) image

Draught cocktails (Draft cocktails)

Cocktails served on draught using beer dispense technology allow consistent drinks to be served incredibly quickly. Draught cocktails can be batched with

Egg dos and don'ts & using eggs in cocktails image

Egg dos and don'ts & using eggs in cocktails

Eggs are essentially reproductive cells from everything from chickens to ducks and quails but here I'm specifically looking at chicken eggs, their characteristics

Cocktail glassware image

Cocktail glassware

Cocktails are something of a luxury. You don't just ping a cap and pour – they take a degree of time and skill to mix, so deserve a decent and appropriate

Shaking Cocktails - advanced tips, myths & lessons image

Shaking Cocktails - advanced tips, myths & lessons

I'm guessing you're reading this page because you're already an accomplished cocktail mixer and are interested in the fineries of the art or you've just

How to use a three-piece cocktail shaker image

How to use a three-piece cocktail shaker

Three-piece shakers are also called ‘Standard' or 'Cobbler' shakers, they comprise of three sections: 1) Flat-bottomed, conical base or 'can' 2) Built-in

Barrel aged cocktails image

Barrel aged cocktails

Since cocktails left their disco-era style to the 1990s and grew up into the sophisticated drinks we know and love, a trend developed towards ageing cocktails

How to use a two-piece cocktail shaker image

How to use a two-piece cocktail shaker

Also known as a Boston or French Shaker, two-piece shakers tend to be preferred by professional bartenders (Japanese and other East Asian bartenders excepted).

Swizzles & How to swizzle a cocktail image

Swizzles & How to swizzle a cocktail

Swizzles are sour style drinks with a similar composition to a punch that, distinctively, must be churned with a swizzle stick. They are usually served

Vanilla infused vodka image

Vanilla infused vodka

Some commercially produced vanilla-flavoured vodkas have more of a cream-of-soda rather than genuine vanilla flavour. Many also have added sugar so can

Glass-aged cocktails image

Glass-aged cocktails

It was in 2004 after receiving a 1920s bottle of Dubonnet that I first decided to age a series of classic cocktails in small barrels with different proportions.

Measuring cocktail ingredients image

Measuring cocktail ingredients

Achieving balance between each ingredient is critical to the deliciousness of a finished cocktail. To achieve the perfect balance you need a good recipe

Smokes & smokers image

Smokes & smokers

Originally used a preservative, chefs commonly use smoke to flavour food and a chef's smoker can also be used to flavour cocktails.

Stirrers & How to stir a cocktail image

Stirrers & How to stir a cocktail

Stirring is the most basic way of mixing a cocktail. You might not give much thought to a technique used to stir a cup of tea or even a pot of paint, but

Fat-washing image

Fat-washing

Made famous by the Benton’s Old Fashioned, created by Don Lee at PDT in New York City, which uses bourbon flavoured by smoky bacon fat, fat-washing is

Fine straining (double straining) cocktails image

Fine straining (double straining) cocktails

Most cocktails that are shaken and served ‘straight-up’ (without ice) benefit from an additional 'fine strain' over and above the standard strain to

Cocktail bartending etiquette image

Cocktail bartending etiquette

There are certain basics when it comes to making drinks, and this time we’re not talking ice, shakers or citrus. Keeping it clean has never been so important.

Foams image

Foams

Foams can be applied to the surface of a cocktail, the aroma and flavour of which usually contrast with that of the drink beneath, so adding complexity.

Nitrous oxide image

Nitrous oxide

First synthesised by the philosopher and chemist Joseph Priestley in 1772, nitrous oxide (E942) is commonly known as laughing gas and is a colourless non-flammable

How to throw a cocktail image

How to throw a cocktail

As the name suggests this method of mixing a cocktail is achieved by pouring the ingredients from one vessel to another, ideally pouring from one vessel

Salt image

Salt

Out of the five basic tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami, salt is perhaps the rarest to be found lurking in our drinks. Indeed salty liquid seems

The hard shake image

The hard shake

Perversely the hard-shake is not hard, it’s gentle; although this choreographed shake is hard to master. Invented by Japanese bartender, Kazuo Uyeda,

Acid phosphate image

Acid phosphate

Popping up as an ingredient on menus worldwide, acid phosphate has officially been reborn after disappearing from sight for nearly 70 years. But what is

Leather-aged cocktails image

Leather-aged cocktails

The team at the Artesian bar, at the Langham Hotel, are world renowned for their experiments in cocktail creation. From barrel, glass and clay pot ageing

Stirring vs. shaking a cocktail image

Stirring vs. shaking a cocktail

Stirring and shaking obviously result in the various ingredients being mixed together, but both actions also cool and dilute the cocktail being mixed.

Cocktail shakers & how to shake a cocktail image

Cocktail shakers & how to shake a cocktail

Shaking not only mixes a drink, it also chills, dilutes and aerates it. Along with stirring shaking is the most common technique employed to mix cocktails.

Infusion and maceration image

Infusion and maceration

Alcohols ability to draw out flavoursome substances from herbs and spices by infusion and then preserve those flavours has been used since the Middle Ages

How to flame a cocktail image

How to flame a cocktail

The terms ‘ignite’, ‘flame’ or ‘flambé’ mean that a drink should be set alight. Please exercise extreme care when setting fire to drinks.

Ice in cocktails image

Ice in cocktails

A plentiful supply of fresh ice is essential to making good cocktails. When buying bagged ice, avoid the hollow, tubular kind and thin wafers. Instead,

How to muddle a cocktail image

How to muddle a cocktail

Muddling means pummelling fruits, herbs and/or spices with a muddler (a blunt tool similar to a pestle) so as to crush them and release their flavour.

How to layer a cocktail image

How to layer a cocktail

As the name suggests, layered drinks include layers of different ingredients, often with contrasting colours. This effect is achieved by carefully pouring

Blending cocktails image

Blending cocktails

When a cocktail recipe calls for you to 'blend with ice', place all ingredients and ice into a blender and blend until a smooth, even consistency is achieved.

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Rolling or tumbling

Not to be confused with the 'Cuban Roll' which refers to the rolling motion employed by perficient practitioners of the throwing mixing method, 'rolling'

How to strain a cocktail image

How to strain a cocktail

When straining a shaken drink, a Hawthorn strainer tends to be used, but when straining a stirred drink it is traditional to use a Julep strainer. Both

Garnishes for cocktails image

Garnishes for cocktails

Garnishes are used to decorate cocktails and are often anchored to the rim of the glass. You’ll find more about garnishes and how to prepare them in

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