Bartending
is an essential skill if you are to become the ultimate party hostess.
And, like most skills, it comes with its own tools and lingo, which can
easily confuse the beginner. Fret no more. We are going to turn you
into an excellent party bartender and soon you’ll be able to impress
and intoxicate your friends with your vast knowledge of cocktail
making.
What bartenders know and you don’t is
that making cocktails is actually very easy. If you know the
ingredients and the basic tools, whipping up a tasty drink is no sweat.
Let’s start with the tools of the trade. The only essentials to a home
bar are a shaker tin and a jigger. You’re probably familiar with the
shaker tin. Make sure the lid and bottom of yours fit together tightly.
You will also want to invest in a tin with a strainer built in to the
lid, and a cap to cover the strainer as you shake drinks.
A jigger is a shot measurer. You probably have seen one, you just never
knew what it was called. It is essentially a slender metal thing with a
measuring cup on both ends. The standard jigger holds 1 1/4 ounces on
one end—the traditional shot measurement—and 1 ounce on the other, a
measurement referred to as a pony.
If you aren’t confident in your ability to pour a reasonable amount of
booze into each drink, you may want to get one of these.
An ice bucket. Go to the thrift store and procure one of the myriad
vintage varieties of ice bucket and matching ice tongs. You do need
these, because there is nothing worse than forcing your guests to dig
through your freezer every time they want to have a drink. No one likes
sticking their fingers in your ice tray, trust me.
Glassware
Let’s move on to glassware. There are infinite varieties of barware out there, but here are the basics.
First, the rocks glass. This is a medium-sized glass designed to hold highballs and cocktails on the rocks.
Next, the martini glass.
This is fairly self-explanatory. If you treasure your carpets, purchase
deep martini glasses, rather than the more delicate shallow ones.
Shallow glasses equal a spill everytime someone bumps an elbow or
laughs too hard.
The Collins glass is
a tall, slender rocks glass. They look great, and are perfect for
drinks with a lot of ingredients or for those who prefer a lot of mixer
with a little bit of alcohol. If you don’t know what to buy, go with a
Collins glass. They are great for a lot of occasions and drinks.
A snifter
is one of those short and very round glasses for snobby drinks like
Grand Marnier and Frangelico. It looks like a fat fishbowl on a very
short stem. The average hostess won’t need these, unless she has a
friend who likes to pretend he’s Hugh Hefner. Ultimate hostesses may
just want to keep one or two on hand just in case.
You may also want to keep a set of shot glasses on hand, just in case
your chums get wild and crazy on a work night and decide to pass around
the tequila.
Now, let’s take a break for some important terms
A highball
is one liquor plus one mixer. For instance, a Jack and Coke is a
highball. If you want to be super accurate, you can serve it in a rocks
glass or a Collins glass.
A cocktail
is either a drink with one liquor and two or more mixers or two or more
liquors mixed with one or more mixer. For instance, martinis and Mai
Ta’is are cocktails.
Neat is
when a drink is served straight, with no ice, in a sipping glass rather
than a shot glass. Brandy, some liquors and many scotches are served
neat.
Mixing a drink
Now, shaker tin and jigger in hand it’s time to move on to the liquor.
First, it is important to realize that the best drink isn’t necessarily
the strongest drink. You can ruin your pals’ taste buds by just filling
the glass to the top with booze instead of paying attention to the
ratio of booze to mixer in the drink. Once you are comfortable—and
assuming you know which friends drink like fish and which turn up their
nose at anything that isn’t fruity—you’ll be able to determine the
tastiest drink.
But if you don’t have time to fuss
over each person, follow this basic rule. First, always fill the glass
to the top with ice. Icy cocktails are good cocktails. For the best
taste – not too strong, not too weak—the booze (whether one liquor or
more) should only fill approximately 1/3 of the glass. You can eyeball
this fairly easily. The bottom 1/3 of your drink is ice and liquor,
leaving 2/3 of the glass for mixers. Depending on the size of your
glass, 1/3 of a glass should equal about one shot from each end of your
jigger, for a total of 2 ounces of liquor.
However, if someone is drinking straight booze on the rocks with no mixer, fill the glass halfway.
To shake a cocktail, first mix all of the ingredients in a glass over ice. Then, take the cap off of the shaker and pour all of it in. Replace the cap and shake. Pour back into the glass, ice and all for cocktails, or strain into shot glasses if you are making a round of shots. Remember: Never shake or toss a drink that contains a carbonated soda. For instance, never shake a Jack and Coke. You'll take the fizz right out.
To toss a cocktail, mix all ingredients in a glass with ice. Take the cap off of the shaker tin, pour everything in and then immediately pour it all back into the glass. Tossing is just a quick way to make sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Shaking just taked the mixing a step further, while also making the drink more frosty cold.
Now that you are a confident basic bartender, say you want to throw a party and you want to provide the best booze to your buddies.
How do I make that?
You shouldn't worry if you are entertaining and someone asks you to make a drink you have never heard of. Every bartender worth her salt has a copy of a drink book behind the bar. It only takes one old fellow ordering a Sidecar to drive home the need for a cheat sheet. Some excellent recipe books include The Bartender's Black Book by Stephen K. Cunningham and the Original Pocket Guide to American Cocktails and Drinks by Robert Plotkin.
Choose one you like and keep it behind your home bar at all times. With jigger in hand, it should be easy to whip up just about any drink for which you have the ingredients.
Stocking your home bar
Now that you're ready to mix drinks at home, you'll need a well-stocked home bar. You don't have to go out and buy everything all at once, because the cost may overwhelm you. But if you pick up a bottle now and then, or your pals have panache and often bring over bottles as hostess gifts, you'll have a great bar in no time.
You should have -- depending on the types of drinks you and your friends prefer to drink-- one bottle of nice vodka, such as Absolut, Sky or Ketel One; one bottle of nice whiskey such as Crown Royal, Jack Daniels or Maker's Mark; and one bottle of decent tequila, such as Sauza or Jose Cuervo.
You will also need one small bottle each of triple sec, Rose's Lime and Rose's grenadine. Lime and triple sec are used in margaritas. Triple sec is also used in cosmopolitans. Grenadine is a staple in many tropical drinks, rum punches and tequila sunrise, as well as in nonalcoholic Shirley Temples.
With a basic bar, a bartender's guide and your new bar tools, you are well on your way to mixing fabulous cocktails for all of your friends and paramours. See. Wasn't that easy?
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