How to Make Cocktails (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

The dictionary defines a 'cocktail' as a drink made with alcohol and other ingredients such as fruit juice. It is impossible to explain how to make all types of existing cocktails in one article: this will then serve you to learn how to mix various types of drinks, so that next time, you will be ready to play the role of bartender.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Making a Basic Cocktail

Step 1. Choose the liqueur to use in your cocktail

It wouldn't be an alcohol-free cocktail, so make sure you have some on hand. Here are some ideas:

• Colorless or clear spirits. In addition to having no color, they also have a milder taste than the others. Clear spirits include:

  • Vodka
  • Gin
  • Cachaça (not aged)
  • Distilled from cereals
  • Soju

• Whiskey. Whiskey is made from various types of fermented wheat. Popular around the world, whiskey is mainly produced in Scotland, Ireland, America and Japan; each production has its own taste. Typical whiskeys include:

  • Bourbon
  • Scotch tape
  • Rye whiskey
  • Irish whiskey
  • Canadian whiskey
  • Japanese whiskey
• Other colored spirits. There are dozens of them that could be part of a cocktail. Some of the well-known ones include:
• Tequila
• Mezcal
• Absinthe
• Brandy



Step 2. Choose a different type of alcohol to enhance the taste (optional)

Sometimes, a low alcohol content is chosen to bring out the taste of the spirit. If you want to mix two types of alcohol, do a preliminary test to see if they are compatible. Gin and light beer work in combination with lemon and honey for a refreshing drink; beer and tequila make a good "beer-garita"; ouzo and red wine do not marry at all.

Beer and wine cocktails have become quite popular over the years. For example, you can try making a simple Shandy or combining lemonade and beer. Experiment with wine by creating a Kalimotxo or by combining red wine and cola. For a French 75 mix gin, sparkling water, lemon and sugar



Step 3. Get a quality shaker

You will certainly need to mix the ingredients. Even if some cocktails with alcohol or light mixes are mixed, most are 'stirred'.

Cocktails made with fruit juices, milk or eggs, syrups, sour mixes and other pasty ingredients should not be shaken



Step 4. Use a measuring cup or measuring cup

The measuring cup is useful if you want to make perfectly calibrated cocktails. Think about it: a cocktail made "by eye" can be too strong or its exact opposite.

Many measuring cups or measuring cups have a double side like an hourglass. The smallest measure about 30 ml of liquid, while the largest come to double. They are useful for those cocktails that want a double dose of alcohol

Step 5. Mash the herbs or mince the fruit in the shaker first (optional)

Some recipes don't call for it, but many cocktails are fruit-based. A mojito, for example, wants crushed lime and mint to start. Simply put what you need on the bottom of the shaker and pound with a pestle or wooden spoon. Make sure you get the juices and chop everything up enough.

Some recipes do not require the fruit to be crushed, but for many it is a mandatory step. In the case of mojito, for example, you first need to crush lime and mint

Step 6. Add the juices, spirits and liqueurs to the shaker

Then, following the recipe, pour in the rest of the liquids.

Step 7. Put on ice after adding liquids

Do this only when you are ready to shake to avoid diluting the cocktail too much. This is a mistake that is often made. Ice is placed at the beginning rather than last, eventually diluting the drink too much.

Step 8. Close the shaker and shake vigorously for 10 to 20 seconds, or until the shaker becomes too cold to hold

Shaking vigorously will mix all the ingredients together, blending them so that there is no predominance of fruit or alcohol.

If you plan to add salt or sugar to the edges of the glass - like a margarita - do so before pouring the drink. Dip the glass into a saucer filled with water, then press it against another saucer filled with salt, sugar, or whatever ingredient you need for your drink

Step 9. Pour the liquid into the right glass

Each drink has its own glass. A martini, for example, should always be served in a martini glass, while the mojito in a highball.

• Study the best glass for your cocktail. It may seem silly to you, but there are many people who believe that choosing the right glass is the distinction between something good and something fantastic. The glass also affects the appearance, which in turn affects the perception of taste.
• If the recipe calls for adding ice after shaking, add other cubes that are not the same as those used for shaking. The cubes to be added are wider so they won't melt right away, watering down the drink.

Step 10. Add bitters if needed

Bitter is an aromatic complement that is added to many drinks (usually whiskey) after mixing them. Probably the most famous is Angostura.



Step 11. Finish with a gasket

Always choose something that goes with your cocktail. In martini, for example, there is traditionally the olive with a toothpick.

Part 2 of 2: Five Classics



Step 1. Make a martini

Brilliant and sophisticated - as well as seriously alcoholic - this cocktail is synonymous with class. Classic martinis are made with gin or vodka and have the option of getting "dirty" by adding the olive brine.

• Chocolate Martini
• Strawberry Martini
• Zabaione martini
• Key lime martini



Step 2. Make a mojito

Made popular by none other than Ernest Hemingway, this summer cocktail has an all-tropical flavor. Lime, mint, rum, sugar and carbonated water - how to go wrong?

• Strawberry Mojito
• Mojito with Mango
• Blueberry Mojito
• Pineapple Mojito



Step 3. Make a mint julep

A classic of the South American tradition, mint julep is simple yet sophisticated. Drunk on Derby weekend it will make you feel in Kentucky no matter where you are.



Step 4. Make a margarita

Margaritas are the quintessential Mexican cocktail. Made with lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur and a little sugar, it is usually served straight although some prefer blend.

• Orange Margarita
• Strawberry Margarita
• Frozen Margarita
• Banana Margarita



Step 5. Prepare an old fashioned

Rather alcoholic cocktail - only whiskey and sugar. Although it seems to have gone out of style since the roaring 20s and 30s, it still remains a staple for many cocktail connoisseurs.

Advice

• Always use cold glasses.
• Add lemon zest or slices, lime slices, [orange, olives, cherries.
• If you find you have a passion for mixing cocktails then you could take a course to become a bartender.
• Start from simple cocktails to get to more complex ones.
• Adding ice to the shaker, mixer or glass should always be the last thing to do.
• You can make a Shirley Temple with any cocktail by cutting out the alcohol and replacing it with a fruit juice mix.
• The larger the ice cube, the colder and less watered down the drink will be.