Shaking Techniques

Shaking:

There is a time to shake and a time to stir. Shaking breaks up the ice cubes into the alcohol. It rapidly cools the drink and also waters it down. If you or your guests like to enjoy a cold Martini, by all means shake. Keep in mind that a watered down Martini still contains the same amount of alcohol as it did before shaking but the alcohol taste will not be as strong. Likewise if the drink is very cold, it will also make it harder to detect the flavors. This is a good thing in most Martini recipes because the original Martini was a pretty harsh drink that you’d want to finish before it warmed up.

Stirring Versus Shaking:

Some drinkers really like to taste more of the alcohol. They don’t want to see ice crystals floating on the top of their Martinis or Manhattans. They will request a stirred cocktail—not as cold or watered down, which is called “bruising” A liquor like gin or whiskey is called “bruised” when the flavor profile (the botanicals in the gin or the combination of malt and oak in whiskey) is spaced-out with water. A cocktail that is shaken with too little ice or for too long will be less interesting to a drinker who wants to experience the tightly-packed flavor of a quality gin or the subtly blended whiskey. Usually “bruising” is not a problem with vodka since the point of vodka is to be as flavorless as possible, but some drinkers still don’t like the pieces of ice that break off of the cubes as a result of vigorous shaking.

Shaking Versus Muddling:

Some fruits are so soft that it isn’t necessary to muddle them. Just the action of shaking raspberries, blackberries, orange wheels, or any assortment of jellies or cranberry relish on ice with alcohol will be enough to break down these soft fruits and get you the result you need—a fruit-infused liquor that is cold. This is especially important when you intend to strain off the ice and fruit and pour the liquor into a cocktail glass. Muddling in this case would crush the fruit into such fine particles that you would be unable to prevent pouring peels and seeds into the cocktail glass. Simply shaking instead of muddling makes it easier to strain a liquor clear of the ingredients you used to flavor it.

Tips For A Good Shake:

Fill the shaker to the top for drinks that require straining. You want to get the liquor as cold as possible for drinks like Martinis. If you are going to pour all the contents of the shaker into a glass, it might be best to build the drink in the glass you will use first before transferring it to the shaker. This way you won’t have too much ice and liquid to fit in the glass when you are done shaking. Shake rapidly (up and down, or toward you and away) keeping the motion of the ice mostly vertical within the shaker. One shake is a combined up-down motion; do this between 10 and 15 times until the outside of the shaker feels frosty. Shaking any more than this breaks up the ice unnecessarily and can weaken the drink. Then pour, strain. garnish and enjoy.

Muddling Techniques

Muddling:
 
When I first started bartending I overused the muddler. It turns out that some drinks are more attractive when the herbs or fruit you put in them are not pulverized. When you make a sangria, you want to see wheels of fruit in the glass; when you use strawberry slices and mint leaves, the drink is more attractive when bits look uniform rather than a clump of mush.

When To Muddle:

When the point of adding fruit, vegetables and herbs to a drink is to take advantage of the oils within their cell walls, you want to muddle them. If the produce that goes into a drink is meant to be consumed, it is best to leave the bits in bite sized chunks in the glass. If you intend to add juice of the same fruit anyway, it is probably not necessary to bother with muddling, but in drinks like Mojitos it is advisable to press the lime wedges to get as much juice out of them rather than adding extra lime juice and risk making the drink too sour.

How To Muddle:

1. Add your produce and some syrup.
Simply mashing your produce into the glass by itself often doesn’t work unless it is a soft fruit like a peach or orange slices. It is always best to add a little liquid to absorb as much of the juice or oils you release on muddling. I recommend adding the produce and then covering the melange with simple syrup or agave nectar (if you want the drink to be sweet), citrus juice or lime syrup (if you want a tart drink), and even olive juice (if you are making a briny drink like a variation of a Dirty Martini).

2. Press hard and twist.
The proper muddling technique is a downward push on the muddler handle and a twisting motion that grinds the bits with the muddler’s teeth. Press the contents of the glass in the center and rotate outward using the sides of the glass as well as the base as a pestle.

3. Build your drink on top.
Add all the other ingredients including ice, alcohol and mix-ins. You can stir or shake the drink as directed. Make sure all ingredients are evenly mixed or you risk having a layered drink that is at times too bland or too strong.

4. Pour or strain.
Some drinks—especially Martini variations—require that the muddled ingredients, including the ice, be strained off so that the cocktail glass is filled only with cold alcohol and the juices produced by the muddling. A muddled berry drink when strained into a cocktail glass may have a pink hue, but it will still be clear without peels or seeds. That is the look you are going for with “up” drinks. With other drinks like a Mint Julep, it is perfectly fine to use the ice and muddled mixture in the final product. This will make for a cocktail that is more flavorful and interesting to look at in a Collins or rocks glass.

How To Mass Produce Lemon Twists

Having a party? Prepare garnishes in advance.

This video shows how to peel and make twists out of lemons.
Boil the lemon for five minutes and allow it to cool. Cut off each end and hollow it out. Cut the peel into a ribbon and roll it up. Poke toothpicks to hold the roll in place. Cut the roll between each toothpick to create each separate garnish.

Straining Muddled Fruit

The Pulp-Free Effect of Straining Muddled Fruit

Here’s the Peach Madras I made yesterday in the final steps. Straining removes the pulverized peach flesh and leaves you with a drink that won’t get stuck in your straw or your teeth.

Virtual Bar

Whiskybase.com whiskybase.com

The database about whisky

I’ve uploaded a virtual bar to Whiskybase.com so everyone can see my collection. Check it out! Of course it only includes whiskey and scotches that I currently have. You’ll notice that I have more than a dozen bargain brands that I use for mixing and that all of my bottles are open. There are only a few gems for collecting here and most are nearly gone. My philosophy is to enjoy drinking the whiskey with friends not to keep it sealed up and gathering dust. You can create your own virtual bar at Whiskybase.com by finding what you have in their database and adding it to your collection. Even better, it has a great map feature to help you find distillers and stores!