Crafting Cocktails: Essential Tools and Techniques

To create cocktails at home, it is important to have the right tools and understand the basic techniques. A properly chilled and diluted cocktail should consist of 25 percent water to soften the liquor.

 

Essential Tools

  • Boston Shaker: A two-part shaker with one metal tumbler and one glass, which allows for visual checks. A bar strainer is needed to use this type of shaker.
  • Cocktail Shaker: A three-part shaker with a metal tumbler, a lid with a built-in strainer, and a cap. The base can be used for muddling and stirring if a mixing glass is unavailable.
  • Mixing Glass: A heavy-bottomed glass, sometimes spouted, used for stirring cocktails. The glass receptacle of a Boston shaker can act as a mixing glass.
  • Bar Strainers: Hawthorne strainers are more common and have a built-in spring, while julep strainers are better when fruit or herbs have been muddled.
  • Jigger: A dual-sided, cone-shaped tool for measuring liquid amounts.
  • Bar Spoon: A long spoon for stirring cocktails and layering drinks. It can also be used for measuring.
  • Muddler: A pestle made of wood, metal, or plastic used to crush ingredients and release their flavors.
  • Miscellaneous Tools: Paring knife, chef’s knife, cutting board, blender, can opener, corkscrew, measuring spoons, fine-meshed kitchen strainer, citrus juicer, and fine grater.

 

Basic Techniques

  • Muddling: Used to extract and combine flavors by pressing ingredients with a muddler until juices are extracted and sugar is dissolved. Herbs become transparent when sufficiently muddled.
  • Stirring: Combines and chills cocktail ingredients without clouding the liquor. Cocktails without juice, dairy, or eggs should be stirred. Add ingredients and ice to a mixing glass or cocktail shaker base, then stir for 20 to 30 seconds using a bar spoon.
  • Shaking: Used for cocktails containing juice, dairy, or egg. For a Boston shaker, add ingredients and ice to the mixing glass, place the metal tumbler on top, and slap firmly to secure. Shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds. With a cocktail shaker, remove the lid, add ingredients and ice, replace the lid and cap, and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds.
  • Building: The simplest technique, where a highball glass is filled with ice, ingredients are added, stirred, garnished, and served.
  • Straining: Cocktails served "up" are strained, and some served over ice are also strained to remove muddled ingredients. A Hawthorne strainer rests on the metal tumbler, while a julep strainer is placed inside the mixing glass. Double straining involves pouring the cocktail through a fine-mesh kitchen strainer.
  • Making Garnishes: Garnishes can be classic or creative, adding an Asian twist with ingredients like lychee or candied ginger. Garnishes include lemon and lime wedges, twists, fruit wheels, and half wheels.
  • Rimming a Glass: Moisten the outside edge of the glass with citrus or a sugary liquid, then dip the rim in dry ingredients.