The Drink Thread: Part 2

[Norelco]

Thanks to Daydreamer for starting the first thread. I think with the holidays coming up it's safe to say that alot of people will be drinking at upcoming holiday events.

Let's talk ice cubes and their importance to mixed drinks. My friend has a theory that hollow cynlindric ice cubes (the ones you find on airlines) actually allow for faster and more efficient cooling for drinks because they contain more surface area, and also because they are less in volume than a non-hollow ice cube they tend to not water down a drink as much.

I went to the liqour store yesterday and received this free pamphlet about home bartending. Let's see if Daydreamer agrees.

- Even the professional bartender measures the ingredients of the drinks he makes. Don't guess. Measure all ingredients as the recipe directs for the perfect drink every time.

- Serve your cocktails icy cold. The colder the better. Be sure that cocktail glasses are well chilled before you use them. Pre-chill glasses in the refrigerator, or let them stand filled with shaved ice before using them. It makes all drinks better.

- Sugar is hard to dissolve in alcohol, so use a splash of water to dissolve it before you add the liqour. Or use simple syrup. It mixes instantly and actually helps make drinks smoother.

- Always put ice in the glass or shaker before pouring ingredients. That way, the liquids are chilled as they are poured over the ice.

- You'll get more juice from lemons and oranges if you first soak them in warm water.

- Use only fresh fruit whenever possible. Peels should be without a trash of white underskin; a paring gadget makes it easy. Fruit slices should be cut about one-quarter inch think and slit towards the center to fix slice of rim of glass.

- When the recipe calls for a twist of lemon peel, rub a narrow strip of peel around the rim of the glass. Then twist the peel so that the oil (usually one small drop) will drop into the drink. Then drop in the peel.

- When the ingredients are clear liquids, STIR for proper mixing. If the drink contains a carbonated mixter (soda, ginger ale), stir gently to preserve the sparkle. SHAKE drinks containing fruit juices, sugar, eggs, cream or other ingredients difficult to mix. Really shake -- don't just rock.

- A clean piece of wax paper rubbed on the rim of a bottle will prevent dripping when you pour.

- For "frosted" drinks, store glasses in the refrigerator, or bury in shaved ice long enough to give them a white, forsted, ice-cold look. For a "sugar-frosted" glass, moisten the rim of a pre-chilled glass with a slice of lime or lemon and then dip rim into powdered sugar.

- Strain all cocktails before serving with a wire strainer -- never silver. Use with clips that permit the wire to rest within the rim of the mixing glass or shaker.

- Measures: Jigger: 1 1/2 oz. - 2oz; Pony: 1 oz; Dash 1/6 oz; Teaspoon: 1/8 oz.

Coming soon from Norelco: Recommended bar tools.

[Einherjar]

If a bartender isn't measuring your drink, it's usually because they're shorting you, unless you know them or are tipping very well.

Another way to get more juice out of fruit is to microwave it for 10-15 seconds, shouldn't heat it up too much, but makes it much easier to juice.

If you're making anything remotely fancy, measure it. If you're just doing Rye and coke or some such, then don't measure it, make it strong.

[Daydreamer]

Thanks to Daydreamer for starting the first thread. I think with the holidays coming up it's safe to say that alot of people will be drinking at upcoming holiday events.

Let's talk ice cubes and their importance to mixed drinks. My friend has a theory that hollow cynlindric ice cubes (the ones you find on airlines) actually allow for faster and more efficient cooling for drinks because they contain more surface area, and also because they are less in volume than a non-hollow ice cube they tend to not water down a drink as much.

It MIGHT cool the drink quicker, but the ice the pros that REALLY care use are big solid cubes. About 1x1 inch cubes. The maker for these is rather expensive, and it's slower because it takes longer to cool them. The solid cubes don't water down a drink nearly as much either. Also, MORE ice in a shaker + glass = less water down over time. It's counter-intuitive, but it keeps the entire area colder, so less melting. This is why if you order something on the rocks it should ALWAYS be filled to the top with ice.

I went to the liqour store yesterday and received this free pamphlet about home bartending. Let's see if Daydreamer agrees.

- Even the professional bartender measures the ingredients of the drinks he makes. Don't guess. Measure all ingredients as the recipe directs for the perfect drink every time.

Yes, and no. There are some people who can free pour perfectly, but these people are tested using the pour tests before EVERY shift by there boss. However, most of the top rated bars in the world will measure, because it's guaranteed to be perfect every time. Also, to the person who said free pourers usually shortchange you, this isn't always right. I always count with the bartenders that free pour, and usually, around here at least, they go just a dab over on everyone.

- Serve your cocktails icy cold. The colder the better. Be sure that cocktail glasses are well chilled before you use them. Pre-chill glasses in the refrigerator, or let them stand filled with shaved ice before using them. It makes all drinks better.

True

- Sugar is hard to dissolve in alcohol, so use a splash of water to dissolve it before you add the liqour. Or use simple syrup. It mixes instantly and actually helps make drinks smoother.

Yes, but be careful. I always use simple syrup, because well..it is dissolved. However, this whole "add water beforehand to dissolve sugar" thing has caused a lot of confusion in recipes over the years.

Example: The modern "Old Fashioned" recipe is commonly seen in bars now as :sugar, whiskey, bitters, sugar, top with soda water," or some close variant. If you ask the bartender "Why the soda on top" he will usually reply "I don't know, that's just how I learned to make it." You see how they morphed the recipe over the years at bar to make it look like you are getting more by topping the glass with the soda water, instead of using just a dash to dissolve the sugar? All this really does is take a great drink, and make it taste like swamp water...

Alton brown even does this with his Mint Julep recipe, which makes me sad. He starts out right by using the soda to dissolve, but then he tops the drink with soda water...

- Always put ice in the glass or shaker before pouring ingredients. That way, the liquids are chilled as they are poured over the ice.

WRONG. Only a lazy bartender who half ass their shakes would do this. Pouring alcohol over the ice going to cause too much ice to dissolve and give you less control over the finished drink. Ice is the LAST thing that is added to a shaker. Shake well (10-15 full seconds, count out '1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, etc... in your head) Don't do a half assed shake like '3 flicks of the wrist in your done' like so many people in bars do. The purpose of the shake is not just to chill the drink, but also to dilute the water in it. About an entire third of ANY properly shaken drink is WATER!

Also, what if you pour the ingredients out, but then have a phone call or have to walk away for some other reason, and your stuff is just sitting there in the ice for who knows how long. Way to water down the drink =D

- You'll get more juice from lemons and oranges if you first soak them in warm water.

True, though like the other guy said, the microwave is easier, and honestly you only really need to do this on limes, as they are more stingy with juice.

- Use only fresh fruit whenever possible. Peels should be without a trash of white underskin; a paring gadget makes it easy. Fruit slices should be cut about one-quarter inch think and slit towards the center to fix slice of rim of glass.

YES. NEVER. EVER. Use concentrated lemon/lime. ALWAYS use fresh. Actually, first try one drink with fake lemon, then the same drink with fresh and do a side by side taste test. You will probably spit the fake lemon one out. OJ you can get away with a bit more, because there are some pretty good ojs out there (I Like simply orange). But always use fresh lemon and lime. And the proper garnish for drinks should be wedges, and not rounds, because if the person wants a little more acid in their drink, it's really easy to squeeze a wedge, but have you ever tried to juice one of those rounds? HAH

- When the recipe calls for a twist of lemon peel, rub a narrow strip of peel around the rim of the glass. Then twist the peel so that the oil (usually one small drop) will drop into the drink. Then drop in the peel.

Yes, though usually the oil comes out as a mist and not as a drop.

- When the ingredients are clear liquids, STIR for proper mixing. If the drink contains a carbonated mixter (soda, ginger ale), stir gently to preserve the sparkle. SHAKE drinks containing fruit juices, sugar, eggs, cream or other ingredients difficult to mix. Really shake -- don't just rock.

First off, the only time you should ever rock is for Bloody Marries and drinks contraining tomato juice, because the tomato juice can split and get all nasty if you shake it hard. That is the only time you should pour from one glass into another, and back, like 20 times or so. But yes, always stir clears (this is why James Bond is wrong...) and shake cloudy things. I've also never seen a recipe with soda or ginger ale or anything carbonated that didn't say "Top with 'carbonated ingredient'" This is because well...try to shake a drink with a carbonated beverage in it, I dare ya .

One last thing. If it has egg, you MUST shake like 30 seconds or more for a nice foam. The point of the egg is to put the foam on the top of a drink, just a little for texture. A Ramos Gin Fizz really needs to be shaken for a full 2 minutes to get the right texture. When I make one of these I usually pass the shaker around the room to let everyone participate, but when done right it gives an amazingly thick foam on the top of the drink.

- A clean piece of wax paper rubbed on the rim of a bottle will prevent dripping when you pour.

No idea, sounds good though.

- For "frosted" drinks, store glasses in the refrigerator, or bury in shaved ice long enough to give them a white, forsted, ice-cold look. For a "sugar-frosted" glass, moisten the rim of a pre-chilled glass with a slice of lime or lemon and then dip rim into powdered sugar.

Frosted method is ok, I just stick it in the freezer, but the sugar coated thing is WRONG. Think about how many times you've had a margarita and the sugar falls into the drink and makes the drink taste all salty and eww. The proper way to rim a glass is to take a slice of fruit (one that would compliment the drink) and only rim the OUTSIDE of the glass. Give it a nice half an inch rim on the outside only. Then turn the glass upsidedown, and with a spoon, spoon the salt or sugar or whatever of the outside of the glass and let the excess fall into a storage thing. Not only does this look better, but since the rim is only on the outside, it really can't fall into the drink. For an example of this go here: http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Cocktail-Ev ... 572&sr=1-1 and search inside and view the back cover. The drink on the top right (A brandy custa if I remember right, maybe bourbon) is rimmed in this manner. Also, that's a GREAT book written by the famed Dale DeGroff, one of Americas top bartenders and one of the people that brought new life to the cocktail in the 80s.

- Strain all cocktails before serving with a wire strainer -- never silver. Use with clips that permit the wire to rest within the rim of the mixing glass or shaker.

Yes, this type of strainer is called a hawthorne strainer, though a julep strainer will work just as good.

- Measures: Jigger: 1 1/2 oz. - 2oz; Pony: 1 oz; Dash 1/6 oz; Teaspoon: 1/8 oz.

Pretty much, though one really should use recipes that use ounces or CLs as measurements and not names like that.

Coming soon from Norelco: Recommended bar tools.